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Presidents' Council and Cleveland's
Mayor Frank G. Jackson on Wednesday, June 20th at the
InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center. More than
300 of the area's leadership participated in a discussion on the
results of this comprehensive, 300-page report. A broad-based
representation of elected officials, business, civic and
neighborhood leaders, foundations and media from across the
region attended the briefings.
To ensure that regionalism offered
opportunities for everyone, The Presidents' Council engaged as
the project's consultants The African American Forum on Race and
Regionalism. The Forum is managed and coordinated by Sustainable
Community Development Group, Inc., a not-for-profit company at
the forefront of working with communities, the public and
private sectors on equitable development, environment and
health.
The Forum is
co-chaired by three of the nation's foremost experts in regional
equity: john a. powell, head of the Kirwan Institute for the
Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University; Robert
D. Bullard leads the Environmental Justice Resource Center at
Clark Atlanta University; and Angela Glover Blackwell, president
of PolicyLink, a national nonprofit research, communications,
capacity building, and advocacy organization.
The project was commissioned by the
Presidents' Council and funded by a grant from The Cleveland
Foundation. For more information on the African American Forum
on Race & Regionalism click on the following link:
http://www.aafrr.org
"What has
resulted from the report are clear recommendations that ensure
regional equity," said Lonzo Coleman, chair of the Regionalism's
Project's Steering Committee. "Regional equity must be
intentionally addressed in order to focus on and eventually
eradicate the majority-minority and urban-suburban disparities
in this region. Our goal is to ensure that all people residing
in every neighborhood have the opportunity to prosper. That is
the only way that our region can move toward economic health,
growth and prosperity," he continued. More than 50
policy recommendations identified in the study can serve as a
guide to regional policy reform in Northeast Ohio. The report
includes both short- and long-term recommendations in the most
critical areas - education, economic development, housing,
transportation and public health.
As a result of the research, a key focus as it relates to
regionalism and Northeast Ohio communities includes the
following:
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