Homecoming: Three Black Women Creatives Return to the Land

Homecoming: Three Black Women Creatives Return to the Land in honor of the City of Cleveland Commission on Black Women and Girls. Poets Kelly Harris-DeBerry and Teri Ellen Cross-Davis, and composer Janice Lowe are coming home. Over the course of three days, these creatives will share their art and insights gleaned in Cleveland and beyond. The series kicks off on Thursday, June 29 at 5:30 pm at the Cleveland City Hall Rotunda with a meal, social conversations, and the program. 

The Homecoming Committee is organizing the event in cooperation with the Cleveland City Hall Events Team.

In 2021, Bloomberg published an article indicating that Cleveland was dead last on the "Livability Index" for Black women.  Cleveland was last for educational opportunities and second-to-last regarding health outcomes, as well as, economic outcomes (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-09/the-best-and-worst-cities-for-black-women). Then, in 2022 Cleveland City Council approve the Commission on Black Women and Girls--an "idea... sponsored by Mayor Justin Bibb, and Deborah Gray and Stephanie Howse, council’s two Black women members" (https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/06/cleveland-to-create-commission-on-black-women-and-girls.html) 

We, the "Homecoming Committee" aim to host Black women and girls impacted by historical disparities in Cleveland and their advocates and allies for an evening of art, culture, and impactful conversations. Three native Clevelanders and nationally recognized artists, Poets Kelly Harris-DeBerry and Teri Ellen Cross-Davis, and composer Janice Lowe are coming home to celebrate our city. They will share their experiences as Black women growing up in Cleveland where their gifts were born and honed.