In a light drizzle at the front door of Cleveland Heights City Hall this evening Kathy Wray Coleman and others addressed the 5 or so commercial news camera crews who were in attendance. This curfew story obviously must have strong commercial news potential.
Cleveland Heights City Hall is located on the Severance Mall campus at the corner of Taylor and Mayfield. There was no police presence, and those 15 or so citizens who attended were a pretty even mix of white and black. The news media was all white.
There is an un-natural and awkward dynamic between the media and those who are involved in the event. The media set up their tripods in a line about 15 feet away from the citizens, and the citizens set up a line parallel with the media - kid of like a firing squad set up . The media are observers of the rally and not part of the rally. Pretty weird - it is all for the TV.
Have you ever organized a public event like a political rally? Seems like a skill which should be taught in public schools – but is not. There were 4 or 5 young people at the rally this evening – they are fortunate to be receiving an education in political activism. I intend to obtain a pdf of the City of Cleveland Heights curfew ordinance and post it here soon.
