Jay Westbrook
Jay Westbrook
Tamir Rice memorial garden
In 2016 deconstruction was underway at the gazebo at the Cuddell Recreation Center where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by Cleveland police in Nov. of 2014.
Wednesday morning crews began tearing the gazebo down, but it won't be demolished. The gazebo will be preserved and moved to Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago. Led by former City Councilman Jay Westbrook, several Cleveland leaders worked out a plan and had all of the services donated.
"I think that this is more than just Cleveland history," he said. "I think this is national history. I think this goes as far as Trayvon Martin, you know, two young boys in their neighborhood, doing what young boys do, and tragically find themselves dead. That's more than just a local story, that's a national story."
There are plans to still memorialize Tamir at Cudell. Several have talked about putting a stone memorial in place of the gazebo but the plan is still in the works.
Crews started taking the gazebo down around 9:45 a.m, working through the light rain that started Wednesday morning. Several leaders and community activists attended, including Molly Nagin, who designed the Tamir Rice memorial garden, and Sgt. Major Stokes of the Black Man's Army.[1]
"Community organizer"
Writing in the Huffington Post of September 8, 2008, in an article entitled "From Organizer To Elected Official" Democratic Socialists of America member Peter Dreier listed several serving US politicians who had begun their careers as "community organizers". They were US Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Representatives John Lewis of Georgia, Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis of Illinois, Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Linda Sanchez of California, and Donna Edwards of Maryland, Washington House of Representatives Speaker Frank Chopp, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, state legislators Beth Low of Missouri, Michael Foley of Ohio, Gilbert Cedillo of California, Tom Hucker of Maryland, Tony Hill of Florida, and Crystal Peoples of New York, Alameda County (California) Supervisor Nate Miley, City Council members Jay Westbrook of Cleveland, Chuck Turner and Sam Yoon of Boston, and Melvin Carter of St. Paul, and San Francisco School Board member Jane Kim. [2]