November, 2004
STREETVIBES Remembering buddy gray From Streetvibes November 2002 by Jimmy Heath November 15th is the sixth anniversary of the shooting death of our good friend Buddy Gray. It was one of those moments in my life that I will always remember. I’ll never forget the details of that day, the horrible reality of the incident that took his life. My friend Donald Whitehead called me at work on that Friday morning and gave me the news that Buddy had been shot to death. The phone dropped out of my hands in disbelief and shock. I left work immediately and caught a bus back into downtown and Over-the-Rhine to join my friends at The Drop Inn Center, trying to figure out what had happened. I was hoping in my confusion for some sort of kinship with the strangers on that bus, some relief, some recognition of my shock, some assurance that everything was going to be alright. Certainly the whole city had heard what happened to Buddy? I wasn’t alone, was I? It was a long, lonely ride on that crowded bus into downtown. Walking to the Drop Inn Center from the bus stop on that bright, sunny morning, I saw the late morning edition of the Post in a paper rack that coldly announced; BUDDY GRAY SHOT DEAD. How could a man, a man that had helped so many, be dead? I thought that he couldn’t be killed. He had
100th ISSUE
caught inside each one of us. Like a deadly, choking pressure that begins in your gut and pulls at your heart and bends your back. Why do these horrible days become so indelibly etched into our memories? I guess, that is the irony of the heart, of being human. All these memories make us into what we will eventually become
rescued me but could not save himself. The mindless bullets had entered his body and destroyed his flesh. Until that moment, until I saw that indifferent headline in the paper rack, I hadn’t accepted the reality of Buddy’s death. At that moment the truth finally sunk in. Buddy was gone. Taken by violence. I worried about Buddy’s friends and loved ones who were grieving what had happened, and I was dreading the grief I was about to witness at the Drop Inn Center. Access to the Drop Inn Center where Buddy was shot was restricted but Buddy Gray (left) and the late Rev. Maurice McCrackin somehow I made my way through later in life. As Buddy’s life was a the front doors. The cops were long gone and the remnants of what part of me, so was his death. The memory of Buddy’s had happened had been cleaned up. work brought words of comfort and Buddy’s assassin had been arrested on the scene and taken away to jail. admiration from all across the Buddy’s body was being taken care country. And his work and spirit of at University Hospital. Staff and continues to live on to this day. I friends who were not at the hospital see it everywhere, in the buildings, in the people, and in the work he were gathered together at the Drop left behind. This is his legacy and Inn Center. It would be a couple it is what keeps me focused. I hope days until the details of what had happened during the shooting came in the coming years I am up to the task. I hope the good memories of to light. my friendship with Buddy will At that moment though, always remain vivid. there was the grief. The pain was
Donald Whitehead joins the NCH as Executive Director From Streetvibes, February 2002 by Jimmy Heath Donald Whitehead has joined the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) as the newly appointed Executive Director. Formerly, Mr. Whitehead has served as a program supervisor at Goodwill Industries and as Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. A Cincinnati native, Whitehead is breaking new ground by becoming the first AfricanAmerican and first formerly homeless Board President, and now Executive Director of the NCH. The National Coalition for the Homeless is the oldest homeless advocacy group in the nation. Its governing board represents 35 states including the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. “NCH has a strong record in advocacy for the homeless, from the McKinney Act to the Community Investment Housing Trust. NCH has continuously steered America towards real solutions to this countries biggest failure,” Whitehead said. Whitehead will direct four focus areas; housing, income, health and civil rights for the homeless. Whitehead hopes to lead a real grassroots effort to end homelessness. “I’ll bring empathy to my work at NCH,” says Whitehead. “I know what it took to end my own homelessness.” For the last 6 years Whitehead has worked in the community as an activist and an advocate for homeless persons. When asked how he felt about leaving Cincinnati to work in Washington, Whitehead said, “I’ve received so much support from so
many people and groups here, from the Drop Inn Center, ReSTOC, and many others. I have a great deal of gratitude and I have mixed feelings about leaving too. It’s going to be tough. I’ve had a real healing relationship with all of my family here in Cincinnati. I hope to develop a more inclusive environment for homeless people to get involved in their own advocacy.”
Streetvibes 100th Issue Timeline February, 1997 – First issue of Streetvibes published, independently of Cleveland’s Homeless Grapevine. Pat Clifford, director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, remembered the legacy of buddy gray on the first cover. The first printing of Streetvibes was 300 copies. May, 1997 – Streetvibes features a story on the opposition by neighborhood service providers to the proposal for a new Reds Stadium in the neighborhood, fearing its impact on Over-theRhine residents and housing. July, 1997 – Congress finalizes welfare reform, imposing time limits up to five years for continued welfare benefits and granting states greater freedom to impose their own standards for welfare recipients. September, 1997 – All homeless shelters in the city are full. Streetvibes becomes a founding member of the North American Street Newspaper Association and representatives attend the second annual conference. October, 1997 – Streetvibes features an article about the plan to move the location of the Cincinnati School for the Performing Arts (SCPA) to an area near Music Hall, raising concerns about forced relocation of the Drop Inn Center. December, 1997 – ReSTOC, an Over-the-Rhine low-income housing co-operative, breaks ground on buddy’s place. The building provides housing for homeless individuals. The Reverend Maurice McCrackin passes away.
TIMELINE continued on page 4 Donald Whitehead
Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless