By Kathy Wray Coleman
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio- The greater Cleveland community, elected officials and community activists groups will host 'The First Anniversary of the East Cleveland Serial Murders and Stop Violence Against Women and Find Their Killers Rally and Vigil' from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm on Saturday, July 19, at the intersection of Shaw and Hayden Avenues in East Cleveland. For more information call the Imperial Women Coalition at (216) 659-0473. Confirmed speakers include the office of Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, victims of heinous violence family members, including the family of E. 93rd Street Cleveland Murder victim Christine Malone, East Cleveland Councilman Nate Martin, Cleveland Ward 6 Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, East Cleveland School Board Member Tiffany Fisher, Former Cleveland School Board President and Carl Stokes Brigade Member Genevieve Mitchell, Oppressed Peoples Nation Chairman Ernie Smith, The Rev Pam Pinkney-Butts, Black on Black on Black Crime Founder Art McKoy, Imperial Women Coalition Leader Kathy Wray Coleman, CNN Hero and domestic violence survivor Laura Cowan, Pierre Nappier, Survivors/Victims of Tragedy Leader Judy Martin, Carl Stokes Brigade Member Marva Patterson, and From Victim to Victory Inc President Christine Wilson.
The rally and vigil, said organizers, are to remember victims Shirellda Terry, 18, Angela Deskins, 38, and Shetisha Sheeley, 28, (pictured) and all other greater Cleveland women subjected to heinous crimes.
Terry's body was found in a garage leased to suspected serial killer Michael Madison on July 19, 2013 at the intersection of Shaw and Hayden Avenues in East Cleveland, a neighboring largely Black impoverished suburb of Cleveland, and the remains of Deskins and Sheeley were uncovered the following day in the same vicinity, one in a nearby vacant house and the other in the backyard.
Two of the women live in Cleveland and a wing is named after Terry at the East Cleveland Public Library where she was a student tutor. All three bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags.
"We need the community to come out to remember this tragedy and the victims and their families, and to call for a cease fire on violence against women," said community activist Christine Wilson, who leads From Victim to Victory Inc.
"We call for a moratorium on violence against women in greater Cleveland and elsewhere and we demand more resources to deal with this epidemic in Cuyahoga County," said community activist Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads the Imperial Women Coalition.
Program speakers include victims family members, Black elected officials, anti-human trafficking affiliates, community activists, victims of crime, and representatives from greater Cleveland women's advocacy groups.
Madison, 36, is in custody on a $6 million bond and awaits trial on numerous charges, including multiple counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty and faces the death penalty.
Community activists said that they will keep abreast of the case until Madison, if found guilty, is brought to justice under the fullest extent of the law.
Community activists groups associated with the rally include the Imperial Women Coalition, the Oppressed People's Nation, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, the Carl Stokes Brigade, People for the Imperial Act, the Fairfax Business Association, the Cleveland African American Museum, Black on Black Crime Inc., Peace in the Hood, the People's Forum, the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, Sister to Sister, the Cleveland Black Contractors Group, Ohio Family Rights, Survivors/Victims of Tragedy, the National Association for Parental Equality, the Cleveland Chapter of the New Black Panther Party, Peace in the Hood, From Victim to Victory, Inc., the Task Force for Community Mobilization, and Revolution Books. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)
