Cleveland: Now! was a public and private funding program for the rehabilitation of neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio initiated by Mayor Carl B. Stokes on May 1, 1968.[1] Local businesses agreed to cooperate with the Stokes administration on the program "to combat the ills of Cleveland's inner city in order to preserve racial peace."[1] The aim of the Now! was to "raise $1.5 billion over 10 years with $177 million projected during the first 2 years to fund youth activities and employment, community centers, health-clinic facilities, housing units, and economic renewal projects."[1]

The program's funding aims were quickly met within the first few months of its initiation.[1] However, on July 23, 1968, the Glenville Shootout occurred. Subsequent revelations found that Fred "Ahmed" Evans, one of the major instigators in the incident, had indirectly received some $6,000 in funds from the program.[2] Donations declined. However, Stokes pulled through and was reelected for a second term in 1969. The Now program continued to actively operate until 1970.[1] Stokes announced that its "last major commitment would be the funding of 4 new community centers."[1] The organization was not formally dissolved until George V. Voinovich assumed office in 1980. The city donated the remaining $220,000 to the Cleveland Foundation to "use for youth employment and low-income housing."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cleveland: Now!". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Evans, Fred "Ahmed"". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

Further reading

  • Moore, Leonard N. (2003). Carl B. Stokes and the Rise of Black Political Power. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252071638.
  • Robenalt, James (2018). Ballots and Bullets: Black Power Politics and Urban Guerrilla Warfare in 1968 Cleveland. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. ISBN 1641603119.
  • Stokes, Carl B. (1973). Promises of Power: A Political Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-067121602-3.
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