CC: What are the best things about Cleveland?
CF: Our natural resources: Ohio Erie Canal, the Cleveland Metro Parks, Lake Erie, and the Cuyahoga River. And the arts scene, with venues like the Grog Shop, Nighttown, Cleveland Public Theater, performance poetry, etc. The arts scene is so live because we have endless talent and diversity here.
CC: What does Cleveland have that no place else has?
CF: Robert Lockwood, Jr, The Beachland Ballroom, and Cool Cleveland.com
CC: The worst things about Cleveland?
CF: When I first moved back here, I ran into intelligent, educated people who were down right ignorant and uninformed (by choice), many were proud of it. It probably stems from being conservative and uncertain in oneself; this seems to be a Cleveland mindset, which keeps us from taking chances and letting creativity run rampant. For example, we'll take an idea out of New York or Minneapolis, shout it out, but don't let any semblance of that idea come from Cleveland first. Also, we don't have the open-mindedness or wherewithal to value and leverage the diversity we have: Latinos from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chinese, Koreans, Hungarians, Nigerians, Indians, Gays, Lesbians, the usual suspect (generic Afro-Ams and white folk), "ultra conservatives" and "bleeding heart liberals". On one level this is a very segregated city (which has advantages as well as disadvantages), so we need to seek each other out. On another level, liberals and conservative cats, head-bangers and Jazz purists, Hip Hop cats and Goths, African Americans that are into their African roots and other Afro-Ams who won't even say A.f.r.i.c.a.n rub elbows every day. Sadly, many of these groups feel superior to their antithesis, especially Liberals and Conservatives, so there isn't much dialog or exchange of ideas throughout all these communities. I think Classicism runs rampant here, but I haven't done any polls on that or anything.
CC: What does Cleveland need to do to become indispensable in the 21st Century?
CF: We need to invest in a systemic process that cultivates risk-taking and random communication: the exchange of ideas across cultural, social, geographic, economic and political lines and intelligent use of leisure time. One idea might be investing in infrastructure for technology that helps us connect across the city and across the world. Another might be involving the arts community in "every" endeavor, like pumpin' up the school system - the arts community can teach others a thing or two about the creative processes and breathe soul into often-lifeless processes that in many cases aren't working. Additionally, Cleveland leaders need to stop making decisions behind closed doors and have open processes (The Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Public Art are really good at this). Some of our leaders get a double whammy by doing things in secret, they rob themselves of an alternative view and incur no goodwill.
CC: What is your greatest contribution to this area?
CF: My daugher! Also, starting Black Box Gallery, an inner city arts center in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, and the county wide art program with Art On Wheels & Cuyahoga County's Board of Mental Retardation; when we first started that program we would have state level art competitions where everyone would be crying at the opening from seeing the beauty and potential of these challenged people. I also started the now defunct Nia Coffeehouse at the Cleveland Museum of Art which received regional attention and brought together various peoples vibin' on the same thing. We rocked it at the museum, in East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, the Flats, the Near West Side...and we took the beauty of poetry, visual art, African dance and Jazz to the Hough neighborhood working with partners in the 'hood. We contributed to the great poetry community we have here in Cleveland, where free speech and diversity thrives. I'm also proud of the time I spent at Imani United Church of Christ teaching Sunday school and teaching in the Imani Bible Institute under Reverend Dr. Monty Norwood. It's fun and humbling how God will use you in spite of what you are. I hope I can pass some of this legacy along to the various people I care for: they are Gay, Lesbian, Redneck, Goth, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Latino, Ghetto, Suburban, young, old, you name it, paired with a true relationship with Christ and involvement and love of the arts.
CC: What do you want to be remembered for?
CF: Oh man! This has to be tongue in cheek: honest, no nonsense, diplomatic, and how I loved turning folks onto the arts, my zest for life and sharing it with others.
CC: What were your failures and what did you learn from it?
CF: When projects fail, many times they are not failures for me, because I won't give up on them. The Nia coffeehouse failed because of expense and audience size. I wasn't able to garner support to get people above me to see the value of it toward the community and to the museum as well. I've learned patience, stick-to-it-iveness, flexibility and global thinking from failures. I listen to who I am and let others see that. God is workin' with me and everybody else can accept me or step off.
CC: Who do you look up to?
CF: My parents. I see a lot of who I am in them; my father was a hilarious story-teller. He'd tell you about a most degrading experience he'd gone through as a child of the Depression growing up in Scottsboro, Alabama and have you rollin' on the floor laughin' yourself to tears. I think my world view is from him. We lived in a working class, Black neighborhood, my dad was a forman with construction companies, a stone mason and architect. Anyways, we had a neighbor who was a wino, plus people strung out on Heron [Heroin], and violence. But my father never railed on anyone, he would laugh about them, but when our wino neighbor would come over, my father and my mom would treat them like anyone else. Once I found this Qu'ran in the basement as a child and I was shocked, I asked my father about it and he said, "If I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, how could I possibly be threatened by anything else?" So he studied it. As a result, I've never shied away from being exposed to new things and giving other things a really good look. The only people I come close to idolizing are Muhammad Ali and Christian recording artist/ evangelist named Keith Green. And my mother, a schoolteacher, gave me great self-esteem in many areas.
CC: Do you have a motto?
CF: Breathe in, breathe out, focusing on action and reaction. Science says, "every action has an equal and opposite reaction", in the hood we say, "what goes around comes around", the Bible, "you reap what you sow". These all focus on action and reaction. But this is more about balanced, natural cooperation: the Browns left Cleveland and created a void; the Raven landed in Baltimore and filled one. The depth of pain inflicted on us Black folk, has in turn birthed the height and breadth of our beautiful culture.
CC: What's the best advice you've heard?
CF: Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
CC: Where are you most likely to hang out?
CF: Lake Erie at the end of MLK, nestled in some rocks with my didgereedo. Also Arabica on Juniper, or roaming around on the Near West Side.
CC: Least likely to hang out?
CF: Now that Tongue and Groove is gone, the Flats.
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