Thursday, June 16 - 6:30-8:00 pm
Tinkham Veale University Center, Ballroom C
Over 100 students, faculty and community members attended The Fixers: Stories from a Greater Cleveland, a screening of two short documentary films and a public dialogue. The Fixers is a collaborative public art project and film series about the democratic process, public policy and who tells Cleveland's story during the 2016 RNC.
Local “fixers,” well-networked locals who work for social and economic equity, were asked what they would tell political decision-makers about how public policy is impacting urban American. In the first film, RA Washington and Jacqueline Greene address the impact of funding for military-grade equipment on civilian policing; Naudia Loftis focuses on young people impacted by neighborhood-level violence in Kinsman in the second film. The evening was moderated by the Social Justice Institute. Panelists included Avidan Cover (Director of the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy and Associate Professor of the CWRU School of Law), Kate Sopko (The Fixers Lead Artist) and the subjects of the films, RA Washington (co-founder of Guide to Kulcher), Jacqueline Greene (an attorney with civil rights firm Friedman and Gilbert), and Naudia Loftis.
In journalism, a fixer is a local who helps a foreign journalist find quick entry into a story, by translating for them and introducing them to people who are in the know. The Fixers: Stories from a Greater Cleveland has sought out Clevelanders who operate like fixers. People who work within large social networks to build Cleveland’s vitality, and social and economic equity were asked what tour of Cleveland they would give RNC delegates if given the opportunity. Their responses are documented in a series of short films, being released serially from May 6 – July 21, 2016. Each release was accompanied by screenings and public dialogues around Cleveland.
Co-sponsored by the CWRU School of Law
View the films here!