EAST 128TH STREET BLOCK CLUB ASSOCIATION INC.

S AT U R D AYSEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Amos Norwood Mini Park12805 Drexmore Road, Cleveland Ohio 44120

(Shaker Square / Buckeye Rd. Neighborhood)

Master of Ceremony; Richard “Dick” Peery

D E D I C AT I O N C E L E B R AT I O N

Public Art Public Art Mural ProjectMural Project

Saint Luke’s Foundation Neighborhood Connection

Cleveland FoundationGeorge W. Codrington Charitable Foundation

LAND-StudioRobyn Minter-Smyers Family

Carole F. HooverBeverly Wooten

Organize Ohio-Shaker Square AllianceBurten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc.

East 128th Street Block Club Association Inc. Greeners, Inc.

Councilman Blaine A. Griffin, Cleveland Ward 6RLR III and Associates, Inc.

Anna Arnold Imagine That . . .

Frederick Burton DesignDanny Carver

MetroHealth FoundationGeorgio Sabino III

East 128th Street Block Club Association Inc. Public Art Project

In partnership

Andrea BoydFuquae BoydDerick BarnesMatthew Grant

Building Bridges Arts CollaborativeWe Just Cookin

Video Services Productions

Carlean AlfordBarbara Cooper

Remmie CrawfordJustin Gaines

Stephen HoodSabrina Humphries

Greg Hunter

Thank you

In September of 2019, the initial meeting was at the home Ali Jamal Boyd (1st Vice

President of the East 128th Street Block Club). In attendance were Ali Boyd, Joy

Johnson (2nd Vice President of the Street Club), Chloe Hopson (Owner of Passport

Program), and Robert L. Render III (President of the Street Club and Ward 6-T

Precinct Committeeman). Also in attendance was Anna Arnold, whom Mr. Boyd

suggested as creator of the Street Club’s public art project given her creation of the

Warrensville Heights public art project. At the meeting, the group agreed that the

mural project needed to educate, illuminate, inspire, and demonstrate the depth,

breadth, length and scope of the contributions that we as a people have made

starting with our presence in Africa through our journey to the Americas, over 400

years to the present day. We also wanted to make sure that we highlighted some of

the African Americans who make up the Cleveland Connection and who also made

significant contributions in the area of religion, civil rights, inventions, science, art,

philanthropy, education, etc. Neighborhood Connection was the first organization to

provide the initial seed money in support of this public art project.

There were other public art projects along Buckeye Road. But, we agreed that the

the Amos Norwood Mini-Park would be the ideal location for this creative public

art initiative. The people in the mural were chosen because of their significant

contributions, influence and impact on society and history.

We are always amazed to learn something else that has been hidden or just

tucked away regarding the greatness of our ancestors and the content of Africa

and its impact on world history and our cultural heritage. The mural begins with

the continate of Africa , the cradle of civilization, King Mansa Musa and Pharaoh

Hatshepsut, considered the most powerful female ruler in Egyptian history.

How it began

Anna Arnold

The Artist

Anna received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drawing and video from

the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1983. She is a prolific entrepreneur/artist

who has produced paintings, sculptures, ceramics and jewelry for nearly 30

years. She has exhibited in over 200 gallery and museum shows and events

across the United States. Not only that, she is known as an innovative and

engaging educator who has been invited to dozens of Cleveland and Ohio

schools, colleges, galleries and museums, Anna has taught hundreds of

children and adults through artists’ residencies, visiting artist programs

and workshops. Anna also has the distinction of being the first African

American in the region to direct a college gallery.

Formerly, Anna held positions as the co-instructor with Cleveland’s Bureau

of Cultural Arts’ “Mural My Neighborhood” educational and job training

program for teens from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the art

instructor at Heights Youth Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland (a

non-profit organization dedicated to transforming children’s lives).

LibationsKhalid Samad, President and CEO, Peace in the Hood

InvocationRev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, Ph.D

Interim Senior Pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

Stand By MeLovisha Jackson, Vocalist

WelcomeRichard “Dick” Peery, Journalist

Cheikh Anta Diop: Poem for the Living Mwatabu S. Okantah, MUNTU Kuntu Energy Poet,

Essayist, professor and vocalist accompanied by Vince Robinson

The ArtistAnna Arnold

Resolution ad ProclamationCouncilman Blaine Griffin, Cleveland Ward 6

Historical PerspectivePaul Hill Jr., Founder & President, NROPI, Inc.

Our Historical LeadersDick Peery

Cleveland IconsRobert L. Render III, President, East 128th Street Block Club and RLR III and Associates, Inc.

UnveilingAli Jamal Boyd, 1st Vice President, East 128th Street Block Club, and Hastag Virgo

Joy D. Johnson, 2nd Vice President, East 128th Street Block Club, and Burten, Bell, Carr Executive Director

GloryLovisha Jackson

AcknowledgmentsR. L. Render, III, President, East 128th Street Block Club

BenedictionRev. Cynthia Smith, Associate Minister, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church

Refreshments are served

Program

Panels 1 & 2 AfricaKing Mansa Musa and Pharaoh Hatshepsut

Panel 3 the Black Madonna

and Child of Poland 1340

Panels 4 & 5 The Middle Passage

Panel 3 the Black Madonna

and Child of Poland 1340

Panel 6 & 7Civil Rights

Panel 8The Literary Giants

- Malcolm X- Coretta Scott King

Panels 9 & 10 Cleveland Icons

Panel 11 The Innovators

Dr. Charles Drew1904 - 1950

Marie Van Brittan Brown1922 - 1999

In October of 2006, former Councilwoman, Pat Britt, Community Development Director, Daryl Rush, residents of East 128th Street, local business owners and a host of family and friends joined newly elected Mayor Frank G. Jackson for the dedication of the East 128th Street/Amos Norwood Mini-Park located at East 128th & Drexmore Road. Peter Rubin, President & CEO of the Coral Company, donated the parcel of land, which was converted into a pocket-park. The funding for the park was provided by several donations from the Cleveland City-Works Program, Neighborhood Connection, the Cleveland Foundation, Manno Landscaping, and the late Rory Turner, a certified architect, who designed the entire mini-park at no cost to the East 128th Street Block Club Association. Eventually, those funds were matched by a $17,000.00 plus gift from Amos Norwood. John Hopkins, Executive Director of the Buckeye Area Development Corporation served as the Block Club’s fiscal agent

Mr. Norwood came to Cleveland at the age of 18 from Eutah, Alabama to become a part-time third-shift attendant at the former Shell gas station located on the corner of South Moreland & Drexmore Road. Within 12 years, he owned the Shell Station, the Sunoco Station on East 130th and Buckeye Road, several apartments and a number of single and two-family homes. He sponsored several little league teams, bowling leagues, the Buckeye Development Corporation Summer Street Festival, the Annual East 128th Street Block Party and numerous other neighborhood events. He was Buckeye’s Black Godfather.

Amos Norwood Mini-Park

List of sponsors, gifts, in-kind contributions, etc.

Amos Norwood Mini-Park:

The Coral CompanyCleveland City Works Program

Neighborhood ConnectionAmos Norwood

Rory Turner, ArchitectBuckeye Area Development Corp.

East 128th Street Block Club Association, Inc.Lawrence “Larry” Francis Manno

City of Cleveland Traffic & EngineeringMayor Frank G. Jackson

Lawrence “Larry” Francis Manno Memorial Rose Garden:

Cleveland Neighborhood ProgressSaint Luke’s Foundation (RAC)

Cleveland Foundationheide rivchun

Gund FoundationKatherine R. Poecze

New Vista EnterprisesBurten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc.

“You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.”

Fannie Lou Hamer

Visit us at our websiteE128thstreetclub.com

Public art adds enormous value to the cultural,aesthetic and economic vitality of a community. It is

now a well-accepted principle of urban designthat public art contributes to a community’s identity,

fosters community pride and a sense of belonging, andenhances the quality of life for its residents and visitors.