Community leaders and residents will come together to honor the work and legacy of some of Cleveland’s most renowned movers and shakers driving social change at the inaugural Greater Cleveland Activism Awards.
Broadcast journalist Harry Boomer will emcee the event, happening at the Agora this Sunday, Sept. 20. The event will also feature musical performances by Q Parker, of the ‘90s R&B group 112, and local artists like Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band and Moises Borges.
Award recipients “demonstrated meaningful and sustained impact,” according to the Greater Cleveland Activism Awards’ founder and organizer, Errol Porter. Porter, a reporter for the City of Cleveland’s TV20, is the stepson of Fred Gray, the legendary civil rights lawyer who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented Rosa Parks.
“We looked at factors such as longevity, community impact, leadership, sacrifice and consistent deeds of service,” he explained. “One of the most important things for us is recognizing people doing things everyone already knew. … Some of [them] really didn’t think people were noticing what they were doing.”
The awards program
Fred Gray will be the event’s keynote speaker. The Alabama native came to Cleveland for law school and graduated from Case Western Reserve University.
A special award will be presented honoring Clevelander Khalid Samad, a longtime activist, who passed away earlier this year. Samad founded Peace in the Hood to prevent gang violence. He also worked as a prevention and investigative specialist for Cleveland’s Gang Task Force.
“Activism belongs to everybody. You don’t have to be famous or wealthy. You don’t have to hold an elected office. You don’t have to wait for thousands of people to agree with you before you begin something. Some of the greatest changes in American history started because ordinary people decided something was wrong, and they were willing to do something about it.”
Errol Porter, founder and organizer of the Greater Cleveland Activism Awards
Proceeds from the awards show will support the creation of the Greater Cleveland Activist Center. The center is a new venture Porter is working on. He hopes to offer leadership development, training, connection and collaboration for Greater Cleveland residents and community leaders.
“Our big goal is to [connect] experienced activists and community leaders with the younger generation, while providing organizations and individuals tools that make their work more effective,” he said.
Meet some of the Greater Cleveland Activism Award winners
Anita Bradley, Northern Ohio Recovery Association
Anita Bradley is the recipient of the Health and Recovery Advocacy Award. Bradley was the executive director of Compass House Inc., the largest residential substance abuse treatment center in Lorain County. She founded the Northern Ohio Recovery Association (NORA) in 2004 and continues to influence programming and develop models for individuals seeking recovery and maintaining sobriety.
“Receiving the Health and Recovery Advocacy Award is deeply meaningful to me because it reminds me of my “why” — why I do what I do and why I remain so committed to the recovery community,” said Bradley.
“What I am most proud of is my ability to understand the recovery community and to be a sober voice for those who may not always have the opportunity or ability to speak for themselves. I strongly believe that this work is a ministry. The recovery community is a network of people, relationships, support and hope — not simply a job.”
Phyllis “Seven” Harris, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
Phyllis “Seven” Harris has been the executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland since 2012 and has overseen some of the center’s biggest changes, including expanded programming for youth, families and seniors and the center’s move to Gordon Square in 2019. She is the recipient of the Greater Cleveland Activism Awards’ first LGBTQ+ Community Leadership Award.
“I feel privileged to contribute to the city that raised me and to represent Greater Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community,” said Harris. “Being Black, LGBTQ+ and visible in leadership carries a responsibility I take seriously. Living openly and working on the front lines of our movement isn’t always easy, but I understand what it can mean for someone to see a Black lesbian leading, speaking and taking up space in the city we call home.”
Shereen Naser, Cleveland Child and Adolescent Research in Education (CARE) Lab
Shereen Naser will receive the Ambassador for Cultural Unity & Justice Award. Naser is the founder and director of the Cleveland Child and Adolescent Research in Education (CARE) Lab at Cleveland State University and a well-known voice within Cleveland’s Arab-American community. Her work focuses on inclusion and cross-cultural cooperation and understanding.
“I am honored to be named for this award,” she said, “though anything that has prompted this recognition really belongs to every incredible Clevelander that continuously refuses the segregation and the subjugation of our communities. Especially right now in a political climate that thrives off of our separation and hopelessness, I am grateful for the powerful, impactful, driven people around me who reject the status quo and continue to fight for something better.”
Honorable mention: Neighbor Up Cleveland also celebrates residents building relationships and bringing their communities together with the Weaver Awards. Twenty individuals and organizations will be recognized and awarded up to $3,000 to support their work. Recipients will be announced in December. Learn more.
