January 2011 • neighborhood-voice.com

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table of contents Buckeye-Shaker 3 & 4 Bigger Books on Larchmere

Central 5 & 6 Art Attack

East Cleveland 7 & 8 Bringing Down the Houses

Fairfax 9 & 10 Soul of a City: A Photo Essay

Arts 11 & 12 Staff Picks of 2010, Plus Bobby Womack?!

Glenville 13 & 14 My Voice: Twelve and in Jail Landscape of Greater University Circle atop the W.O. Walker Building at 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH. PHOTO BY STEPHEN TRAVARCA Cover Story 15 & 16 Langston Hughes: A Retrospective Editor and Publisher Josette D. Compton A d d r e s s M i s s i o n 1422 Euclid Ave., Suite 1510 To inform, inspire and provide a forum for Cleveland, OH 44115 Hough 17 & 18 Online Editor all residents, organizations and businesses Robert Banks… Sam Allard Don’t Pretend You Know Him Phone in Greater University Circle through Graphic Designer (216) 925-4900 relevant, quality print and online media. Little Italy 19 & 20 Ami Rizek Book Reviews and Email V i s i o n Graphic Design Consultant [email protected] New Grocery Store Julie Heckman To create educational opportunities for local journalism students and resident University Circle 21 & 22 General Assignment Reporter Advertising writers by cultivating their editorial and Sound Theory: Using Music to Heal Angel Moss-Parkham [email protected] entrepreneurial skills.

Submit Letters to the Editor at www.neighborhood-voice.com

Contributors M. LaVora Perry C. Victoria Trotter Dairian Heard Justin Rutledge East Cleveland-based editor Glenville resident and CEO Is a senior at John Hay Buckeye-Shaker-based and writer is a regular con- of Trotter’s Dry Cleaners. Early College High School graduate of Bowling Green tributor to NV (page 8). She contributes a “My in University Circle. She is State University, who works Voice” essay in this issue now a regular contributor in the Glenville area at City (page 14). to NV (page 13). Year (page 13).

Allyson L. Chanda S. Bynum Courtney L. Green Marita Sanders Robichaud, Ph.D. Attends the Cleveland Lives in Glenville, and Is a Buckeye-Shaker-based Is an Associate Professor School of the Arts and works as a paraprofes- hairstylist who offers tips on of philosophy at Cleveland studies creative writing. sional in Cleveland. She is maintaining beautiful hair State University and serves She hopes to become a a regular contributor to NV during and after aerobic as the treasurer for the journalist (page 18). (page 7). exercise (page 3). Cleveland Food Co-op in University Circle (page 21).

Cover inspired by Shepard Fairey’s 2008 “Hope” poster for President Barack Obama. www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 2 Buckeye-Shaker Neighborhood Voice

Business: Money Matters The Advantage could receive $457. Married taxpayers who file leaving free money on the table. Therefore, if jointly, and who earn less than $48,362 with you’re eligible, be sure to claim this injection of Claim the Earned Income three or more qualifying children would land cash and make tax season brighter this year. somewhere in the middle of this scale. Tax Credit by April 15th However, your child only qualifies if he or No matter where you decide to By Stephanie Turner she meets four tests, which are based on the have your taxes prepared, be sure NV contributing writer following: to bring these important For many Americans, tax time arouses a sense 1. Their relationship to you documents with you: of fear. This is often caused when people do not 2. Their age • W-2 Forms know whether they will owe the IRS or receive 3. Where they live (reporting full-time wages) 4. If parents file a joint return or not. a refund. But knowing that they are eligible • 1099 Forms for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can A tax preparer can help you understand these (reporting part-time work alleviate such anxiety. requirements and determine if your child is and interest income) considered a “qualifiying child.” The EITC is a federal income tax credit, which • Unemployment forms returns money to hardworking Americans But to claim the EITC, you must first file an who earn low or moderate incomes. Although income tax return. The good news is that, • Proof of child care payments annually, up to 25 percent of eligible households in many communities, you can obtain free • Social Security card for yourself forego EITC benefits, to which they are entitled, assistance in filing your tax return and learn if and each dependent possibly because they are unaware of this law. you are eligible for the EITC. • Other IRS forms as appropriate If you qualify for the EITC for tax year 2010, On Saturday, Feb. 5, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 • Bank account information you may be eligible to receive between $457 p.m., KeyBank will offer its “Super Refund • Valid photo ID and $5,666. Saturday,” a free tax preparation event in • Previous year’s tax return The tax credit is calculated according to conjunction with Cleveland Housing Network, the number of qualifying children you have, the United Way, the federal government’s EITC coalition and St. Ignatius High School. To make a Super Refund compared to your “earned income.” That Saturday appointment call means, at the low end, single taxpayers earning To miss an opportunity to receive EITC benefits, less than $13,460 with no qualifying children which you are entitled to receive, is similar to (216) 881-8443.

Community News “Gene is envisioning a ‘my favorite book’ A built-in budget of $14,000 is at Epstein’s nomination process where local merchants, disposal for materials and installation. The residents and students can submit their favorite mural is expected to be completed no later than you ARE what Bigger Books on books for consideration,” said Chilcote. “We August, 2011. want these books to represent the community, Loganberry Books owner Harriett Logan is happy you READ. Larchmere and people are really excited by that idea.” to see the mural go up on the east side of her Mural competition aimed at According to Chilcote, the mural will be printed establishment, but she doesn’t get any special Reading creates (instead of painted). “It’s the same high-quality, treatment in terms of title selection. community involvement vivid look that you see on the Cleveland Museum “I get the same say as any other resident,” she knowledge. of Art’s banners for new exhibits,” he said. By Sam Allard said. “I just hope there’s a nice mix of genre, a NV online editor Each book’s print will be constructed individually mix of ages, and some new and some out of Knowledge is and then mounted on a substrate platform, print titles.” By the summer of 2011, the eastern wall of which will then be mounted on Loganberry’s The mural project follows a series of wisdom – the Loganberry Books will become Cleveland’s wall. The medium guarantees that the design beautification efforts in the Shaker Square tallest and fattest bookshelf. won’t fade for at least seven to 10 years. ability to consider area. Last year, the Knitscape project and tree Well, sort of, though you won’t be able to read planting along Larchmere started the trend. and evaluate new the giant books which comprise Gene Epstein’s The mural is yet another way, according to the winning proposal in the Larchmere Boulevard sponsoring organizations, to enhance the district information relative Mural Project. That’s not the point. by celebrating its vitality. “It’s going to symbolize this unique district to what is already and, in particular, Loganberry books,” said Lee known. Chilcote, of Shaker Square Area Development Corporation (SHAD). “This business has been a mainstay on Larchmere for a long time and has Reading enhances really contributed to the success of the area. The mural is going to be very dramatic and iconic.” vocabulary and Epstein is a musician, visual artist and exhibit increases ability to designer whose mural concept was selected from a pool of 13 other local artists’ applications. communicate. Her proposal was distinguished for its bold interpretation of the project’s theme – “reading, books and literacy” – and for its involvement of community members and area youth.

Image courtesy of Gene Epstein

3 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Buckeye-Shaker Neighborhood Voice

Health & Beauty Pixie cut require less maintenance and are long lasting. Did You Know? If you are wearing a short pixie cut, mold your When exercising, use a hair-band to pull your hair flat to your head. Use a ventilated mesh hair back into a loose pony tail. Then place New Year’s wrap and tie a head-band (e.g., silk or satin a head-band around your hairline to absorb Once you receive a Resolution No. 1 scarf) around the hairline to absorb sweat. sweat. tax return Post-workout: Remove the scarf and leave Post-work out: Remove hair-band and loosen Stay in shape while on mesh wrap. Use a hair dryer (adjust ponytail. check, temperature to cool). Then remove mesh wrap Marita Sanders is the beauty expert at Luxe you can take advantage of maintaining great hair and apply a light pomade. To add finishing Hair Studio located at 12011 Buckeye Rd. For touches, style with fingers. By Marita Sanders additional beauty tips or questions, please call KeyBank’s low fee NV contributing writer Note: Use of a flat iron is only recommended (216) 751-8835. check cashing, Are you one of many women who fear going when absolutely necessary. for just 1.5% the to the gym because of your hair? Or do you Long layers and bobs struggle to maintain your hairstyle while With long layers and bobs, you should begin by value of the check. staying fit? using a paddle brush to wrap the hair. Start This is much lower than If you answered “yes” to these questions, do from the crown (center) and wrap hair around the 7-10 % that check- not feel embarrassed. Just know that heart the entire head. To add volume, place six disease and diabetes are the leading causes of magnetic rollers in crown, and wrap remaining cashing businesses may death among women today. That’s why it is hair. Tie a head-band (e.g., silk or satin scarf) charge. You do not have to important not to let the fear of a “bad hair day” around the hairline to absorb sweat. be a KeyBank customer to scare you away from the gym. Post-workout: If you are wearing rollers or a Here I will provide tips on how to maintain a scarf, remove both, and comb hair down with do so; just walk into any “fly” hairstyle between salon visits that will a wide-tooth comb. Apply a small amount of Cleveland KeyBank Plus save time, money and improve your health. gloss to hair for shine. branch and ask for this If your hair is relaxed, consider styles with Natural hair service at the counter. To definitive shapes such as chin-length bobs, If you wear your hair natural, possibly consider long-layered or short pixie cuts. These styles that compliment your natural texture. If find a branch near you call particular styles retain their shape long after a your hair is curly, styles such as two-strand strenuous workout. twists, braids or locks, are ideal. These styles 1-800-KEY2YOU. Dry Cleaning SHAKER SQUARE & Tailoring

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Community News A r t s “There is no right or wrong in the arts, so it there was a boy who suddenly was excited to gives some children a chance to develop and come to class and started drawing. He figured explore,” says Stacy Goldberg of the Young out he was into art and started becoming more Spotlight On: Art Attack Audiences of Northeast Ohio, an arts nonprofit. engaged in school.” “It allows them to take risks in a way that may The benefits can be seen outside the Men of Central Despite cuts, local not be possible otherwise.” classroom as well. As Protopapa points out, “It By Sam Allard nonprofits fight for Indeed, another study by arts advocate and helps develop self-esteem, leadership skills, NV online editor research psychologist Jessica Hoffmann Davis attention to detail, as well as critical thinking Though there may be a shortage of positive arts education argues that “the arts, like no other subject, give and problem-solving skills.” male influences in the Central neighborhood, By Ami Rizek children the opportunity to shape there are certainly a few courageous men NV graphic designer and contributing writer and communicate their feelings.” working overtime to compensate. Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Furthermore, the National Assembly In our last issue, we featured James Upshaw Act in 2001, America has seen a dramatic cut of State Arts Agencies, released and his youth leadership program at Marion in public education funding. Not surprisingly, data which shows the relationship Sterling. This month, we honor a similar programs in art and music education have between the arts and standardized organization: the Men of Central. been the first to go – especially in Cleveland. testing. It revealed that high school students who have taken art classes Jerome Baker, in collaboration with Demetrius School officials’ lust for higher scores on have scored better math and verbal Smiley and Larry Wanzo, founded the grassroots standardized tests has accelerated the push SAT scores than students who have community organization in 2006 specifically for academic excellence in math, science and not taken any art classes. because of the lack of positive role models in reading. Given that American students score the lives of his community’s youth. lower than their global counterparts, changes In Cleveland, organizations are in the public education system were an obvious hard at work to integrate arts The Men of Central has now taken the shape necessity. But the assumption that the arts are education in public schools. Progressive Arts of an afterschool/weekend mentoring program not as important to a child’s intellectual capital Alliance (PAA), one of Northeast Ohio’s most But, she says, the arts also teach people about for boys between the ages of 8-15; Baker and as math and science is severely misguided. prominent arts nonprofits, tries to incorporate things that are different from themselves. “It his small team have implemented programs engaging arts activities like printmaking, web helps build an appreciation for diversity and for tutoring, arts, recreation, hygiene, health Research has shown the benefits of the design, animation, hip-hop and filmmaking into different voices and opinions.” awareness, and education about Central’s rich arts on student achievement in reading, students’ daily curriculum. history. communication, math and social skills. That’s something with which Stacy Goldberg can certainly empathize. She understands In the 2007 book “Studio Thinking,” a team of The benefits are widespread, according to PAA They run their programs out of the Lonnie that schools have to focus on teaching test researchers sought to determine the benefits Executive Director Santina Protopapa. Burten Recreation Center and the Central preparation, however, “the arts help students of visual arts education. They concluded that Recreation Center and see anywhere between “There’s been a lot of examples where teachers think creatively and develop as global citizens, high school students who were enrolled in art 10-35 students at each facility every week. will tell us there was someone who never spoke and that is something we need to compete in classes developed a specific set of thinking up in front of class and wasn’t very excited Though the Men of Central’s influence is the world economy.” skills that standardized curricula do not about coming to school,” she says. “Then, for already significant, Baker was thrilled in 2010 inherently nurture. example, this past spring we did an architecture Maybe school administrators ought to go back when his organization expanded. The Women project at [George Washington] Carver, and to the drawing board. of Central began programming in late October with four dynamic female mentors. Baker says that this year, his organization will be more active in its recruiting methods, going H e a l t h into neighborhood schools to talk to students Art therapy has been part of the Cleveland at their own pace, to have control over the and encourage involvement. Clinic health system for more than 10 years. art process and make active choices. With Art Therapy It was originally based within the psychiatric the assistance of the art therapist, patients Another goal is teaching youth writing By Tamara Shella units at Lutheran Hospital. But with the advent can process emotional issues and experience skills through a community newsletter. (The NV contributing writer of the Arts & Medicine Institute at the Clinic, personal growth. Neighborhood Voice is especially interested this program has expanded into the medical When I tell people that I am an art therapist, a Patients, however, are not the only people in this element of the program.) Along with a units at its main campus. website, the newsletter will continue to update common response is “Oh that sounds like fun.” who can benefit from art therapy. The Arts & Our most successful art therapy programs are Medicine Institute offers weekly sessions at residents about the organization’s events and While art therapy is certainly a rewarding and in the Heart & Vascular Institute. We began the the 360-5 wellness store at the Clinic’s main neighborhood news. enjoyable profession, it is more than “arts “Art for the Heart” group two years ago to help campus for visitors and hospital employees. and crafts time.” First, you are required to Baker acknowledges that Central has a lot of patients cope while awaiting heart transplant These sessions provide an opportunity for hold a Masters of Art Therapy degree from an problems. In particular, he hates to see conflict surgery. stress reduction, creative expression, and accredited institution. Second, art therapy is a among the neighborhood’s youth. yes, even a little bit of fun! mental health profession, which uses artwork Patients who are in the hospital for long periods “The kids who live down at 30th don’t to facilitate emotional growth and change. of time face a myriad of difficulties. Some feel necessarily get along with the kids who live at This can be done with people of all ages, in as though they have no control over their daily Tamara Shella is the 40th,” Baker says. “That’s why right now, we’re groups and individual sessions. lives. So art gives them an opportunity to work art therapy program running our programs out of Lonnie Burten and manager at the Arts & Central Rec.” Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic But that’s a trend that Baker wants to buck. He hopes that through the organization’s activities and events, the youth of the neighborhood will not only have an outlet for safer, healthier after school alternatives; they’ll learn to interact productively with their neighbors. Photo by After all, a place called Central can’t be divided. Tamara Shella

5 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Central Neighborhood Voice

H e a l t h Did You Know? RECIPE x Nearly Beef Bourguignon

INGREDIENTS one 5 Medium onions, sliced billion 4 Tablespoons of oil 2 Pounds of lean beef, people lack (cut into 1-inch cubes) access to safe 1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour D irecti o ns water and 1/4 Teaspoon marjoram 1. In a heavy skillet, cook onions in the oil until tender. Then move them to another dish. 1/4 Teaspoon thyme 2. In the same pan, saute beef cubes until browned. 2.5 Freshly ground black pepper Sprinkle with flour and seasonings. 1/2 Cup of beef broth 3. Add broth and wine. Stir well and simmer slowly for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add more broth and wine billion 1 Cup of dry red wine (1 part stock to 2 parts wine) as necessary to do not have 1/2 Pound of fresh mushrooms, sliced keep beef barely covered. 4. Return onions to the stove, add mushrooms and improved cook, stirring 30 minutes longer, adding more broth and wine if necessary. Sauce should be sanitation. thick and dark brown. Serves: 8 Calories per serving: 375

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A r t s by negative and positive space around it. So I Though Tinsley says he’s too “old” for the try to get my students to understand the logic stress associated with fast painting, he can not Changing behind art.” deny the opportunities his skills have created here in Cleveland. Worldviews In 1998, Tinsley graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he originally set out to Right now, he is working with the Malcolm By Angel Moss-Parkham become an illustrator, but later changed his Brown Gallery in Shaker Heights as an in-house NV general assignment reporter major to graphic design. Soon after graduation, portrait artist. Meanwhile he is anticipating the Artist Larry Tinsley likes to crack jokes. he was offered a job as a storyboard artist in debut of a children’s book he illustrated for a One joke in particular is that he can recreate New York City, turned it down and started work local doctor called “The Adventures of Little everything inside the Cleveland Museum of Art. in Pittsburgh. Bud and Mr. Pleomorph,” out this month. “Yeah, I say that all the time,” says Tinsley. “The There, Tinsley worked as an art director for However, Tinsley is most proud of his work at only thing is that when you say something like Images Fine Art Gallery, and an artist at the Helen S. Brown. Wayne Glenn Arts Studio. that, some will take you up on it and if you can’t “I really enjoy it,” he says. “When I teach produce that’s one thing. But if Eventually, he returned home drawing from the five perceptions, and you can, it’s another thing.” to Cleveland where he has once the seniors put lines and shapes Luckily, Tinsley never had developed a strong reputation together to create a portrait, they start this problem. Art has always for the quality and speed of looking at their whole world differently. been something he could do his artistry. I’m just teaching them to really look at the things they already have well. “Fast art gets to the point,” inside their own mind,” and says Tinsley. “In my mind, Now at age 55, he teaches that’s no joke. drawing to seniors at the it’s getting the job done. So Helen S. Brown Senior Center if someone says, ‘I need a in East Cleveland. His portrait portrait right now,’ I can classes deal with the five senses do it.” of perception, which incorporate What’s the downside? edges, spaces and relationships to “Well,” he says, light and shadow. “painting fast is not “If you were going to draw a vase really…well, I always and work with the lines,” he says, say it like this: I think it’s about “the shape of the vase is developed how well it is done and not how long it takes.”

Uncovering “At the time, East Cleveland was different,” properties. He also placed pillars on the outside Did You Know? Parker says. The people who criticized his of Rosalind, he says, to represent the start of a Ed Parker’s decision to move there, he says, “didn’t see the historical district. vision I saw when driving down the street.” Back inside Snickerfritz, the art pieces that The Snickerfritz Gallery That vision was more intuitive than anything stand out to me are the sculptures. Parker By Courtney L. Green else. For example, the address at Snickerfritz created a life-sized statue of Chicken George, Cleveland NV contributing writer – 13240 Euclid Ave. – added up to the number the character in Alex Haley’s seminal book 10, a special number for the artist. “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” Last month, I met artist and Snickerfritz art Museum gallery owner Edward E. Parker. Snickerfritz, derived from Parker’s childhood But Parker is now working on a religion series. nickname, has sat on the corner of Rosalind “I’m a faith artist,” he says, “I pray about the I have many questions about him and the and Euclid Avenues for 28 years. Although art.” Sometimes, Parker says, he will even stop of Art gallery. For one, I notice that Snickerfritz offers retired, Parker continues to teach art classes. and stand back from a painting and things “will has over more than just art. There are many services Last year, his students assisted him in painting just appear. Art is a faith walk,” Parker says. such as event planning, a hair salon, a bed and murals on the garages of his bed and breakfast breakfast, apartment, office and class rental space and murals. 30,000 Why so many services? I ask. “We need more,” says Parker, as though to imply that what he works of art has is still not enough. that range over Born and reared in Pittsburgh, Parker moved to Cleveland in 1966, a year after he graduated 5000 years from Central State University in Wilberforce, OH. Though he’d traveled to Chicago and and has one of the California, he decided on Cleveland because of most distinguished its art museum. After settling on Cleveland, he then chose Asian art collections in to move East of the City. Parker remembers the West. people asking him “Why East Cleveland? That’s a bad choice.”

Outside the Snickerfritz Creative Arts Complex. Photo by Josette D. Compton

7 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 East Cleveland Neighborhood Voice

Community News To tackle its vacant properties problem, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, lots will become community parks, gardens City received a $2.25 million grant from the surveyed East Cleveland residents to gauge and extended yards for existing homeowners. federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program which of the city’s problems concerned them East Cleveland Grandmother and foster parent Beverly Nelson, (NSP), an initiative created under President most. Vacant and abandoned properties topped 66, a 43-year Brightwood resident, welcomes Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. their list. to Demolish 150 the possibility of new properties being built on With the grant, the mayor says the City’s East Cleveland corralled help from the non- her street. Abandoned and options were either to demolish vacant and profit Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization abandoned houses or acquire, renovate and “I’m glad they tore [the houses] down,” says Corporation (also known as the Cuyahoga Land Vacant Properties resell them. Nelson. “They were roach and rat infested.” Bank). Funded by fines on delinquent property By M. LaVora Perry A community-organizing group called taxes, the Land Bank helps East Cleveland In the summer of 2005, when Harp moved NV contributing writer Northeast Ohio Alliance of Hope (NOAH), led set long-term goals for demolishing or into a house on Hower Avenue it broke his A bulldozer punches into a rickety house by Executive Director Trevelle Harp, is at the rehabilitating vacant homes and redeveloping heart to see a girl, his neighbor, surrounded on East Cleveland’s Brightwood Avenue, forefront of this issue. cleared land. by drug activity, blighted buildings and heaps producing a thick cloud of smoke. of garbage that were routinely dumped on the In 2009, NOAH staff and volunteers, along with However, not all of East Cleveland’s newly street. Harp says he now has hope for Hower, As dust settles over the pile of debris, I inhale students at Case Western Reserve University’s cleared land is slated for development. Some his former street, because “several of its a rank odor that - in the words of Bob Deskin worst houses have been demolished and the - comes from “rotted wood and rugs, mold” resulting stretches of open land are assembled and raccoon, dog and other animal’s smelly for redevelopment.” droppings. Land Bank president Gus Frangos believes Deskin is president of Lightning Demolition the City is on track for long-term recovery and Excavation, which is commissioned to tear because stakeholders such as residents, down dilapidated houses in East Cleveland. the mayor, University Circle Incorporated, University Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic and The City’s Mayor Gary Norton said that they Case Western Reserve University “are arm in targeted 150 homes for demolition that pose arm and serious. I think the stars are lined up safety threats due to their unstable structures to do good,” Frangos says. and the fact that drug addicts and criminals frequent them. If he is right, the dust and deafening “boom!” of falling bulldozed houses may be signs that, like a star, East Cleveland is rising. Photo by Ami Rizek Photo by M. LaVora Perry Fairfax Neighborhood Voice

P hoto E ssay Soul of a City By Josette D. Compton NV editor and publisher Donald Black Jr., walks across the railroad tracks off East 116th and Harvard Avenue. He stands before them, then snaps a photograph. On the west side, Gabriel Gonzalez rides his bike through a residential neighborhood and at his hip is a camera, which he uses to shoot a tire sitting on the street.

It’s serendipitous moments such as these that continue to define the 15-year friendship and recent collaboration of photographers Black and Gonzalez. In an exhibit set to run next fall, the two will tell the story of Cleveland through images they’ve photographed since 2008. Their collection highlights the obscure beauty of Cleveland that lurks in alleys, on bridges and in neighborhoods. It also speaks to the juxtaposing, yet coincidental bond they share.

Black was reared on the east side and Gonzelez on the west side. They attended the Cleveland School of the Arts, and Ohio University. Then they left Cleveland – Black to New York City and Gonzalez to Athens, OH. Now back in Cleveland, with over 800,000 images in their portfolios, respectively, the two continue to flow with the City’s whimsical rhythm, photographing its metamorphosis through by Gabriel Gonzalez optimistic lenses. Here’s a sneak peak. “I’ve seen the spectrum of the U.S., … and for me, photography is cultural.”

“I’ve been fascinated by bridges and railroads my whole life; and in urban environments, those are the things that section off [neighborhoods] from one another.”

“Cleveland gets slack all the time. So the muse for this project is that we’re tired of people talking bad about our city. It’s a beautiful place.” by Gabriel Gonzalez by Donald Black, Jr. by Donald Black,

9 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Fairfax Neighborhood Voice by Donald Black, Jr.

“We realized that the images we had complement each by Gabriel Gonzalez other. We grew up in two different parts of Cleveland. Gabby is Puerto Rican and grew up on the west side and I’m [African-American and] from the east side.”

“I look for shapes and line patterns. But a lot of it for me is going out and just shooting my journey from the west side to the east side. It’s a stream of consciousness…I came across a catwalk, it was one of those days when it was snowing and no one was walking across it. It was beautiful.” by Donald Black, Jr.

“The muse…hmm…It’s personal. It’s a personal subject matter because it’s home. Cleveland is an awaking of the senses. We know the smell. Our senses are alert.” by Gabriel Gonzalez by Donald Black, Jr. “Named after the year my father was born. He had this fascination with 1940s bikes, so I tend to photograph them a lot. But with this photo, my car broke down, and I had to walk to the rapid station and while I’m walking across the Abbey Road bridge, I look down and I just see this bike hanging on a tree. I’m serious. So, of course, I’m thinking ‘I got to get down there…of course I’m going to be late for work.’ But I took that chance [laughs]…It’s about getting your camera and just shooting and through that, we’re telling this cultural story “When shooting, I try to find something where there’s of Cleveland.” nothing. This image is playing on how we look at pi- geons…it’s my take on how the outside world looks at urban communities. But it also speaks to the concept of freedom. I like how birds can pick up and fly away because they can.”

www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 10 Arts Neighborhood VoicE

INSTALLATION ART best Movie You Want to Hate STAFF PICKS – “The Social Network” Most Important Public Art (Sony/Columbia) BEST OF 2010 Cleveland artists Kidist Getachew, Michael Director: David Fincher Lehto and John S. Thomas are working to Writer: Aaron Sorkin BOOKS Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and expose Clevelanders to something we all take Justin Timberlake Most Memorable Read for granted: Water. Last year, they created “The Warmth of Other Suns” a large-scale waterfall installation, titled (Random House) $30 “Lifeline,” at the Detroit-Superior Bridge, in Isabel Wilkerson hopes that we will all celebrate our abundant Between 1915 and 1970, over six million freshwater supply from Lake Erie. The project also symbolizes a call to action for Cleveland African-Americans left the South for northern Most Revealing Read to help Getachew’s home country Ethiopia. The and western cities. This exodus – largely “Decoded” motivated by racist Jim Crow laws – is the (Spiegel & Grau) $18 country is desperately in need of freshwater. story that Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist Jay-Z Although the team of artists is no longer accepting donations, you can still help the Isabel Wilkerson tells in “The Warmth of In November, Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z released water crisis facing other communities by going David Fincher’s Facebook movie got such Other Suns.” The title, which is derived from his book, “Decoded,” a memoir about his rise the words of author Richard Wright, captures to www.water.org. unequivocally positive reviews that I wanted from the projects to superstar hip-hop status. to hate it. No way could it be as awesome as the hopes and aspirations of three African- -AR Ghostwritten by Journalist Dream Hampton, everyone was making it out to be, right? People Americans, who represent the millions “Decoded” covers a 30-year lifespan in which seemed to spazz-out with adulation for all the of Blacks who courageously escaped the Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, breaks his silence wrong reasons (i.e. it’s one of the few fact- whiplash of economic and racial discrimination and discloses his innermost thoughts. Prior based films of the 21st century that transcends in southern states such as Alabama, Florida to reading ”Decoded” I thought Jay-Z was just the facts). But “The Social Network” deserves and Mississippi. Wilkerson leads with Ida Mae another haughty rapper, but after reading about almost all the critical acclaim it garnered. Gladney, who left sharecropping in Mississippi his background and struggle, I developed a Subject matter notwithstanding, the film is for Chicago and seamlessly introduces newfound respect for him and his art. In this technically superb. Aaron Sorkin’s electric George Starling, who fled Florida for Harlem book, Jay-Z finally relinquishes his reserved, dialogue snags you from scene one and in 1945. Finally, there’s Robert Foster, a ultra-cool cover, and for once, introduces us to doesn’t let you go until the credits roll. The California physician by way of Louisiana, the real Shawn Carter... at least, we think. cinematography is slick, the editing crisp who could not practice medicine in his home -Angel Moss-Parkham and clean. The technical elements manage to state because he was Black. For 15 years, simplify a plot with the complexity of a political Wilkerson interviewed more than 1200 people thriller and the emotional angst of an afternoon for what she calls “the greatest untold story GALLERY soap. To ice the cake, perennially annoying in America.” Through meticulous research, FILM Jesse Eisenberg has found in snarky tycoon “The Warmth of Other Suns,” adds clarity and Mark Zuckerburg perhaps the only role he meaning to an otherwise uneven Black history Best Animated Movie can play that Michael Cera couldn’t play more that is too painful for many of our grandparents The popularity of Disney Pixar’s “Toy Story” and convincingly. to ever tell. “Toy Story 2” generated so much excitement -Sam Allard -Josette D. Compton in the ‘90s that it nearly redefined the cash- making potential of traditional kid-flicks. Its follow-up “Toy Story 3,” debuted last June and grossed $415 million, making it the second most profitable animated film ever. The hilarious, but touching movie about Hippest Gallery our favorite toy heroes, Love going on gallery hops but find the cold “Woody the Cowboy” and weather a bit too daunting? Then check out “Buzz Lightyear,” made it difficult 78th Street Studios at 1300 West 78th St., in to say farewell to the toys we’ve never the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. At 78th owned, but come to love. Street Studios, which is now housed in the From Screen to Skates old American Greetings building, you will find You thought it was over with “Toy Story 3”? artists’ personal studios and galleries, plus Well, guess again. “Toy Story 3 On Ice” will watch them as they work – this is exciting for travel stateside this year, and will stop in art aficionados. But truly, it’s an experience for Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena from anyone. The Studio is open to the public the Jan. 7 to Jan. 17. Tickets start at $15. 3rd Friday of each month. -AMP -Ami Rizek

11 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Arts Neighborhood VoicE

M u s i c The Cleveland Effect

By Gezus Zaire His guitar is best heard on records by music NV contributing writer icons such as Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone and Janis Joplin. A protégé of Sam Cooke, In the last two years of music, it seems that Womack’s songs were covered by the Rolling nothing matters except what is hot. Stones, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Jodeci’s As an active member of Cleveland’s hip-hop K-Ci Hailey and former Destiny’s Child Kelly community, many young artists under age 25 Rowland. His work, like many ‘70s soul tell me that they want to be the first to put singers, has been sampled by L.A. rapper the City “on the map.” Of course, they know Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey. about Bone Thugs-n-Harmony who, in 1996, With no major music awards under his won a Grammy for their hit “Crossroads.” Yet belt, Womack finally recieved his proper these young artists do not know about Bone’s respect in 2009. That’s when he was massive influence on the music industry. inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Their fast-paced raps and harmonized during a rare ceremony in Cleveland. singing has been borrowed by some of Budding Cleveland artists have tough R&B and hip-hop’s most successful artists. acts to follow if they plan to ever achieve Mariah Carey, Usher, Destiny’s Child, Nelly, 50 the greatness of those who came before Cent, Ja-Rule and Justin Timberlake have all them. Over the past 40 years, Clevelanders copied this sound, which was created on have found little to celebrate besides its East 99th and St. Clair. professional sports franchises. But Before Bone’s Grammy win, however, a group its musical stars have been of guys from the Kinsman area were arguably nothing short of champions. the hottest R&B band in the early 1980s. They called themselves the Dazz Band, and in 1982, they also earned a Grammy for their song “Let it Whip,” a song that could be heard in any dance club in the country.

During the 1970s, Ohio was a hotbed for musical talent. Buzz-generating acts such as The Isley Brothers and Bootsy’s Rubber Band emerged out of Cincinnati while the Ohio Players fiercely represented Dayton. Canton’s O’Jays gained significant mainstream success, working with Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia sound; and Steubenville’s Wild Cherry funked-up the charts with the platinum-selling “Play that Funky Music.”

Cleveland’s most unsung artist of the 1970s, however, may be Bobby Womack. He became one music’s best soul singers and musicians. Known by soul music enthusiasts for chart- topping records such as “Woman’s Gotta Have It” and “Lookin’ For a Love,” Womack was also a well sought after session player. Photo by Bill Ebbesen

11 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 12 Glenville Neighborhood Voice

Community News You Make Me Feel PBS Eyes Glenville Like I’m Living a By Dairian Heard NV contributing writer Pee Wee Dream When you hear the word co-op, you may Glenville Titans take think grocery store. But there are many kinds of co-ops [short for cooperatives], which are Florida by storm member- owned businesses. Addison, who was reared in one of many poor By Sam Allard Take for instance, the Evergreen Cooperative Cleveland neighborhoods. When walking NV online editor Laundry located in Glenville. This worker- through the area, he finds a condemned house Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini regional champions. The Glenville team was owned business has received national attention where he used to live. Addison says that looking ought to spend a few afternoons taking notes invited to the tournament after winning the for training, then employing local residents and at his old home is motivation to improve his with Glenville football coaches. city, state and Midwest titles. providing them with opportunities to become community. They competed in the second division against business owners. Not only is the Glenville High School team one PBS then follows him to the University of of the most formidable in the country, but their 15 other teams. The ESPN Wide World of Sports In fall of 2010, the Public Broadcasting Station California, Berkeley. There, he shares his pee wee squad is off the hook. Complex hosted the contests. The Titans lost (PBS) visited Cleveland, to film workers at the experiences with students and staff, by their first match 36-20 to the College Station Laundry for a special called “Fixing the Future,” emphasizing the importance of making a Now, the 12-year-olds who comprise the Raiders, of Texas. But they bounced back in a which aired in December. difference in the world. Glenville Titans of the Greater Cleveland Pop big way against the Winston-Salem Rams of Warner Football League can say something The series focuses on communities throughout After watching the special, it was clear that North Carolina, dominating the consolation that the poor Browns have never been able to match 20-12. the U.S. who are using innovative ways to through the Laundry, Addison is trying to “walk- say: “I’ve been to a Super Bowl.” create sustainable jobs and build prosperity in it” like he “talks-it.” By hiring local residents, Sometimes, championships come by dint of this economy. and offering them an opportunity to understand That’s right. The Titans traveled to Orlando, victorious lineage. Other times they just come and become part of a co-op, he is leaving an Fla., Dec. 6-11 for the ESPN Pop Warner Super The segment on Glenville profiles Laundry from having the right attitude. Fortunately for indelible mark on the world, starting with his Bowl, where they faced off against other U.S. manager Medrick Addison. The camera follows Glenville, there’s no shortage of either. community.

A r t s H e a l t h Wax Poetic Dancing is one of the Glenville students embrace safest methods of exercise the art of spoken word during pregnancy. It helps BY Justin Rutledge NV contributing writer with balance, posture The room where students at Glenville High School eat lunch is dimly lit. It’s set up to mimic and muscle training, all a coffee shop on an open mic night. Before them is a podium, a microphone, a stack of books and of which are important to a woman, who is their guest speaker. maintain during pregnancy A group of students, staff and parents is at Glenville to celebrate the written and spoken as your body changes. word as part of Family Literacy Night. Hosted by the Cleveland-based tutoring program However, during your called City Year, the event was established to encourage students to read and write outside last six to eight weeks of the classroom. But at Family Literacy Night, the students “I felt like people had a chance to open up were not concerned about technology. Their and speak up,” said Gates, who admits he felt “I was impressed,” says R. Williamson, an pregnancy, refrain from attention was set on local author and guest nervous since he had to speak first. “But I came intervention specialist at Glenville. Williamson speaker Victoria Ellison, who talked about her out of my shell. Usually, I don’t speak in front of believes it is important that students express jumping, leaping early life of physical abuse, drug addiction and large groups.” themselves orally because it will help them in homelessness. This inspired her book “Angels and hopping. future situations such as job interviews. The stack of books placed at the front of the Only Stand Where Cherubims Take Flight.” room were part of a book-potluck in which Williamson also said that due to an increased “It was sad,” said Tyshawn Gates, a senior at students were encouraged to peruse titles and focus on technology, the eagerness to Glenville, “but at the same time it was deep. It take some home. This, coupled with the poetry read and write has declined. After all, the shows that no matter what happens you can slam, inspired them to request another spoken number of students attached to their cell push and do better things with your life.” word event that City Year is now planning. phones is staggering. According to the International Association for the Wireless After Ellison’s lecture, several students stood “New experiences and opportunities need to Telecommunications and the marketing before their peers to recite poems. Some be brought to students without the aid of the research firm Harris Interactive, 45 percent of talked about finding the perfect man, while Internet,” Williamson said. “It shows them that U.S. teens reported that their social lives would others covered issues such as conduct and a world exists outside their neighborhood.” “end” or “worsen,” without a cell phone. social change.

13 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Glenville Neighborhood Voice

M y V o i c e I believe, similar to the famed animator keeps me out of trouble. It helps me to think Did You Know? Walt Disney, that we our wasting our most about my actions and focus on what’s in front More than Just Talk valuable resource: our children. I think a strong of me, not behind me. Every year community newspaper could be a powerful tool By C. Victoria Trotter I want to go to college and finish school. And I in helping us to become better stewards of our NV contributing writer think the community could help by coming to Cleveland celebrates communities. Not long ago, while listening to one of my visit and talk to me. They could give me stuff favorite radio talk shows, a guest was asked So I interviewed the 12-year-old girl in Glenville, to do…take me to colleges, show me how Martin Luther what he thought about citizen journalism. not too long ago, and here’s what she wanted college students live or take me to a prison, so to share with the NV: I can see what it’s like for adults there. I want King, Jr. Day “It’s just talk,” he said. to see what I can do good with my life while My name is Desiree Jones. I am 12 years old by hosting a series of This shocked me, because I think citizen I’m still young. and I’m in jail. events, activities and journalism is like the reality TV of the I used to think because I was getting older, I’m here because I decided to steal, stay out newspaper industry. It has the power to impact I could do what I wanted to do, but it can’t performances. Also, many past 10 p.m. on school nights and do other communities in negative and positive ways. In be that way anymore. I have to follow the things adults do. I knew it was wrong, but I museums offer fact, it called to mind the new kid in town, the rules and listen to my mother, who I want to free just didn’t care. So I got sent to DH [Detention Neighborhood Voice, and the impact it will have apologize to for the things I did. Also, I’d like Home] for two weeks. admission. on our communities. to tell other kids to listen to your own self and Will it be just talk? Will it be an outlet for At first, I thought that if I didn’t care things your parents. couldn’t get worse. My mom, aunt and uncle This year MLK Jr. Day is communities to empower themselves? Or an I want my community to know that I feel sad tried to help, but it didn’t make a difference. opportunity that will galvanize Clevelanders so because instead of being in here, I could be Now I realize that I was diggin’ a deep hole for that our actions speak louder than our words? helping you by getting my education and January 17 myself. As I thought about this, I was reminded of a graduating school. for more information I’m going to court next Wednesday. I don’t 12-year-old girl in my community who needs So hopefully, this is my last time in jail. I’m know, they may tell me I’ll be coming back on upcoming events, our help. She needs more than just talk; ready to come home. she needs a community that’s listening and here or going to another jail for kids. Although check out www. prepared to act. I don’t like nothin’ about where I’m at now, it I hope Glenville is listening. positivelycleveland.com Greater University Circle Neighborhood Voice

Cover Story LANGSTON

HugBy Sam Allard hes NV online editor a retrospective

In Langston Hughes, the most outstanding Karamu House, on East 89th Street, is thing to see was his wonder at the world. close enough to Langston’s attic refuge that, had he been there on Dec. 10, 2010, he Karamu House co-founder Rowena Jelliffe probably would have heard the opening night wrote as much in a 1937 letter. “It shone applause for “Black Nativity.” through his deep hurt, his struggle to understand, his gaiety, his fine sense of Hughes’ play, reincarnated once again at humor, his sensitiveness to beauty and his Karamu – this time by tech director Richard deep liking for people.” Norris – is a potent theatrical event. It’s presented in two tonally distinct acts. The As Karamu House opened its annual first is a dramatic retelling of the nativity production of Langston Hughes’ “Black story through hyperactive choreography and Nativity,” the saga of the great writer’s traditional Christmas songs, re-orchestrated relationship with Cleveland, Ohio, bears with gospel flare. repeating. Repeating and rediscovering. The second act feels more or less like It’s a bittersweet love story. James Mercer you’re at church. And it is awesome. The Langston Hughes arrived in Northeast Ohio gospel numbers feel more organic and the in 1916 with his mother and half-sister at performers feel more at home on stage. a time when Cleveland was flourishing. Detroit and Chicago now had the precocious In a 1962 review of the original Broadway city on the lake vying for dominance in the performance, Walter Kerr of the New York mineral industries. Manufacturing was the Herald Tribune remarked that there was an city’s motor and moxie. An extraordinary “inherent piety in syncopation.” The same is demand for manpower had summoned true in 2011 at Karamu. The singers belt their an unprecedented migration of African- praises in defiance of their own vocal chords, Americans from the south. clap and sway and undulate at the command of their spirits, not their dance coach. Langston loved Cleveland, loved the bustle and buzz. He enrolled at Central High School In the song “Jesus is Love,” ensemble and immediately found academic and social member Glen Burchette began in a wispy success. But his home life was constantly in tenor falsetto, like a crystal cobweb, the flux. He’d barely become accustomed to his delicacy and finesse of which silenced the new situation when his mother followed her audience. But the song grew. Grew and husband to Chicago, leaving Langston alone. grew such that by its climax, Burchette had transformed his voice – himself – into He moved to an attic room on East 86th a thundering engine of praise. He was Street, where he survived on hot dogs, rice screaming, stomping, red-faced and jubilant. and literature. Even his fellow cast members were in awe. As if compelled by some magnetic force, the audience had no choice but to stand.

15 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Greater University Circle Neighborhood Voice

Langston Hughes was commissioned to “He lived here at the facility,” said Wilson, of write the play that became “Black Nativity” Hughes. “So it makes sense that his stuff was in 1961 for a Broadway run later that year. But found. If someone came here snooping around Hughes’ involvement at Karamu transpired long after I’d left, they’d probably find 10 or 12 before his success in New York, long before his boxes of mine.” reputation was established at all. Norris thought the manuscripts had been As a teenager living alone in Cleveland, Hughes donated to the Western Reserve Historical found solace in a small cottage on East 38th Society. But any handwritten work by Hughes Street. It was the home of Russell and Rowena was impossible to find – maybe the Karamu Jelliffe, a young couple who had recently materials are simply too vast. moved to Cleveland after finishing graduate Cities are in the habit of claiming famous school at the University of Chicago. The people for their own. A lot of it probably has Jelliffes were undertaking a life of community to do with regional pride. People like to think philanthropy and saw in Langston an ebullient that affinity with – indeed, ownership of – mind who could contribute to their “Community celebrities entitles them to a status upgrade. Settlement.” But most of it’s false advertising. He taught visual arts there – the settlement Not here. At Karamu, as you tap your toes which would later become Karamu House – to a play that Langston Hughes penned, in a and began writing poetry in earnest. theater which bears the names of his mentors a retrospective In 1921, Hughes ventured to New York to study and advocates, where the desk at which he at Columbia University, but vanquished college wrote still sits in the hallway, mere blocks from life after a year for the spunk of Harlem. After his high school home and the library which trotting the globe, and energizing the literary was christened in his memorial, you come contingent of the Harlem Renaissance through to understand that words are more enduring the 1920s, his Cleveland homecoming in the monuments than statues, and these are his. 1930s was a far cry from joyous. This is Langston’s voice. This is Langston’s His mother was suffering from advanced breast indomitable spirit. This is Langston’s home. cancer in Oberlin and Hughes found himself in dire financial straits. After early critical { February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967 } acclaim, he failed to inspire publishers with new material. He considered giving up writing altogether. But once again, the Jelliffes kept him afloat. Refusing to give up on Langston, they offered him what amounted to a playwriting residency at Karamu and purchased his work to keep him writing. At the Western Reserve Historical Society Library, the Karamu file is thick. Every container, hefted from dusty repose for the purposes of investigation and research, seems promising. There’s an alphabetical listing of Karamu performances and publications dating back to the 1940s. There’s a chronological correspondence between the Jelliffes and Cleveland philanthropic organizations. There are meticulous financial records, personnel directories, date books, memorandum and newspaper clippings galore. In one folder, there’s a letter from scholar W.E.B. DuBois to the Jelliffes followed by a play he sent them for consideration at Karamu. In another, there’s a booklet of tips for canvassers in a 1930s fundraising campaign. Everywhere there are drawings, handwritten stage notes, line-item budgets. The files are comprehensive. So where is Langston? Both director Richard Norris and Karamu’s marketing wizard Vivian Wilson claim that boxes of Hughes’ manuscripts were recovered from Karamu in the late 1970s by then-artistic director Mike Malone.

www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 16 Hough Neighborhood Voice

A r t s major cities such as New York and London. generation are still tied to…” Banks says. “Though I’m not a fan of too many mainstream “My films are basically about how I think,” films, that [character] is still perpetuated. So no Banks says. Visually, “they are a cross between Banks Shot matter how hard we think we’ve progressed, graffiti and moving images. I’ve never used we’re still tied to those images.” Cleveland filmmaker chills computers or Photoshop, so everything you see out on the cutting edge on the film is done by hand.” Though it has taken Cleveland some time to acknowledge his work, Banks continues In 1992, Banks debuted “X: The Baby Cinema,” By Josette D. Compton to produce quality, contemplative films that a critically acclaimed short on the sudden NV editor and publisher transcend race and genre, which is not easy. popularity and appropriation of Muslim leader Robert Banks makes movies. Not “Black” Malcolm X. Four years later, he released the The biggest atrocity in art, says Banks, is that movies or “poser” movies, or those passing as documentary “You Can’t Get a Piece of Mind,” it has become “all hype and sensationalism. movies (elongated music videos). He makes art about a struggling Cleveland musician named More people can’t decipher the two and movies. Period. Supie T. It opened to mixed reviews. But in 1999, it has created a multi-billion dollar film But do not misunderstand; Banks is not a snob he turned the camera on society’s obsession industry.” about this. Condescending geek-talk is not with female beauty in a short called “Outlet,” At the start of his career, Banks admits that he his thing. Although, you may want to do your which played at the national Sundance Film wanted to create movies that provoke thought. homework before initiating a conversation with Festival. But with age, that mission has changed. him on motion pictures … or risk getting lost “With ‘Outlet,’ it was my take on modern in a proverbial kaleidoscope of movie history. Now, says Banks, “People need a good lifestyle,” Banks says. “When you take away a kick in the rear-end. They need to When talking to Banks, 44, it is not unusual woman’s smile, what do you have? So that’s be reminded about how to live. for him to reference a U.S. film that dates as why, in the film, I had women squashing tubes The downside of technology is far back as 1896. He may even mention later of toothpaste.” that it fragments us and sadly, we influences such as Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 film Critics tend to toss Banks’ work into the are becoming just as rude and “The Wild Bunch” and George Romero’s iconic “experimental” category, perhaps for his disrespectful to one another as “Night of the Living Dead.” But it is this kind of sometimes eerie (“Motion Picture Genocide”), those divided on race, politics depth that solidifies Banks’ 20-year career as a yet poignant social commentary (“Jaded”) on and religion. This behavior is short-film producer and director. issues such as beauty, sensationalism, violence dumbing us down. So yes, at one While living in Cleveland, he has created 16 and family. His latest project (tentatively titled time I did want people to think. theatrical shorts (less than 20 minutes) and one “Domestic Paranoia”), is on domestication. But now I want them to look at who we are and where we are full-length feature. Now a resident of Hough, “The act of the happy, beautiful housewife going.” Banks continues to create movies that play in making pancakes is something women of my

Photo from “The Films of Robert Banks & Bruce Checefsky” presented at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque.

To upload real-time videos, audio, photos and articles visit www.neighborhood-voice.com

Banks on the set of a film. Photos courtesy of Robert Banks

17 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Hough Neighborhood Voice

M y V o i c e In my generation, bullying has gone from being Although some teens choose to take the Did You Know? shoved into trash cans and lockers to cyber- negative path in life, some of us choose the right My Generation bullying and humiliating someone in public one. I, for one, feel comfortable being young. I because they are different. We sometimes will have a chance at adulthood eventually, but Many famous By Chanda S. Bynum ostracize others to the point of suicide. for now, I’m okay with where I am. Today, teens seem eager to morph into adulthood without enjoying where they are artists, now. I know, because this is my generation – the millennials, as some call us. writers, Instead of listening to advice from our elders, we are, in so many ways, hopping on the horse musicians and falling off of it, fast. Teens no longer try to “fit in”; we “get in,” and actors which is when we jump into life without any idea of how volatile and hard it really is. Most are from the Cleveland of us dream big without realizing that we have area such as to work hard to achieve our goals. There are no hand-outs, plain and simple. We are also distracted by drama and sex. This Tracy Chapman, sex thing consumes us. It’s like the coolest fad next to skinny jeans and color rinses. Victor Schreckengost, Everybody makes sex sound like it’s the coolest thing in the world. When really, all we are doing Harvey Pekar, is playing house before our time. Halle Berry and Speaking of which, my generation is also fascinated with everyone’s sexual orientation. Kid Cudi. They want to know who is heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual; and this sometimes leads to bullying. Little Italy Neighborhood Voice

H e a l t h A r t s Community News At some point, it seems we have all been guilty of shuffling to and from work without ever January is In Search of uttering a “hello” to someone we may see Community every day. The direction in which American National Blood society is headed makes it difficult to connect By Christine Lee and Tom O’Brien with others. Busy work schedules, more time Donor Month. NV contributing writers in front of the TV, air conditioning, fences and The murder of a long-time neighbor forever the disappearance of front porches isolate The need for blood in the changed Peter Lovenheim. The incident made us. In addition to these conditions is the U.S. is constant, and yet him realize that he and his neighbor knew phenomenon of “stranger danger” that has almost nothing about each other. encouraged people to fear those they do not only 3 out of every 100 know. Americans donate. So help So Lovenheim, 50, started to think what might have been different if he knew more. He Given all of this, one might think that it was your community by getting asked himself, “What do we lose living next to difficult for Lovenheim to ask his neighbors together with friends and strangers?” for sleepover dates. Besides his daughter’s embarrassment, Lovenheim experienced little family to donate blood this Such reflections led Lovenheim, who lives trouble. Over half the people he approached How do you month. in Rochester, NY, to write the book “In the said “yes,” and even those who declined were Neighborhood: The Search for Community on still interested in connecting with neighbors. connect with your an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time,” neighbors? Donating blood is based on his newfound relationships with his In addition to fostering a greater sense of neighbors. trust between neighbors, Lovenheim says that Neighborhood Connections easy – just remember such community-building is also practical. He stopped in Cleveland, recently, on a book For example, if neighbors know each other, would like to hear your story. these tips to help prepare tour, and shared what he has learned from sharing tools, recipes or even a repairman’s Send us an email (neighbor- yourself for the procedure: interviews, observations and actual sleepovers phone number can save time and money. Also, with neighbors. in an emergency, knowing your neighbor can [email protected]) save your life. Do not smoke or drink “Honestly, I didn’t think it [sleepovers] was or call us at (216) 393-4641 alcohol 24 hours before crazy,” said Lovenheim. “What’s crazy is living In essence, knowing your neighbors can build next to people, sometimes for decades, and to let us know! donating blood. skills that we all need to live peacefully in this not knowing them. There is no social stigma world. for this, and maybe there should be.” Rest for an hour beforehand. Know your health history. The book chronicles Community News After donating, drink lots of Sadly, Hadley their romantic (and liquids with electrolytes to Cleveland author ultimately tragic) A new market is scheduled to love story through help replenish your body. open in Little Italy later this Paula McLain’s the eyes of Hadley year, according to Ray Kristosik herself. McLain Don’t worry about feeling forthcoming novel read through the of Little Italy Redevelopment light headed or dizzy after tells the story of correspondence Corporation. Murray Hill donating blood, it’s common. of Hemingway Market, on the corner of Murray Hemingway’s first wife and Richardson However, make sure to take in an effort to Hill Road and Paul Avenue will by Sam Allard accurately depict be run by the husband-and- any snacks or juices they NV online editor the cadence and wife tandem Bill and Michele provide to get your sugar It was a line in Ernest Hemingway’s rhythm of the way level back to normal, which memoir “A Moveable Feast” which they spoke to each Buckholtz in a roughly will help ease the symptoms. inspired Cleveland author Paula McLain to other. 1,000 square-foot investigate the story of Hadley Richardson, the In an interview with her publisher, McLain said facility, and will first of Hemingway’s four wives. Do not drive until you are no that the portrait of Hemingway in her novel will sell specialty “I wish I had died before I loved anyone but be slightly different from most readers’ image I t a l i a n longer light headed or dizzy. her,” said Hemingway. of him – the hyper-masculine swagger, all beer and cigarettes and sports. f o o d s . McLain began reading biographies of both Call Hemingway and Richardson, along with “As a young man, he was sensitive and easily Yummy. Hemingway’s early novels, to try to get to the hurt,” McLain said. “That vulnerability alone 1-800-RED-CROSS bottom of their story. will surprise many readers I think.” to schedule an The fruit of her research became the novel For lovers of Hemingway’s work, and for those “The Paris Wife,” out April 2011, from Random fascinated with the Parisian literary ex-pat appointment at a House. Hadley is often known as Hemingway’s scene of the early 20th century, this novel “Paris Wife,” which is where the title originates, promises to be a winning summer read. Also, location near you. but McLain says that she was much more for those interested in supporting the works of fundamental to the rest of Hemingway’s life authors living and writing in Cleveland, “The and career. Paris Wife” is a necessary addition to the library.

19 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 Little Italy Neighborhood Voice

A r t s I sat down with Nancy for a quick interview, NCM: No. I used to teach in private schools and here’s what she had to say. in Buffalo, NY, but now I teach classes on Learning From digital photo, ceramics, graphic design, digital AMP: When did you start studying art? imaging, architectural studies, and drawing an Expert NCM: I actually began taking private art lessons and painting. The abridged history in the first grade. AMP: In which city do you prefer teaching? of a Cleveland artist AMP: Did you always want to be an artist? NCM: I definitely enjoy teaching in Cleveland NCM: Yes. Later, I attended Lake Erie College better than other cities. The students here are and teacher just outside of Cleveland, and graduated Magna more friendly and open. They’re like sponges, Cum Laude with a BFA (Bachelors of Fine Arts). they’re interested and absorb the things I By Angel Moss-Parkham teach. NV general assignment reporter AMP: So what was your first job as an artist? AMP: I do know that the School of NCM: I started off as an advertising artist and I walked into the classroom of Nancy Architecture & Design is a part of the kept that career for 11 years. I also worked C. Murnyack at the Cleveland School of Cleveland Metropolitan School District. for Saks Fifth Avenue, Walt Disney, and J.E. Architecture & Design at John Hay Campus. Do they provide the proper funding for the Caldwell Jewelry, just to name a few. That’s The walls are decorated with art work that courses you teach? when I decided that it was time for me start encompasses photography, drawings and my own business, which led to NCM Studio NCM: The courses I teach require professional paintings. Incorporated. supplies. I bring my personal equipment and I sometimes have to write grants and find other Her students work quietly as though this AMP: What is NCM Studio, Inc.? display is as normal as any classroom’s dull sources to help supplement the funds. NCM: It is a corporate studio, and also an online appearance. But they are here because of AMP: What do you enjoy most about teaching website that allows people to purchase many hopes to one day create art similar to the work at John Hay? things that I create and personalize myself. I around them. sell gifts, awards, yacht club and golf trophies, NCM: Students make a world of difference. Murnyack was once like them. She has been custom dinnerware, and crystal and glass Advanced art courses aren’t offered in most interested in art since childhood, and now she engravings. Cleveland schools, so they appreciate it and take advantage of these opportunities. is an expert in graphic design, photography, AMP: Is it difficult to run your business and drawing and painting, examples of which hang teach at John Hay? And what do you teach on her classroom wall. at the school? Murnyack inside her classroom at the John Hay Campus. Photo by Angel Moss-Parkham University Circle Neighborhood Voice

B u s i n e s s Today, we remain committed to that vision. will enliven the Co-op. One of several projects In the ‘80s, when the Co-op opened, Over the last five years, we have built a strong includes the painting of our walls, which will conventional food was increasingly processed relationship with the Geauga County farmers complement our most recent renovation of and packaged. So consumers who wanted and now offer their delicious cheeses, among a kid’s corner. Here, children are free to play an alternative to industry-produced food other things. We also continue to provide the while their parents shop. started their own buying consortiums or stores. Interestingly, this movement away best bulk and herb sections in the metropolitan Some may remember a second Food Co- from industrialized food production has come area. In addition, the Co-op’s deli service is op on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. full circle, giving rise to a multi-billion dollar matchless, offering members some of the best Unfortunately, our attempt to expand failed and natural foods industry. As the result of building fresh foods and sandwiches in town. cost us dearly. consumer demand for nutritious, safe food, Our history is long and rich. The Co-op sits inside Despite such changes in the last several years, even the most conventional of grocery stores a building we rehabilitated and extended on we are still in business. Although, lately, times now carry organic or local products. land rented from University Circle Incorporated. have been a little tough. The Euclid Corridor The market for food is relatively inelastic — Needless to say, after 40-plus years of serving Project once made accessibility to the store there is not much room for expansion since Cleveland, our store has become more like a quite an adventure; and the influx of shiny people can only consume but so much food, favorite old sweater than something fresh off new grocery stores is impacting our sales. the catwalk. limiting how much food can be sold. The However, we remain optimistic and determined rise in demand for “natural” and organic Right now, we have an in-store campaign that to continue providing excellent service to all food, however, has provided opportunities will raise funds for several arts projects we hope Clevelanders. for growing new businesses catering to this demand and the Cleveland Food Co-op is now Staying Alive facing some serious competition. Pioneering organic store Nonetheless, we remain true to our mission struggles in competitive of providing reasonably priced, high-quality, natural food products while exercising health food market environmental responsibility. Keep in mind too By Allyson L. Robichaud that if you shop with us, since we are locally NV contributing writer owned and operated, much of every dollar spent in our store stays in our community. In the early 1980s, the Cleveland Food Co-op opened its doors in University Circle. For 40 years, we have been planted in this community, and despite all that has changed, We started as a member-owned [cooperative] we hope to stay here another 40 years. operation, whose purpose was to provide locally produced and organic food to Clevelanders. Visit the Co-op at 117th Street and Photo by Josette D. Compton Euclid Avenue.

H e a l t h treatments to the happiness that comes from learning to play a song. The Sound of Music When you walk into a child’s room and you are Using music, arts therapy able to divert her attention away from being sick and unhappy, it changes that child. In fact, to heal children it gives the young patients something to look By Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital forward to every day. Art and music therapy NV contributors can boost a child’s morale, which we know can help immensely during recovery. When we think of therapy, we tend to think of medicinal therapy, physical therapy or The goals of art and music therapy at University psychotherapy. But there is one form of therapy Hospitals Case Medical Center are to encourage that, when combined with traditional medicine, the expression of thoughts and feelings related can help bring a person from the clutches of with illness and hospitalization. This helps disease to the blessings of good health. patients process and work through traumatic experiences associated with long-term hospital Art therapy at University Hospitals is present stays, and it promotes a sense of independence in many different forms. We offer painting, and self control. photography, sculpting, as well as music therapy. This is beneficial to our patients Furthermore, art and music therapy give because it helps to distract their minds from voice to children and families. When words the illness or disease that they are fighting. are not available for creative communication, It also transports them to a more comfortable, art speaks, providing a non-verbal avenue for happier place. problem solving and an opportunity to learn how to positively cope with a dire health At Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, child condition. It is a language without words, life specialists travel each floor with carts full offering a means for individualized and unique of arts and crafts. On many carts there are personal expression. musical instruments that help to calm children Photo courtesy of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospitals Leonard and Joan and move their thoughts away from their Horvitz Tower, opened in 1997, is home to the new Quentin & Elisabeth Alexander Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and will have its outdoor Healing Garden dedicated in early 2011.

21 www.neighborhood-voice.com January 2011 University Circle Neighborhood Voice

M y V o i c e of peace and tranquility. Did You Know This artistry originated in China, and its Golden Girl heritage includes the oldest continuous artistic tradition in the world, dating back to Independent Film Channel’s By Josephine “Jo” Steinhurst about 1600 BC. In the 5th century, Chinese NV contributing writer award-winning art styles began flowing into Japan. My style As a resident of Judson Manor in Greater is influenced by both Chinese and Japanese TV show University Circle, I feel this area has enhanced painting techniques. my career as an Oriental brush painter. I am pleased that my work has been I started studying this art form in my exhibited in one-woman shows in Food Party is seventies after raising a family and serving Vermont and Florida. Locally, my created and hosted by as the director of a public health organization. work has shown at the Howson Cleveland’s own Art Gallery, Cleveland Botanical I began painting at the Morikami Museum Gardens and Eels Gallery at in Florida, which specializes in Japanese Blossom Music Center. art and culture. There, I continued training Thu Tran, with artist Henry Wo and later at the Armory The rich, cultural a graduate of the School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, where environment fostered by my art won first prize. living at Judson Manor has ´ Cleveland Institute of Art. cultivated in me a sense of I am now 87 years old, and have lived peace and harmony, which is with chronic arthritis and back pain for Robert Lloyd of The Los reflected in my artwork. many years. Since my move to Judson, Dr. Angeles Times called Food Daniel Mazanac at Cleveland Clinic’s Center Josephine “Jo” Steinhurst is an accomplished for Spine Health has cared for me. The Oriental brush painter, Cleveland Clinic patient Party “my current favorite treatments I have undergone have allowed and Judson Manor resident. You can find her me to continue my career as a painter at full artwork at www.steinhurst.net/Jo. TV show.” speed. Oriental brush painting, to me, is a contemplative art form that supports a sense WHERE THE ARTS CHANGE LIVES

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE HEALTHY SNACKS DRAMA + MUSIC + VISUAL ARTS SATURDAY PROGRAM {MUSIC} {DANCE} {CAPOEIRA} {SEWING} {DRAMA} {VISUAL ARTS} {PRIVATE INSTRUMENTAL & VOICE LESSONS}

1523 E. 55th Street Cleveland, OH 44103 216.881.1766 www.raineyinstitute.org