FOCUS | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS Educators find creative solutions to long-distance learning, traditions during pandemic. PAGE 10
CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JUNE 8, 2020
SOCIAL JUSTICE
IN THE WAKE OF UNREST, WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOWNTOWN?
Dozens of downtown Cleveland stores and restaurants were boarded up, including Cleveland Clothing Co., after peaceful protests turned destructive. | DAVID KORDALSKI/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
Cleveland retailers express support for protesters, concerns about the city center’s ability to rebound BY MICHELLE JARBOE
Customers were dining Saturday evening, May 30, at Zanzibar on Prospect Avenue when a rioter started slamming a baseball bat into the restaurant’s windows. Employees and patrons joined owner Johnny Hutton, screaming, “Black-owned business! Don’t touch!” to ward off vandals wielding bricks and other projectiles. Hutton, 54, is the son of a Cleveland police officer and one of only a handful of black business owners in the city’s central business district. Late last week, he was sorting through a jumble of emotions — frustration and anxiety among them — surrounding the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and a peaceful downtown demonstration that devolved into a riot, leaving dozens of Cleveland stores and eateries boarded up. See RETAIL on Page 20
Tales of tough times — and moments of hope BY MICHELLE JARBOE AND STAN BULLARD
In the wake of a protest-turned-riot in downtown Cleveland, retailers are regrouping, fundraising and con-
sidering what comes next. Here are the stories of three of them.
NEWSPAPER
VOL. 41, NO. 21 l COPYRIGHT 2020 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Kindness of strangers Looters made off with almost all of the inventory from Intro, a women’s clothing store in downtown Cleveland, after the May 30 protest over George Floyd’s death turned violent. A homeless man brought some of that clothing back. When sisters and co-owners Emily and Elaina Kovach arrived downtown the following Sunday morning, they were greeted by a man who sleeps across the street. His arms were full. See HOPE on Page 20
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Cleveland sports teams, organizations vow to be part of change BY KEVIN KLEPS
On Friday afternoon, May 29, as tensions were rising in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a virtual town hall for all of their employees. Cavs president of business operations Nic Barlage said the gathering, which was led by the organization’s inclusion, diversity, engagement, awareness and leadership team (IDEAL, for short), was “one of the most powerful” he’s experienced in his 15 years as an NBA executive. The town hall was moderated by Kevin Clayton, who joined the organization in 2019 in the newly created role of vice president of diversity, inclusion and engagement. African American staffers who wanted to participate were given the chance to discuss how they have been affected by racism, and white employees with spouses or family members of color shared their experiences. A few hours later, the Cavs released a joint statement, first including the thoughts of two African Americans in
Kevin Clayton, the Cavs’ VP of diversity, inclusion and engagement, moderated a virtual town hall in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. | CONTRIBUTED
leadership positions — head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and general manager Koby Altman — and concluding with the organization saying everyone should respond to Floyd’s death “with a sense of urgency.” See TEAMS on Page 22
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