The Devil Strip, June 2020

June 2020 · Vol 6 · Issue #6 · thedevilstrip.com

PAGE 9: How to use this magazine in your garden or compost pile

Page 17: Akron Art Museum employee complaints prompt director’s resignation

FREE

PAGE 25: The Akron Pizza Task Force visits Fiesta Pizza & Chicken

The very best care – now under one roof.

Visit our new health center in Boston Heights.

Every child is unique. Their care should be too. At our new health center, you’ll find a wide range of pediatric offerings, from wellness visits to specialized care – all in one convenient location.

To see all the services offered, visit akronchildrens.org/healthcenters.

Akron Children’s Health Center 328 E. Hines Hill Road Boston Heights, Ohio 44236

Akron Children’s is committed to your entire family’s safety. To learn how we’re safeguarding your health, visit akronchildrens.org/COVID19.

ach13701-06_B_Hts Ad_C-19_DevilStrip_v05AR_20200522.indd 1

u o Y k n a h T s! r e k r o

S T A N H Y W E T H A L L & G A R D E N 5/22/20 S

Adventure Happens Every Day

4:49 PM

W l a i t n Esse

When the world stood still, you kept going.

Playgarden Geocaching Butterflies Events & Tours Our season is delayed.

For updated information, follow us at stanhywet.org and on social media.

714 N. Portage Path Akron, OH 44303 330.836.5533

stanhywet.org

In This Issue Summit Artspace 140 East Market Street Akron, Ohio 44308 Board of Directors: Philathia Bolton, April Couch, Emily Dressler, Sharetta Howze, Rita Kelly Madick, Dominic Moore-Dunson, Bhakta Rizal, Hillary Stewart, Audrey Worthington directors@thedevilstrip.com

6

Publisher: Chris Horne chris@thedevilstrip.com Editor-in-Chief: Rosalie Murphy rosalie@thedevilstrip.com Reporters: Public Health: H.L. Comeriato HL@thedevilstrip.com Equity and Inclusion: Noor Hindi noor@thedevilstrip.com Economic Development: Abbey Marshall abbey@thedevilstrip.com

9

10

Art Director: Chris Harvey harvey@thedevilstrip.com Business Development Director: Jessica Goldbourn jessica@thedevilstrip.com Community Outreach Director: Floco Torres floco@thedevilstrip.com

10

Client Solutions Manager: Anna Adelman anna@thedevilstrip.com Digital Manager: Sonia Potter sonia@thedevilstrip.com Distribution Manager: Derek Kreider derek@thedevilstrip.com

13 24

Ad Sales: Derek Kreider, Allyson Smith Copy Editors: Megan Combs, Dave Daly, Emily Dressler, Shannon Farrell Freelance Contributors: Debra Calhoun, Trvaughn Clayton, Kyle Cochrun, Lauren Dangel, Zaïré Talon Daniels, Nic deCourville, Ace Epps, Ken Evans, Charlotte Gintert, Aja Hannah, Charlee Harris, Matthew Hogan, Jillian Holness, Tyron Hoisten, Jamie Keaton, Ted Lehr, Marissa Marangoni, Sandy Maxwell, Brandon Meola, Vanessa Michelle, Yoly Miller, Brittany Nader, Ilenia Pezzaniti, Arrye Rosser, Mark Schweitzer, Marc Lee Shannon, Karla Tipton, Paul Treen, Steve Van Auken, Pat Worden.

Want to help make The Devil Strip? Write to rosalie@thedevilstrip.com.

Find us online: www.thedevilstrip.com facebook.com/thedevilstrip @akrondevilstrip @thedevilstrip

Akron Music, Art & Culture

18

CREATE 5 ON THE COVER: CARLY ZIMMERMAN 6 FINN AND THE INTERGALACTIC LUNCHBOX 7 NOVA’S QUARANTINE EXPLORE 9 HOW TO GARDEN WITH YOUR DEVIL STRIP 10 WILDLIFE AT BEAVER MARSH 12 VINTAGE STRUCTURES: ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL 14 WEST POINT MARKET’S KILLER BROWNIES ARE BACK UNderstand 15 THOUSANDS PROTEST POLICE BRUTALITY IN AKRON 18 AKRON ART MUSEUM EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS PROMPT DIRECTOR’S RESIGNATION 22 A GROCERY WORKER REFLECTS ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

APPLAUD 24 MIZZSHAKE SUM SHARES SMOOTHIE RECIPES 25 FIESTA PIZZA 26 ROID RAGE AND SWELL TIDES LINK UP 25-26 SUMMIT COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH ON STAYING SAFE AS BUSINESSES OPEN reflect: 27 A LETTER TO MY UNBORN BLACK SON 28 SOBER CHRONICLES 29 THE DEVIL STRIP DISPORT 30 URINE LUCK

Our Mission: The Devil Strip connects Akronites to their neighbors, our city and a stronger sense of purpose by sharing stories about the people who make this place unique.

The Devil Strip is published monthly by Random Family LLC. Distribution: The Devil Strip is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Copyright: The entire contents of The Devil Strip are copyright 2020 by Random Family LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials or other content. All editorial, advertising and business correspondence should be sent to the addresses listed above.

26 JUne 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip |

3

I

EDITOR’S NOTE

first heard this chorus, by Akron’s own Take Off Charlie, a few weeks ago while browsing the playlist our own Floco Torres made for us in quarantine.

(Search for “Artist Picks by The Devil Strip” on Spotify!) TOC is a wonderfully earnest band, and their new single “Necessary Change” — an ode to milestones and moving on — hit me at one of those very fragile quarantine moments. You know the ones I’m talking about.

Why can’t things I love never go away?

Why can’t things I’m used to ever stay the same?

It’s so hard to give in and get used to seeing that you were just used to everything but change Necessary change; nothing stays the same — you’ve got to change too.

Summer 2020 is probably going to look really, really different from recent years.

No festivals. No Lock 3. No downtown baseball games, at least not for a few more months. Going to work every day afraid of contracting a virus that anyone could be carrying, including ourselves.

Searching for work alongside thousands of others who are also searching for work. The shuttering of beloved businesses. Getting used to figuring out whether or not somebody is smiling behind their mask.

In my dad’s backyard, there was a tall and mighty tree It would cover us at parties; it kept the grass so fresh and green But just the other day, they came to cut it down

My dad said it was dying; it could fall and hit the house Much has been made of what we’ve learned in quarantine, both about ourselves and about necessary changes to our world. I’m not equipped to add much to that dialogue. But The Devil Strip is now able to help with that more than ever.

As of June 1, our magazine has three full-time reporters. Longtime writer Noor Hindi joins us to cover equity and inclusion in Akron’s institutions and neighborhoods. H.L. Comeriato is now covering public health, and Abbey Marshall will be covering economic development. You’ll get to know them well in the coming months. If you have an idea or a story to share, email any of us. And remember, we’re constantly recruiting and training freelance contributors, regardless of educational background or experience level. We’d love to have you too.

But I guess, now, on the bright side, in my old neighborhood Maybe gray’s in fashion, but some sunshine would feel good And maybe I’m approaching the second act of Sean There is no harm in loving and wanting and missing the things that took place in Sean, Act I To the things we love and want and miss, and to whatever this summer holds, Rosie

What we believe:

STORIES MATTER. We believe the most important stories are the ones we tell ourselves about ourselves, and that this is as true for cities as it is for individuals. For better or worse, every city’s chief storyteller is its media. We take responsibility for our work because we know it shapes the way Akronites see each other, and the way we see each other influences how we treat one another.

OUR WORK IS FOR AKRON. This is our reason for existing, not merely our editorial angle for stories. We are advocates for the city of Akron and allies to its people, so we may be cheerleaders, but that won’t keep us from challenging the city’s flaws. What’s the point of being part of the community if we can’t help make it a better place to live?

4 | The Devil Strip

OUR WORK SHOULD BE DONE WITH AKRON. We would rather build trust through cooperation and collaboration than authority. Our place in the community is alongside it, not standing outside looking in or standing above it looking down.

WE CARE ABOUT YOU, NOT JUST YOUR EYEBALLS. Sometimes, we love a good fight with the status quo. But conflict and antagonism will never be a way of life for us, especially not to boost clicks, views, comments, shares and “eyeballs.” We are watchdogs to hold our leaders accountable, not to keep the neighbors up all night with our barking.

WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS. Our stories humanize the people in our city. We not only want to counter sensationalized

ON THE COVER: Carly Zimmerman Coffee Reflections, 2020 relief print, copper leaf, and coffee grounds. and alarmist reporting but to eventually render it obsolete. We advocate for justice, freedom and equality because those qualities make this city, and our lives, better.

JOURNALISM SHOULD LIVE BEYOND THE PAGE. Information without context or connection is inert. We believe journalism can connect people to each other, our city and even a sense of purpose. Though our work begins on the page, both printed and web, we promote and plan events so people can meet faceto-face where real life still happens.

PEOPLE OVER PROFITS. The local businesses, nonprofits and civic organizations who support The Devil Strip are part of our community and are as vital to our culture as our artists and musicians. That’s why we don’t accept ads for national chains, things in large metros outside Summit County or businesses that profit from the exploitation of women.

We are not a coat hanger for advertising.

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

C

c t F C n h WE GET ONE SHOT AT LIFE, SO LET’S a HAVE FUN. We want our readers to fall in love with Akron (again and again and C again), to buck the temptation to only w live vicariously through the people they t follow online. One thing that makes art, b dance, theatre, music, film, food, civic engagement, biking, hiking, and public “ space so great is that all these things can p bring us together, helping us find new b friends and have fun with the ones we l already have. That makes us all a little m happier. That’s what it’s all about. g m p

What is a devil strip?

The “devil strip” is the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street. The precise origins of the term are unknown, but it’s only used in Akron. Today, the devil strip is what connects residents to the city — its public space, its people and its challenges. The Devil Strip seeks to do the same thing.

C o p c

“ g b

R

thedevilstrip.com

Create

Akron arts, theatre & Literature

IN THIS SECTION: · ON THE COVER: CARLY ZIMMERMAN · FINN AND THE INTERGALACTIC LUNCHBOX · NOVA’S QUARANTINE

‘Everything just got watered and things are able to grow’ Artist and farmer Carly Zimmerman on printmaking, earth tones and local food

by Rosalie Murphy

C

arly Zimmerman graduated from the University of Akron in December. When she started college, she thought she’d be an art teacher. Instead, today, she’s the Assistant Farm Manager at Crown Point Ecology Center in Bath, where she starts seeds, nurtures and harvests vegetables and helps administer a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.

Carly describes herself as “Someone who wants to involve art and community together... That’s why I love printmaking, because it’s very community-driven.”

“In the print shop, there’s always so many people moving around, and we’re always bouncing ideas off each other. It just feels like a family, which is how art should make you feel. It should make you feel good,” Carly says. “That’s what I want my art to represent: Feeling good and pushing through the bullshit.”

Carly prints on handmade paper or other biodegradable materials, using rich palettes of earth tones to communicate calm, balance and abundance.

“After the storm, it’s like everything just got watered, and things are able to grow because of it,” she says.

Rosalie Murphy: How did you find

Akron Music, Art & Culture

printmaking?

Carly Zimmerman: I did a little bit of monoprinting in high school, and in college I took a class, fell in love, loved my professors, and I was like, ‘OK, I want to keep doing this,’ and within a couple semesters I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be one of my majors.’

Right now, I’ve been focusing more on painting, and I’ve been working in my sketchbook a lot, just because I am working full-time now. Always carrying a sketchbook around has been how I’ve continued making. The good thing with the printmaking media that I chose, it’s relief [printing], so I don’t really need a press to do it, unlike other forms of printmaking [that require] all that equipment.

Part of why I’m making [art] now is trying to find this balance of all this instability.

Trying to find balance right now, with everything that’s happening in the world... That’s important to me.

RM: What do you think is next for you?

CZ: I’m growing organic vegetables right now, which is not anything that I went to school for, and I love it so much. I kind of decided that, in my life, I definitely need to make art, and I definitely need to do something involving the environment. In school, I was gathering paper scraps —

people were throwing them away and I was repurposing them — and trying to be as resourceful as I can. Even the linoleum that I’m carving out of is cork linoleum, so it’s biodegradable.

whole message this year — know your farmer, know how this is being grown, and why it’s so important, and just coming out here and being part of it all.

We have volunteers. Come volunteer!

RM: How did you start farming?

CZ: Three years ago, my friend just was like, ‘Hey, do you want to work here?’

I live super close, so I was like, ‘yeah, I need a summer job.’ I love being outside.

A lot of my art is influenced by it; I love earth tones. It kind of all makes sense now, because what my art is representing and what I’m doing out in the field is kind of the same thing — [it’s] what I want my life to be about.

RM: What do you do at Crown Point Ecology Center?

CZ: I’m an assistant farm manager. I help lead our interns; growing seedlings, planting, harvesting; we have a CSA; we have a plant sale. My favorite task is harvesting our vegetables, because it’s like, you’ve been waiting for months and watering and taking care of these plants, and you get that first tomato — it’s what you’ve been working up to. Once we start getting our vegetables, actually being able to pick them out and eat them, literally the fruit of our labor.

RM: What is it that makes you want to make art?

CZ: I feel like I just need to, like, do something with my hands. Having these visions and putting them into a piece of paper or on a canvas... When I’m making art or making a painting, I try to make each part of the painting something that [I’m happy with.] I’ve been working on [my sketchbook] for almost a year now, and I want every page to be something that I’m happy with. So if I don’t like it, I’ll just plop another piece of paper over top of it until I feel satisfied. I know whatever I envision in my head, it’s never going to be like that, so going through that journey of making is really exciting.

See more of Carly’s work at carlyzim. weebly.com or on Instagram at @ carlyzim.

Rosalie Murphy is The Devil Strip’s Editor-in-Chief. Reach her at rosalie@ thedevilstrip.com.

I think it’s important to know where your food is coming from. That’s been our

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 5

Pulled Into the Wormhole Middle-grade author Michael Buckley on Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox

by Lauren Dangel

F

inn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox might sound like an edgy indie band, but it’s actually the title of New York Times bestselling author and Akron native Michael Buckley’s latest work for middlegrade readers.

I spoke with Michael about his latest work, his experience recovering from COVID-19 and how he predicts these unprecedented circumstances will shape this generation of kids.

Middle school is awkward enough, but for 11-year-old Finn Foley in the Finniverse Series, things are downright rough.

There’s a new school, a new city and bully Lincoln Sidana. Who would have thought it would be a unicorn lunchbox that would shake things up even more?

One day Finn mistakenly brings his sister’s flashy pink lunchbox to school and opens it, only for a wormhole to pull him in.

Once the wormhole releases Finn, a strange device attaches to his chest. It becomes clear that he needs to keep this alien weapon away from the Plague, a locust-like alien race that has conquered civilizations far beyond Earth. To stop the chaos, he will have to join forces with Lincoln as well as Julep Li, his crush. The question is, can Finn and the crew save the universe from destruction?

For this action and adventure book, Michael drew inspiration from the wit of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

“It was so fun and funny and bizarre, and it reminded me a little bit of, like, Monty Python, which I grew up loving,” Michael says. He wished there was a story like that for his 12-year-old son.

Michael went on to address another inspiration: school lunches. He admits, “My mother, you know, bless her heart, was not a great cook,” and recounted opening up his own lunchbox meals like “mayonnaise and pickle sandwiches!”

This got him to thinking about how most kids have felt that same kind of surprise and disappointment. “It could be good, or it could be really bad.”

Childhood bullying is more visible than ever as social media continues to shape daily life for internet users of all ages.

Michael addresses Lincoln’s frustrating home life, touching on how troubles within families can lead preteens to bully their peers, both in real life and on social media. While he does not excuse bullies’ behavior, he says, “I do think they deserve a little bit more empathy than we give them.”

Michael highlights the selflessness of today’s kids as they give up time with friends and other parts of just being a kid because people have asked them to during the pandemic. As a New Yorker, Michael has seen and heard the cheering and banging of pots and pans in the city windows to honor frontline workers, and suggests people “bang the pots for the kids, too.”

“I would tell the parents to look to the kids on how to behave,” he says.

Our conversation moved toward his recent experience with the novel coronavirus and the pandemic’s impact on preteens. Michael had a “relatively mild” case of COVID-19 and had since recovered at the time of our conversation.

He described a few days of lethargy and fever and losing his senses of taste and smell.

Michael expressed amazement that, despite misinformation and rapidly changing public health recommendations, “the people got together on their own” and made sacrifices together to combat the coronavirus.

On his upcoming book, he says, “It is a book about escape. It’s a book about being able to go anywhere in the universe that you would want to go.”

As many kids feel trapped as social distancing continues, they can find an escape of their own in Finn’s story.

N

l C

Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox is available in hardback at The Learned C Owl and the Akron-Summit County e Public Library. o // Lauren Dangel is a digital content writer and proud Kent State University graduate. She is also a football and hockey contributor for SB Nation’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish blog, One Foot Down.

T s a d c p t q

I w

C N p a i A

T f i s f

A pandemic web series, produced on Zoom

by Charlee Harris

N

ova’s Quarantine is a web series that centers on the lead character, Nova, and her balance of work, life, and self-discovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Creator and Akron native Tyron Hoisten edited most of the series on his iPad over one weekend.

Tyron, who also wrote and directed the series, had the idea and was quickly able to bring the cast together from different cities and states, using the video communication platform Zoom. The end product is a relatable series that forces us to use the new free time brought on by quarantine to self-reflect.

I had the privilege of discussing the series with Tyron over the phone in great detail.

Charlee Harris: The lead character, Nova, is a very educated young professional woman who seems to have a pretty balanced work-life flow. Was it important to you to cast an AfricanAmerican actress in this role?

Tyron Hoisten: Yes, it was important for me to cast all African-Americans in the majority of the roles. I was very strategic about that, and there’s a reason for that. It’s not to put down or say

Akron Music, Art & Culture

Tyron Hoisten on how and why he created “Nova’s Quarantine” that there is something wrong with any other race. It’s just that typically in the media, whether it’s narrative content or otherwise, you tend to see us occupy a certain role. When you think of a doctor, a police officer or a judge, for some, the first person to come to mind may be a white character. That’s how we have seen it in narrative content. So it was important for me to show us occupying more multifaceted roles. I wanted to show us not just as African-Americans but as human beings, because that’s who we are.

CH: Although Nova’s character seems to have it together, her time in quarantine kind of forces her to do some selfevaluation, and she has to confront some hard truths about herself. What has quarantine forced you to realize about yourself?

TH: I learned that I make a lot of excuses, and that sometimes I spend so much time thinking about projects I want to do that I end up thinking myself out of the idea. I have found that I have a lot at my fingertips, and if I just allow my ideas to say in my head too long, they may go away or I may think myself out of them.

So I’ve learned to think innovatively and creatively to do the things I have inside of me to do, tell those stories and be flexible

with the mediums I use to tell them.

CH: In the first episode, we learn that Nova’s relationship with her boyfriend Dwayne came to an abrupt end. Later in the series he finally details why he ended things. Why do you think it was difficult for him to be honest with her during the relationship?

TH: It was difficult for him because they didn’t have good communication, or also what happens to a lot of us is, we are worried about how the other person will interpret it. He was worried his feelings maybe would not be received, and it was easier to just not say anything at all.

CH: As more states move to start reopening and quarantine seems to be coming to an end, what’s next for Nova’s journey?

TH: I’m kind of OK with ending her story here and letting the audience determine what they think may happen next. I could change my mind, but for now, the story ends here for me.

Tyron uses the series not only as a social commentary but also as historical documentation of some of the misinformation and statistics the AfricanAmerican community has faced during

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

the COVID 19 pandemic. He uses news clips from various news outlets that show a larger number of deaths among African-Americans in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, which dismisses the early claims of immunity that circulated in African-American communities online.

The series also showcases the effect the pandemic is having on people who suffer from mental illness. Nova, played

by LaChrisha Brown of Brooklyn, can be seen helping clients who are suffering from anxiety and stress brought on by the quarantine.

The series is funny and smart, making it a breath of fresh air in our current maskfilled world.

To watch the series, search for “Nova’s Quarantine” on YouTube. To keep up with Tyron Hoisten’s work, find him on Facebook or follow @ tyronhoisten on Instagram. // Charlee Harris was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She loves her family, her community and has a passion for creative expression. As an avid arts advocate, she volunteers for the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, is the creative director for the East Ave. Flea Market and has contributed to many local projects.

The Devil Strip

| 7

Stan Hywet outdoor art exhibit includes origami birds and butterflies

by Matthew Hogan

A

new art installation, part of the Winds of Change exhibit opening in the gardens at Stan Hywet in June, symbolizes peace, hope and love.

These origami installations take the shape of a crane, butterfly and dove, respectively, each connecting with core beliefs of the Seiberling family.

But there’s more than meets the eye when visitors come to see Michelle Wilson’s origami designs. She has been experimenting with the medium for 25 years.

“I want the audience to enjoy the whimsy of the art installations. I want them to be fascinated that what they are viewing is actually origami — created by folding a flat surface into a design,” Michelle says.

“I would like the audience to reflect on the deeper meanings of peace, hope and love.”

Michelle is the executive director of Global Ties Akron, a local nonprofit seeking to strengthen ties between Akron and the rest of the world in hopes of building mutual understanding and eliminating negative cultural stereotypes.

The Winds of Change exhibit features three of Michelle’s installations: “Carousel of Peace,” “Wings of Hope,” and “LoveDoves in Flight.”

“The exhibit is a culmination of a lifetime of work in the area of peaceful change, global education, social enterprise,

8 | The Devil Strip

international exchange and citizen diplomacy, all through Global Ties Akron,” Michelle says. “With every origami peace crane, butterfly, dove I fold, I am praying for peace in the world, thinking about how we can better teach our youth about empathy and how to be good civically engaged and globally engaged citizens.”

Michelle’s careers, both artistic and nonprofit, reflect her passion for human connection and breaking down barriers.

“I have had a creative streak since I was a child.” Michelle said. “Just in the past couple years, I have begun to consider myself an ‘artist.’ I just love to experiment and create.”

An Ohio native, Michelle studied at Kent State and decided to stay in the area after graduation.

“Upon graduation from Kent State University with a degree in international relations, I learned about this small NGO that was working with the U.S. Department of State and building localto-global diplomatic ties, working to bring the world into our classrooms and homes, and welcoming the world into our meeting rooms. Needless to say, I was hooked, and have been for 30 years.”

Her career with Global Ties Akron has given Michelle the chance to work with diplomatic leaders from across the globe. She has met Jamaican judges who are writing legislation protecting the rights of LGBTQ people; Iraqi ministers

of education who are creating new education policies; Moroccan basketball star Mohamed Amine Zariat, who is working to improve the lives of his country’s youth; and a Zimbabwean women’s rights activist who puts her life on the line to improve the lives of farm laborers, girls and women.

“What do they all have in common? They have an amazing energy and commitment that you just want to capture. They are the world’s changemakers, making an active difference in the world now. As they visit the U.S and our community, they are gleaning ideas, sharing ideas, and going home to make a bigger difference in the lives of those they touch, both in their own communities and the world.”

A champion for community-wide inclusion, Michelle’s passion for art comes from her desire to bring people from different races, cultures and creeds together. She was on the founding team of the Global Village Festival and the Ohio Welcoming Initiatives Network and is a member of the Akron Area Interfaith Council.

Among all of her community involvement projects, Michelle believes that her most impactful work in Akron comes from helping youth.

“The most important part of this is working with our city’s youth. If we can begin at a young age to teach empathy,

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

compassion and skills to build social and emotional inclusion, then we will have a community that welcomes all,” she says.

Michelle’s work, both internationally and locally, allows her to express her creativity and passion for peaceful change. She first began folding origami when an exchange student from Japan taught her 5-yearold son how to fold. Since then, she has mastered folding in miniature with fine handcrafted papers, making art, jewelry and Calder-inspired kinetic mobiles.

“Whether it is folding origami extremely small and accurately and then creating it into wearable art, or now, folding it large and out of materials that can move with the wind and stay outdoors, I am always looking for new materials and ideas,” Michelle says.

As of this writing, Stan Hywet’s gardens are open free of charge Wednesday-Sunday from 8:30-10 am for seniors and 10 am-3 pm for all guests. The Winds of Change exhibit is located in the gardens. Hours and admission are subject to change throughout the summer season.

To learn more about Global Ties Akron, visit globaltiesakron.org or know-your-world.org. // Matthew Hogan is a PR professional, community activist and local theatre actor.

Photos: Used with permission from Michelle Wilson.

thedevilstrip.com

EXPLORE

IN THIS SECTION: A WRITER AND A WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER GO TO BEAVER MARSH · VINTAGE STRUCTURES: ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL · WEST POINT MARKET’S KILLER BROWNIES NOW FOR SALE ONLINEW

Akron HISTORY, COMMUNITY & CULTURE

Make sure the paper is wet so it doesn’t blow away! I learned the hard way.

Lay the paper down in the garden.

You can always compost the magazine too!

Add two to three inches of topsoil once the paper is down

For best results, tear magazine into strips before composting.

Don’t throw this away when you’re done — garden with It! words and photos by Dave Daly

I

’m sure you archive every issue of The Devil Strip so you can return to those treasured articles of yester-month to revisit experiences and events that are all cancelled this year. But on the off chance you don’t save every copy, I’m going to suggest that you don’t just throw it away or recycle it. Give this blessed periodical a new purpose in your garden!

Wait, what? Garden? Yes, dear reader, garden! Newsprint is perfect for sheet mulching.

What is sheet mulching? As you prepare your garden bed by weeding, aerating and amending the soil, you can add a layer of newspaper under two or three inches of topsoil. This will prevent new weeds from germinating and growing, at least for a few weeks. During this

Akron Music, Art & Culture

time, you can direct seed and transplant vegetables, flowers and fruits into your plot without worrying about competition from fast-growing weedy species.

Don’t get me wrong, I love weeds!

Many of the plants we consider “bad” are incredible in their own right. They are adapted to grow in harsh settings, can produce astonishing amounts of seeds and will frustrate even the most vigilant gardeners. Some are even edible.

Chickweed, a common springtime weed, is delicious in smoothies. Tender young dandelion leaves are great in salads. Poke weed is toxic, but birds get inebriated from the berries and it turns their poop purple!

Anyway, back to sheet mulching. When you lay the newspaper down, have a hose or watering can ready to use. You want to wet the paper so that it doesn’t blow away. (I’ve spent one too many spring

afternoons chasing after newspapers.)

Depending on the amount of paper you have, you can go single or double ply. I don’t see any reason to go thicker, but hey, you do you.

Once you have the garden bed covered, add two to three inches of topsoil.

Completely cover the newspaper. If you leave any edges exposed, moisture will wick off of them and dry the space out. Young plants are susceptible to dry conditions, and the last thing you want to do is kill them at the beginning of the season.

When you plant seeds into the bed, use your hand or a trowel to make hole or row opening. You will most likely tear the newspaper. That’s OK! Remember, we are creating a barrier for weeds, not the roots of our vegetables and flowers.

If you are transplanting crops, you will definitely tear some newspaper. Follow

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

the directions on any seed packets or tags that come with the seeds and seedlings.

Don’t have enough room to grow food and flowers? Join a community garden!

Feeling antisocial or want to avoid public spaces? At the very least you can compost the magazine! Start a compost pile outside or get a vermicompost bin going under your kitchen table. Your roommates will love it.

Be good to the Earth and treat yourself to some homegrown fruits and vegetables. Invite me over for dinner when the pandemic is over.

Stay gold and go garden! // Dave Daly has been burying and composting The Devil Strip in his garden since 2015. His favorite vegetables are hot peppers and arugula.

The Devil Strip

| 9

A writer and a wildlife photographer go to Beaver Marsh words by Steve Van Auken, photos by Marty Rogers

P

arents struggling with kids in advanced stages of cabin fever can now get federal aid.

I’m not talking about financial help. I’m talking about access to the treasures of nature in our Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The Towpath Trail remains open. Hikers and bikers are instructed to keep a six-foot distance between groups. Most restrooms at trailheads are closed, but porta-potties have been installed.

Exhausted parents cooped-up with bored kids find welcome relief on the trail. The Beaver Marsh section in Akron’s Valley district may be the most lovely and interesting, and most visited, section of the entire trail. If you drive north from Akron on Riverview Road toward Peninsula, you cross Bath Road (where the Great Blue Heron nesting site is located) and then cross Ira Road. Just north of Ira, turn right into the parking lot of the Ira Road trailhead.

Check out the sign that explains how the Beaver Marsh was made by volunteer humans and volunteer beavers. The people cleaned-up the junkyard that

10 | The Devil Strip

afflicted the site. The beavers moved in and used their engineering skills to build the dikes that created a pond and marsh.

These have become a haven for animals and birds.

Park staff have placed models at the trailhead that introduce visitors to the aquatic animals that call the marsh home.

Children can touch a beaver, a muskrat, and the star of the marsh, an otter. They are life-sized and in characteristic poses.

As you turn (left) onto the Towpath, the old canal bed is on your left. You can point out to your child that this big ditch, now full of plant life, was dug using only hand tools like shovels. It used to be full of water and people would travel on it in boats, pulled with ropes by mules who walked right where you are walking.

The Towpath is great for people who want to exercise. They pass on your left, running or biking. But it is even better if you go slow enough to feel the breeze, hear the birds and study the wildflowers.

You do not need a degree in biology to take a child on a nature walk. All you need is curiosity and a little information.

Whether you are new to observing nature or have been doing it all your life, the main theme is the same: All the parts are connected. Animals, birds, bugs, squirrels, frogs, flowers, trees, worms all work

together.

You can help your child think about this by pointing out what the creatures that live here like to eat.

If you come at night, you might see a whole different cast of characters.

Animals that are primarily nocturnal include deer, raccoons, coyotes, owls, beaver, bats and mink. You probably won’t see them, but here and there you can spot their calling-cards. Look closely on your right as you begin the trail. You can see faint paths through the brush made by deer on the move, looking for tasty grass. And if you walk a couple yards beyond the boardwalk up ahead and look to your right you will see trees that beaver have chewed down.

Beside you, in the canal, ducks poke their heads under water to feast on tasty plants. The ducks you see here are most likely mallards. The male has a shiny blue-green head, the female is all brown.

At this point you will have a couple of interesting nature facts to pass to your child. The first is that not all ducks are the same.

You may see a different species, the wood duck, in a little while. Both mallards and wood ducks build nests and have ducklings in the marsh. Distinguishing

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

between them helps children start to look for details in nature. The ability to compare and contrast is an important part of learning to think creatively.

Your child might ask why boy and girl ducks of the same kind look different. In nature, all things happen for a reason.

In this case there are two reasons. One is that the boys need to look sharp to attract the girls. The other reason is that when the female bird sits on her nest, she needs to blend in with her surroundings so that animals like the coyote and fox don’t know she’s there.

When we talk with children about how nature works we walk a line. We want to bring them into the important connections of our world. One of these is that some animals eat other animals.

You probably have a sense of how much information your child is ready for. She or he can likely handle the fact that otters and eagles eat fish and hawks eat mice and birds. You might not want to share with younger children certain other facts, such as that snapping turtles in the marsh pull down and eat ducklings when they can.

Squirrels hang out in the pines that shadow the trail here. Pick up a pinecone to show your child. It contains seeds that are on the menu for squirrels and chipmunks.

thedevilstrip.com

The squirrels are of three types. The largest ones are fox squirrels, and gray squirrels are somewhat smaller. Fox and gray squirrels come in shades of brown, gray and black. You might also spot a small rusty-colored squirrel that moves extremely fast. This is the red squirrel, famous among campers for stealing granola right from under their feet.

Depending on the time of day, you are likely to be treated to a brilliant aerial display. Rough-winged swallows, with their brown backs and cream-colored breasts, flit back and forth above the canal catching insects. They are one of two swallow species found here. Above the marsh, you can see tree swallows with their glossy blue-green backs. Sometimes they get so absorbed in their hunting that they seem to narrowly miss hikers who have stopped to admire them.

A point to make to a child is that going into nature is not like going to Disney World. It is not a curated experience. You might get rained on. You might not see animals or birds because they have minds of their own and have made other plans.

They aren’t robots.

We don’t make nature. Nature makes us.

Less than a quarter of a mile from the trailhead, you arrive at the marsh.

A boardwalk passes over it. It offers observation decks with child-friendly posters introducing citizens of the marsh such as Canada geese, tree swallows, painted turtles and water snakes.

muskrat. Beavers are bigger and rarely seen by day. Otters, rockstars of the marsh, are willfully unreliable in showing themselves. Your best bet is early in the morning or toward evening. On warm days, painted turtles line every available log, soaking up rays. Snapping turtles lurk just below the surface, doing impressions of alligators on the prowl.

The red-winged blackbird makes its nest among the reeds. Bald eagles sometimes appear high overhead, but if you see a large, dark bird soaring above it is much more likely to be a buzzard. Other birds — warblers, rails, coots, mergansers, grebes, swans — visit the marsh at unpredictable times.

If you want to build your knowledge of nature in and around the marsh, consider visiting the Trail Mix shop when it reopens. It is operated by the National Park Service in Peninsula (behind Winking Lizard). They sell laminated fold-out guides to the birds, bugs, trees, wildflowers and animals we are most likely to see around here.

Beaver Marsh offers valuable learning for kids and respite for harried parents at this difficult time. It’s there when you need it. // Steve Van Auken has now lived in Akron long enough to give directions according to where things used to be. He met Marty Rogers at Beaver Marsh.

As you enter the boardwalk, your eye is drawn to the natural complexity. Here are multiple habitats: pond, woodland, meadow, marsh. Each shelters different forms of life. Some are easier to spot than others.

Notice the beaver lodge across the water.

The beaver have moved elsewhere, but the shelter they built of carefully chewed, mounded-up branches sometimes shelters otters or mink.

Somewhere nearby you are likely to spot the stately form of the great blue heron, motionless, hoping an unwary frog, fish, or snake will come close.

At this writing, a Canada goose sits patiently on her nest on a small island.

Her mate paddles around nearby, trying to look intimidating to any intruders. Pairs of wood ducks come and go in the pond and in the channel among the reeds. He sports a multi-colored head and crest, while she goes with basic brown and the white eye-ring that distinguishes her from the female mallard.

If you see a brown furry head tracing a wake in the water, it is probably a

Akron Music, Art & Culture

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 11

St. Thomas Hospital

Above: The original building as viewed from Waters Park. (Photo: Charlotte Gintert/Captured Glimpses)

words and photographs by Charlotte Gintert

N

ormally at this time of year, Akron would be anticipating the annual arrival of thousands of visitors.

Many of them come by motorcycle and their collective roar through the city streets signals to residents that Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) Founder’s Day, June 10, approaches. This year, that familiar sound of June will be absent as the celebration has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

As many Akronites know, A.A. was famously founded in the city in 1935.

Akron has several landmarks well known in the story of A.A., including Dr. Bob’s Home on Ardmore Ave. and the Gate Lodge at Stan Hywet Hall where Henrietta Buckler Seiberling, daughter-in-law of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founder F.A. Seiberling, introduced the co-founders Dr. Bob (Dr. Robert Smith) and Bill W. (Bill Wilson). The June 10 celebration commemorates the date of Dr. Bob’s last drink.

Another important landmark in the history of A.A. and addiction recovery is located just north of the Y-Bridge on North Main Street. St. Thomas Hospital, currently known as Summa Health System - St. Thomas Campus, isn’t significant for its architecture, but for its role in A.A. ‘s history and in modern medicine.

The original hospital building opened in 1922 and was initially operated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. In 1935, the Director of Admissions was Sister Mary Ignatia, an often-forgotten

12 | The Devil Strip

figure of A.A’s history, who knew Dr. Bob professionally through their work at the hospital. The two often discussed alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism was generally viewed solely as an affliction of the spirit or, worse, a character flaw. The common “prescribed” treatments were prayer or willpower.

However, Dr. Bob knew from his personal experience as an alcoholic that achieving sobriety was more complicated than nonalcoholics realized. He and Sr. Ignatia believed that effectively treating the physical health effects of alcoholism, such as withdrawal, in addition to treating mental health were vital to successful recovery.

The two eventually designed what became the nation’s first medical treatment for alcoholism, making St. Thomas the first hospital in the United States to recognize alcoholism as a medical condition. The first patient was admitted to the program on August 16, 1935. The consistent success of the treatments led to the founding of St. Thomas’s alcoholism treatment unit, St. Ignatia Hall, in 1939. More than 5,000 patients were treated during Dr. Bob and Sr. Ignatia’s tenure at St. Ignatia Hall.

Upon successfully completing treatment, patients were awarded a Sacred Heart Badge from Sr. Ignatia, with the promise to return it to her before they drank again. This tradition is carried on by A.A. with the awarding of coins, chips and medallions for members’ sobriety milestones.

Sr. Ignatia continued to head the program

Above: The original front entrance of St. Thomas Hospital (Photo: Charlotte Gintert/Captured Glimpses)

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

thedevilstrip.com

Above: Sister Mary Ignatia and Dr. Bob Smith. The duo created the first medical alcoholic treatment unit in the

Above: St. Thomas Hospital’s garden area. (Photo: Charlotte Gintert/Captured Glimpses)

United States at St. Thomas Hospital in 1935. While Dr. Bob is famous for co-founding Alcoholics Anonymous, Sister Ignatia’s role in A.A. is often forgotten. (Photos: Wikicommons)

after Dr. Bob’s death until she was transferred to St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland. She went on to transform that hospital’s alcoholism program and helped patients until her death in 1966.

St. Thomas merged with Akron City Hospital in 1989, creating the Summa Health System. It continued to house Summa’s alcoholic and drug treatment programs as well as the behavioral health department. The hospital rapidly grew far beyond its original footprint, with additions being built at least once every decade since its founding in 1922.

But St. Thomas’ role began to diminish in the last decade as Summa consolidated its services to the main campus on East Market Street. The hospital closed its emergency room in 2014. As of the fall of 2019, the only Summa departments still in St. Thomas were behavioral health and wound care services. The Crystal Clinic moved into a 100,000 sq-ft of the complex no longer used by Summa.

Additional vacant space was rented out by Summa to other organizations, including the International Institute of Akron and Colman Professional Services.

St. Thomas and St. Ignatia Hall have remained pilgrimage sites for A.A. members and are usually featured during Founder’s Day festivities. In 2010, a portion of Olive St. was renamed Dr. Bob’s Way by the City of Akron. The Summa Foundation also commemorated the hospital’s role in alcoholism treatment by erecting a Ohio Historical Marker style plaque in front of the original building.

However, it appears the final chapter of St. Thomas Hospital’s service to medicine has begun. In October 2019, Summa announced that it would be vacating the site permanently by 2022.

Groundbreaking for a new behavioral health department near the main campus is set to begin this summer. The Crystal Clinic has already made arrangements to relocate its St. Thomas services to their other locations. The other tenants have not announced their relocation plans.

Unfortunately, the fate of one of Akron’s most significant historic buildings remains unknown.

According to Summa’s 2019 press release, St. Thomas requires $28 to $30 million in updates. As of this writing, no announcement has been made about a potential buyer. The impending merger of Summa and Beaumont Health, currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, does not appear to have changed the decision on St. Thomas’ future sale. // Charlotte Gintert is an archaeologist and a photographer. Her favorite quarantine activities are concocting gourmet hotdog recipes and telling her cats repeatedly that they are the very best cats. You can check out her photos at www.capturedglimpses.com and follow her on Instagram at @capturedglimpses.

Right: The Summa Foundation erected this Ohio Historic Marker style plaque to commemorate the hospital’s pivotal role in alcoholism treatment and its relationship with

Akron Music, Art & Culture

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 13

The comfort food we need this spring West Point Market’s Killer Brownies are now available online

words and photos by Ken Evans

W

ith the long-term effects of the COIVD-19 pandemic still unknown and the normal rhythms of life still out of reach for many, the need for comfort food has possibly never been greater.

retail store was involved. I thought, with what we do with food, it really lends itself to online sales with signature recipes.”

According to Rick, between regular and seasonal items, West Point Market has more than 400 unique recipes, including almost 100 from cheese spreads alone.

Luckily, in what can only be described as an act of good timing, West Point Market’s signature Killer Brownies have returned to Akron. And if successful, they may prove to be merely the first West Point Market treat to be resurrected.

Additionally, the brownies made a good candidate for online sales because they can be shipped frozen and their dense texture proves perfect for long-term storage, lasting four weeks in the fridge and up to six months in the freezer.

West Point Market was an Akron staple until their retail store closed in 2018 after 82 years of operation. But the closing of the physical West Point store did little to deter demand for the retailer’s signature products, particularly their brownies. The triple-layer brownies were uniquely dense and flavourful and one of the original store’s most popular items.

With the store now closed and the bakery equipment gone, Rick had to restart the process of making the Killer Brownies completely from scratch. Adjusting a recipe developed for a large in-store bakery down to something suited for his new cottage industry took months.

This demand, coupled with a still-loyal West Point customer base, allowed owner Rick Vernon to attempt an allonline model for West Point’s signature products.

“It took me about six months to convert the recipe down to an amount I could handle,” Rick says. “We tried out the flavors and taste-tested them and we came up with what we thought was as good as the triple-layer brownie we had.”

“I wanted to start with the brownies.

That was the most obvious choice for me, especially online,” Rick says.

This time at home also proved to be a good space to learn e-commerce. “The postal service has been great,” Rick says.

“They support small businesses in a big way.”

West Point Market had offered brownies and a few other items online before, but Rick thought that the store could have done more. “I always wanted to do a larger presence online, even when the

As more requests for brownies came in, Rick transitioned to more of a “ghost kitchen”-style model with a local bakery.

14 | The Devil Strip

For now, though, the operation remains small, consisting of just his family and one other helper. “We got our systems down pretty good right now. We can do quite a lot of volume with just a few people, Rick says.

Rick’s family is selling every brownie they can make, not just in Northeast Ohio but in every corner of the United States. “I have shipped to every state but Hawaii,” Rick says, including regular orders to Florida, California, and New York. And to his surprise, it’s the largest boxes of brownies that he sells the most of, speculating that people like to keep them frozen and pull them out a few at a time.

As for changes to the brownies, they are a bit bigger than they were in the past — about a third of a pound, enough to serve two people. They also have new flavors in addition to the classic. Currently available are eight flavors: original, no-nut, ruby red raspberry, peanut butter, brown sugar blondie, creme de menthe, cherry amaretto, and Rick’s personal favorite, bourbon pecan. Brownies can be bought individually or in packs of four, eight, or 10. Classic West Point Market-style gift wrapping is also available for brownie packs.

“Holidays are big for me, and I usually try to release a new flavor once a month.

The new flavor right now is cherry amaretto,” Rick says. He is currently working on flavors influenced by Meyer lemons, Grand Marnier, and Kahlua Coffee Liqueur. Rick explains that the liquor/liqueur based flavors have been

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

well received and were inspired by the popularity of the liquor/liqueur chocolates that West Point Market sold every Christmas.

“I am just planning for the future and taking one step at a time,” Rick says.

“We have a lot of great support from the customers we have, and I want to thank them especially.”

He admits he would be pleased to see an eventual revival of West Point Market, but for now, he is focused on the brownies and the possible return of some of West Point’s signature cheese spreads. This attitude goes beyond him just sticking to what he knows — Rick believes that signature local products, if done right, are basically “Amazon-proof.”

While the exact start date is yet to be announced, West Point brownies will soon be available at Pandora’s Cupcakes in Montrose. This will not only help brownie fans save on shipping but will allow Rick to enjoy a treat he has been looking forward to for some time — interacting with his customers again.

To purchase Killer Brownies, visit www.wpmbrownies.com. // Ken Evans finds himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

thedevilstrip.com

Understand

Akron challenges & solutions

IN THIS SECTION: A GROCERY WORKER ON HER PANDEMIC EXPERIENCE · AKRON ART MUSEUM SEARCHES FOR NEW DIRECTOR AFTER MONTHS OF EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS

As protests sweep the country, Akronites speak out against police brutality

by Noor Hindi

O

n May 30 and 31, thousands of people in Akron gathered for protests, marches and vigils for George Floyd, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25.

On Saturday, hours of demonstration took place. Hundreds of people walked through Downtown, West Hill and Highland Square to protest police brutality. Another group gathered at Second Baptist Church in the evening to march downtown and gather outside the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center. They chanted, read poetry and voiced their concerns to dozens of police officers who stood outside the building.

Above: Protesters gather in downtown Akron on Saturday, May 30.

(Photos: Garrick Black/NOIR Creative)

Akron Music, Art & Culture

After the majority of demonstrators had left downtown on Saturday night, a new group gathered on High Street.

Several protesters told The Devil Strip that someone threw a glass bottle toward police officers and several people

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

followed with plastic bottles. (Police told City Council the following Monday that protesters threw rocks and bottles.)

Witnesses said police responded with tear gas. People reconvened, and police deployed tear gas about an hour later.

Officers marched down High Street in riot gear, pushing the remaining protesters away.

Police chief Kenneth Ball told City Council on Monday that two city vehicles and 11 businesses “suffered some kind of damage,” primarily broken windows, and most as protesters were leaving High Street. Four people were arrested, two

by APD and two by the Summit County Sheriff’s Department.

A group of local mothers organized a third protest Sunday, which drew hundreds of people to Hardesty Park in Wallhaven.

The Saturday evening march was organized by the The Freedom BLOC, a

The Devil Strip

| 15

Akron organizers call for changes to local policing (continued from page 15) Black-led organizing collaborative that seeks to “build Black political power and to equip the Black community with capacity building tools on civic education, civic engagement, campaign management and leadership development.”

Founded in 2016, Freedom BLOC is housed under the leadership of the W.O.M.B (the Way of Mind and Body), a community meeting space for Black youth, adults and families.

At the walk, Reverend Roderick C. Pounds Sr. of Second Baptist Church read a list of demands for the Akron Police Department (APD). Those demands included removing police from Akron Public Schools and replacing them with mental health personnel; mandatory mental health training for all APD offices; and assurances that APD officers patrolling the Black community “are from a similar Black community,” among others.

The Freedom BLOC and The W.O.M.B. have been pushing for reform in the Akron Police Department for more than a decade, says Ray Greene, an affiliated organizer. Green says they fought

16 | The Devil Strip

successfully for APD to outfit officers with body cameras; to hire a police auditor who takes complaints from residents and communicates them to the police chief; and to launch peace circles for youth convicted of nonviolent offenses in lieu of jail time.

Reverend Pounds says these reforms were “tremendously difficult” to enact.

“It took years of hard work and protests and the normal difficulty that is always involved when you make these kinds of requests and changes,” he says.

Despite this, they’ve paid off. Today, if youth are convicted of a nonviolent offense in Akron, rather than going to the juvenile detention center, they are enrolled in a peace circle, which they must attend six to 10 times for two-hour sessions. After the peace circle is over, a meeting is held between the facilitator, the guardians, a community member and someone the child trusts to get to the root cause of the behavioural problems and talk about what the child has learned. The program is organized by the juvenile detention center and APD.

“Normally what you find out is as a result of something that’s going on at home, so you’re able to address it in a holistic way. The community person who is there helps the child understand how this hurts the community, and the support they’re going to give them. And then it creates a place for parents and children to have a safe place to have a conversation about the larger picture and the bigger things that’s going on with the child at home,” says Greene.

Cir L’Bert Jr., Racial Justice Task Force Cochair at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, says it’s important for these demands to be pushed for by the entire community, not just Black leaders.

“A lot of times, [Black politicians] will go for something that is a lot less radical because they feel like they have to protect their standing within the majority community. The more voices you can get on their side saying, ‘this would make a difference,’ the better.”

Over the next year, The Devil Strip hopes to use these demands to inform our reporting on the Akron Police Department’s relationship with Black residents in Akron. If you would like to be involved, please email Equity and Inclusion Reporter Noor Hindi at

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

noor@thedevilstrip.com.

Below are The Freedom BLOC’s list of demands: 1. State and local lawmakers ensure that the police that are patrolling the Black community are from a similar Black community and/or have intensive and extensive cultural competency training, along with implicit bias training, and have to volunteer in the community that they are patrolling at least 10 hours per month.

Greene and Rev. Pounds say that police officers who’ve grown up in Akron’s suburbs are often untrained to deal with Akron’s Black residents, especially if their only interaction with Black people is “through the news,” says Greene.

“I think it’s important because the language of the streets and the language of the poor, in a particularly urban community, is different. It’s just a different language. It’s their own language. It’s a valid language. By having these kinds of people trained and having more urbanites and particularly Black males in our police force, it would automatically enhance the communication,” says Rev. Pounds. “A lot of what happens is a direct result of a

thedevilstrip.com

morning, to get his brother dressed for school, his sister dressed for school, his mom’s already going to work, and he had to walk through a drug community just to get to school, and then you wonder why he’s acting up in school,” says Greene.

“That doesn’t require police. That requires compassion and understanding and getting that child to open up and talk about what’s going on.”

Additionally, many in Akron are urging the city to follow Franklin County’s lead in declaring racism as a public health issue.

On Monday, June 1, some Akronites had already begun emailing their councilmembers to demand racism be declared as a public health issue.

“Racism is a public health emergency and a public health crisis that we need to take care of,” says Horrigan.

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus is currently working on legislation to declare racism as a public health crisis.

Rev. Pounds says this legislation is critical.

Left and above: Protesters at Hardesty Park and in Wallhaven on Sunday, May 31. (Photos: Charlotte Gintert/Captured Glimpses)

miscommunication. They don’t know how we talk, to put it down and make it plain.

And these things will only help ensure good communication and everybody can be on the same page.”

The Akron Police Academy graduated its most recent class on May 29. “This class was recruited and trained under new policies that specifically focused on diversity and increasing access to opportunity for all deserving candidates,” Mayor Dan Horrigan said in a written statement. The class included 46 graduates, who were 22% AfricanAmerican, 76% White, and 2% Hispanic, according to the city.

2. The Deputy Mayor, City Council and Police Chief work with community leaders and Black mental health agencies to develop, provide and make mandatory mental health training for all APD officers in order to ensure that our mental health population is treated with dignity and respect.

3. We want 25% of the police budget to go to prevention programs in the inner city and that asset forfeiture programs (money and property seized from illegal activities) be widely publicized to ensure that the folks on the front lines doing the work have the necessary resources to make our community better.

The Freedom BLOC is proposing 25% of the police budget instead be invested in urban communities to ensure grassroots organizations from the community can properly invest in education and outreach

Akron Music, Art & Culture

programs for kids.

“Crime comes from poverty. Crime comes from mental health. So if we use 25% of the police budget to invest in safety measures, opening up the community centers, giving organizations money to continue to do education, to continue to give these kids a place to go after school, you start to create a more holistic person and a safer community,” says Greene.

4. We are demanding that the police auditor be given the necessary tools to investigate properly and discipline rogue police officers and that a Community Civilian Review Board is made up of civilians from each ward and instituted immediately. These tools include but are not limited to subpoena power and disciplinary power to ensure that the Black community is able to build trust that rogue officers will be disciplined and removed from Black communities where they have done harm.

allows them, the citizens, to be involved.

And that’s very important. It would create trust when we know we have our own [people] also reviewing. And we’ve really been pushing for that,” says Rev. Pounds.

5. We are demanding that the police be removed from all public schools and replaced with mental health trained community resource personnel.

The Freedom Bloc would like to see more meditation and counselors in schools addressing the intersection between mental health and disobedience in schools.

“We want to criminalize everything, but if that kid had to get up at 5 o’clock in the

“I think that is crucially important, because it’s about getting the county’s admittance that they recognize the horrific costs and the physical carnage through racism from lynching, to the present day,” says Rev. Pounds. “These are Black bodies and poor bodies that have physically died. And it is indeed a risk to life. And to admit that is to admit also that Black bodies matter. And it does have its health consequences, including death.”

Use the Find my Ward tool to email your councilmember: akroncitycouncil.org/find-my-ward // Noor Hindi covers equity and inclusion for The Devil Strip.

Below: Saturday’s protest. (Photo: Garrick Black/NOIR Creative)

Right now, according to Rev. Pounds and Greene, though the City of Akron has a police auditor, the auditor only has power to investigate and bring that investigation to the police chief, leaving community members and victims no voting power in how police officers are disciplined. Cleveland and Toledo both have civilian police review boards.

“That is one of our most important demands because it

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 17

Above: Akron Art Prize 2015 (Photo: Shane Wynn AkronStock)

‘A preventable disaster:’ Akron Art Museum employees, former chairman say museum’s leaders let them down

by Rosalie Murphy and Noor Hindi

A

kron Art Museum director Mark Masuoka resigned May 19 following weeks of press reports about strife within the museum.

In the weeks prior to Masuoka’s resignation, more than a dozen current and former museum staffers spoke to The Devil Strip. Uniformly, they described an institution lacking in vision and open communication — both before and after June 2019, when 27 art museum employees sent a letter to the Board of Directors alleging instances of racism, sexism and mismanagement from the museum’s top leadership.

At that time, the board hired a law firm to investigate the allegations. Shortly thereafter, two senior employees — who were described in the letter as creating an environment where women and people of color were belittled — left the museum.

But despite their departure, employees say the climate of the museum did not improve.

“We tried to do the right thing. We tried to tell the board. We tried to keep this from the press… It’s our duty to go to the board and do the right thing before we start damaging the reputation of the institution,” says Chrissy Marquardt, who joined the museum in January 2017 as Collections Manager and Exhibitions Registrar. “We want this institution to be serving the community in the way it should be. So that was maybe our fault, for having too much faith in the board,

18 | The Devil Strip

but we wanted them to do the right thing… And that’s why we’re here with the press. Because a year later, it’s worse than it’s ever been.”

“This was a preventable disaster,” says Rick Rogers, a former chairman of the board and a major donor to the museum, in an open letter published by The Devil Strip on May 7. “When I learned of the brewing troubles with the staff in June of 2019 I made repeated attempts in writing and in person to express my concerns to the board’s executive committee. It fell on deaf ears… The board ignored the pleas of their staff and advice from past funders and trustees. Now the result is ruined careers, departure of talent, rock-bottom morale, flight of donors and sullying of the museum’s impeccable reputation.”

The museum declined to comment on the letter from Rogers at the time, and initially, the board defended its handling of the June 2019 letter from employees.

However, on May 19, Akron Art Museum board chair Drew Engles sent a letter to staff announcing Masuoka’s resignation.

According to the May 19 letter, Jon Fiume will serve as interim director of the museum while the Board of Directors searches for a new director. Fiume was Chief Operating Officer of the Mustard Seed Market & Cafe for six years, ending in January. He currently serves on the boards of Leadership Akron and ArtsNow. Masuoka’s resignation “is just the beginning of the process,” Rogers told The Devil Strip. He says the museum’s

importance as a “creative anchor” in Akron cannot be underestimated, and expresses confidence in interim director Jon Fiume.

“The board needs to be held accountable, I believe. The real reason we’re in the pickle we’re in today is because of inaction and bad decisions at the board level, bad board policies, lack of orientation and training, [and] failure to ensure a proper HR function at the museum,” Rogers says. “I think the board needs to understand what their accountability is on this. They need to express that to the community. I’m afraid some of the people who contributed to this problem are still there and drove the bad outcomes. And those people, I think, need to reflect and decide whether or not they should continue on the board or get some training so they can be much better board members.”

and a makeup artist — to create works inspired by the work of Jeff Donaldson, whose work was on display at the museum at the time. These works were presented in the gallery amid Donaldson’s works.

Artists told The Devil Strip that they hope new museum leadership will open the institution’s doors to local artists, and especially to artists of color.

“I think it means really talking to the people you’re looking to engage, and engaging them in a way where you’re asking them what they want, what their strengths are, what their skills are, what they’re interested in and what they understand and what they want to learn, and then really creating work that speaks to the things they’re telling you as opposed to creating things that you think is for them,” says Josy Jones, a theatre artist who worked with the Akron Art Museum and The Devil Strip in 2018 to invite Black artists — a dancer, a musician

Under director Mark Masuoka, AAM lost staff and lacked vision, employees say

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

“I understand what I’m asking for is going to cost you time and money and resources,” Jones says. “But investing in that time and resources up front will make it so much easier, and make what you’re doing so much more inclusive, and make artists and people feel like they are seen and heard and have value to you — that you care about them showing up and continuing to show up, and you’re invested in the quality of their life or what they want or what they think or how they feel. You invest in that, instead of, ‘oh I’m doing this for a grant.’ You’re doing it because you are invested.’”

Mark Masuoka joined the Akron Art Museum in 2013. Very few staff members remained at the museum throughout his tenure — so few that former employees say turnover at AAM was exceptionally high among full-time staff, especially in a region without many jobs available in museums.

“There are not a lot of museum jobs, and usually people stick around in museum jobs,” Marquardt says. “That’s just the way it is. You don’t leave these jobs unless you have another job or it’s just

thedevilstrip.com

something you cannot tolerate anymore.”

An archived version of the museum website’s staff page listed 26 employees on April 1, 2014. Only five of those 26 people were listed on the staff page on May 6.

“Many talented and passionate staff members either left the organization because of his treatment, or were pushed out. Many of them — perhaps most of them — were women or people of color. Many others just pushed through because they had to… If you worked in the arts, there wasn’t really any place else for you to go.”

While they were working at AAM, employees say Masuoka was distant, failed to communicate a clear vision, failed to invest in talented employees and failed to create an environment open to collaboration. Every detail included in this story was corroborated by at least two sources.

Two former employees told The Devil Strip that, during his first week as director, Masuoka converted the staff break room into his office. The break room, which used to have a large table where staff from different departments met for brainstorming sessions, was replaced with a break room a quarter of the size.

According to the letter staff members sent the board in 2019 — first reported on by ArtNews on April 30 — the facilities staff (by far the most diverse department in the museum) were told by thenfacilities manager Craig Arnold, under the direction of then-deputy director Jennifer Shipman, that “they should no longer enter the staff break room, and they should instead take their breaks in the boiler room.”

Masuoka made insensitive comments about Akron’s communities of color, staffers say. In the letter staff members sent to the board, they describe a conversation about the Inside/Out program, which brought pop-up museum exhibits to Akron neighborhoods. (The program was developed in the education department under the leadership of Alison Caplan, whose March 2019 firing encouraged staff to begin organizing.)

Education Alison Caplan was fired in March 2019, current and former employees say. Two museum staffers recall a meeting between Masuoka and staff in spring 2019 at which Masuoka stated, “You’re either with me or against me.” Meetings became “adversarial” and employees say they began to feel threatened.

In June, Masuoka berated educator for family and children’s programs Amanda Crowe in front of patrons and a representative of PNC, a sponsor, at a Family Day event, the employees’ letter alleges. In a subsequent meeting, Crowe says Masuoka told her that she had put families at risk by letting them play on the grass, which he said had recently been fertilized with “cancer-causing” chemicals. Crowe says she spoke to the facilities manager, who confirmed that no such chemicals had been applied to the grass; and that in photos from the event, the signs Masuoka said bordered the lawn were not there.

On May 7, The Devil Strip asked the art museum to respond to three of the letter’s allegations: That Masuoka told

she led fundraising for the construction of the new building. In 2013, shortly after Masuoka was hired, she returned as development director. “There were red flags to me from the very beginning,” Murphy says.

Shortly after she was hired, Murphy says Masuoka told her about two women he wanted to fire, neither of whom worked in development or advancement. Murphy says Masuoka insisted that she join him for the first firing, then to take care of the second herself.

“They were both very strong women, as am I. And I do say, in retrospect, that is not a good combination for that man,” Murphy says. “If you disagree with him, forget it. That was my downfall, too.”

Murphy says she was fired in 2015 for failing to meet fundraising goals.

Afterward, she began working at SPACES, a Cleveland gallery. She says Masuoka called the gallery’s executive director to warn them not to hire her.

The museum environment rapidly changed after former Director of

the staff, “you’re either with me or against me;” that he described residents’ “gangster throwaway phones,” and that he berated Crowe at Family Day. The museum’s response simply declined to comment on Rick Rogers’s letter, which we published the same day.

The Devil Strip also spoke with three people who worked in Omaha during Masuoka’s tenure as Director of the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. They described a similar work environment to that detailed by former AAM employees.

All requested to speak on background due to fear of professional retaliation.

“Of the people that I know who worked with Mark before, during or after my time there… many had encounters with him that echo what the staff at the Akron Art Museum have made public,” says a former Bemis Center employee. “Many talented and passionate staff members either left the organization because of his treatment, or were pushed out. Many of them — perhaps most of them — were women or people of color. Many others just pushed through because they had to… If you worked in the arts, there wasn’t really any place else for you to go.”

Jessica Fijalkovich, who oversaw the Akron Art Library, says that throughout 2019, the museum continued a process it had already begun: phasing out department heads and placing responsibility in the hands of Jennifer Shipman, who reported to Masuoka. By early summer, both the education and curatorial departments were without

According to the letter, when a staff member suggested a program that would allow visitors to interact with artwork via their smartphones, Masuoka said: “I mean, really, how many people in Akron actually have access to a cell phone?

And if they do, it’s probably a gangster throwaway phone.”

The letter also alleges that, throughout the museum, women were treated differently than men.

Carol Murphy worked at the Akron Art Museum from 1996 until 2007, where Above: Akron Art Museum Exterior (Photo: Shane Wynn via: AkronStock)

Akron Music, Art & Culture

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 19

Above: Akron Art Museum sign (Photo: Shane Wynn AkronStock)

directors.

Former employees say that after the law firm ended its investigation, its findings were shared with them in a phone call.

Employees say they were not provided with written copies of the report.

(According to text messages circulated among the staff while listening to the law firm’s call with “the concerned employees of the Akron Art Museum,” the investigation found Crowe’s allegation about Masuoka berating her on Family Day credible, and the application of carcinogenic agents to the lawn where families were playing activities false.)

The Board of Directors released a public statement on May 4, pointing out that “several of the claims raised [by the letter] were not substantiated.” The statement did not offer any additional specifics about the letter’s allegations.

A museum spokesperson wrote in an email: “In June 2019, an anonymous memorandum of concerned employees’ workplace issues, some of which were not current even at the time, was directed to the Akron Art Museum’s Board of Directors. The Board took the concerns raised in the memo seriously and retained a third-party employment law firm to conduct a prompt and comprehensive investigation. That investigation was completed shortly thereafter and, where appropriate, actions were taken to address any substantiated concerns.

Akron Art Museum does not publicly comment on personnel matters and we will have no further comment on the investigation, its findings or actions taken.”

Akron Art Museum board eliminated members’ voting power in September 2019, following investigation

20 | The Devil Strip

When employees contacted the board last summer, Marquadt says they were hopeful: “The board responded almost immediately. It really did feel in the moment that they were going to do the right thing,” she says.

The board hired Kastner Westman & Wilkins LLC, an Akron-based employment law firm, to conduct an investigation.

The firm interviewed employees one-onone, seeking to preserve their anonymity.

In early August, employees say the firm gathered the staff for a conference call and reviewed the letter point by point, explaining which claims were substantiated and which were not.

But in September 2019, within weeks of the conclusion of the investigation, the Akron Art Museum’s Board of Directors voted to change the museum’s code of regulations, removing the ability of museum members to vote on candidates for board seats.

In a recording of the Sept. 24 annual meeting obtained by The Devil Strip, former board president Bruce Rowland reads the recommended change by the board governance committee: “The proposal is to change the Akron Art Museum code of regulations to a selfperpetuating board, where the board of directors elect and terminate the directors instead of designating voting members.”

The change was approved without discussion or explanation.

The museum’s marketing department has not yet responded to a request to share current copies of the institution’s bylaws, code of regulations or its constitution, or to a request to explain the September change.

The Devil Strip found a copy of the museum’s code of regulations, dated August 2013, on the museum’s blog hosted on WordPress, which hasn’t been updated in several months. That version of the regulations says that the museum’s voting membership has the power to: • Elect directors to the board • Increase or decrease the number of seats on the board • Convene a special meeting of the membership Several former employees and members told The Devil Strip that at earlier annual meetings, members approved a slate of new board members with a voice vote.

One former board member, who spoke on background, says the governance change “makes a lot of sense.”

staff members who were scheduled to work that day. For those who were not scheduled to work, the museum paid them for the time spent at the meeting if they chose to attend.

“There are so many members, and they can’t possibly know what’s going on to vote. It never made sense for 1,000 members to come when the board sets policy,” they say. “I think that probably was a bit of housekeeping.”

The Devil Strip contacted eight members of the museum’s board of directors early May. Those who replied to our inquiries either declined to speak or referred questions to the museum’s marketing department.

Some former staff members are skeptical of that explanation due to the timing, however.

Board president Drew Engels wrote in a statement released on May 4: “All the allegations raised in late June 2019 by way of the anonymous employees’ memorandum were taken seriously.

Independent employment law experts were retained by the Museum Board within two days and every concern raised was carefully, thoroughly and confidentially investigated. The anonymity of every concerned employee was preserved throughout the process.

Prompt, appropriate and specific actions were then taken by the Museum Board to comprehensively and directly address any substantiated allegations. Several of the claims raised were not substantiated. As such an investigation involves personnel files, there are rights of privacy that the Museum will not breach. Furthermore,

“It’s quite suspicious that they happened to do this vote pertaining to who gets to decide on hiring and terminating the appointment of the director of the museum right after this major investigation,” says John Aylward, who worked in the visitor services department at the Akron Art Museum before the museum closed due to the pandemic.

Prior to the public board meeting on Sept.

24, board officers Bruce Rowland, Drew Engles and Myriam Haslinger met with AAM staff to discuss the investigation.

Employees say all full-time staff members were present, as well as part-time

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The former board member who spoke to The Devil Strip says that it is not typical for the board of directors to respond to staff members directly. The director’s role is to oversee day-to-day operations of the museum, they say, while the board’s role is to make policy.

But former employees have repeatedly told us that they expected more attention from the board, both before and after the letter that 27 employees sent to the board in June 2019.

thedevilstrip.com

the Museum will not engage in any form of public disclosure even if doing so would be to the benefit of our reputation.”

Several employees told The Devil Strip they didn’t understand why the board hadn’t taken action prior to their letter, since many full-time staff members had left the museum under Masuoka’s tenure.

“It was a strange phenomenon where all these people who were super dedicated to the museum and the institution, and people who had long-standing employment there — [them] quitting didn’t raise red flags to the board,” says Roza Maille, who led the education department’s Inside/Out initiative until 2016.

“The board (primarily the executive committee) needs to be held accountable,” writes donor Rick Rogers.

“The root cause of this fiasco is bad board leadership, lack of enforcement of good governance, and failure to follow proven best practices like board orientation and training, a human resource function, and routine review of the executive director.”

The Devil Strip also contacted several of the museum’s institutional funders. Tracy Burt of the Akron Community Foundation wrote in an email: “It’s interesting timing for us as next week our community investment committee will meet to decide on our arts & culture grant recipients for the year. The allegations against their leadership will certainly be a topic of conversation during those deliberations.”

Akronites Theresa and Steve Brightman, who’ve chosen not to renew their art museum memberships, say they’re displeased with the museum’s board as well.

“I think Masuoka’s resignation is a first step, but I’m still cautiously optimistic because he wasn’t the only problem,” Theresa says. “There was also the issue that the board supported him instead of listening to staff. And if the attitudes of the board don’t change, those problems are going to continue manifesting no matter who is in charge.”

Akron Music, Art & Culture

If you think about it in this case, the little people’s voices didn’t matter until the big people got in trouble. That’s the scary thing about being an artist in this town. Because of the powers in place, you are afraid to speak your truth out of fear of losing what few crumbs are thrown to you. And until that atmosphere of fear dissipates, it’s going to be difficult for any long term changes to occur.”

The Knight Foundation — which endows Masuoka’s position as John S. Knight Chair and CEO of the museum — declined to comment, as did the GAR Foundation.

Artists want a more inclusive Akron Art Museum As the search for a new director begins, Akron-area artists and stakeholders say this is just the beginning of a wider and more comprehensive examination of the state of equity for women and people of color in Akron.

Both before and after Masuoka’s resignation, community members expressed disappointment in the Akron Art Museum’s board of directors.

Artists The Devil Strip spoke to say their trust in the institution has been diminished. Although they praised previous community-oriented projects by the Akron Art Museum — like the Inside|Out Project, which brought art to neighborhoods in Akron, and the Nick Cave performance at Summit Lake — they worry about the future of the institution, since many of the people who led those projects are no longer working at the museum.

“I had this conversation with my best friend a few days ago about the Akron Art Museum. And she said, before I was presented there and they had the Jeff Donaldson exhibit, that she had not been to the Akron Art Museum since she was in grade school. It wasn’t even a thought of ‘oh, let me go in here and explore.’ And if I was planning to go out in Akron, the art museum, if I’m being honest, probably would have been the last place for me to go,” says Jenniva Cummings, a makeup artist who created work live in the museum’s gallery in 2018 as part of the Jeff Donaldson: Dig series, which The Devil Strip helped organize in collaboration with the museum’s education department.

“Being able to see myself in the shadow box, my family members being able to see my name on a plaque, to see the history behind the art which had a lot of meaning to it, I think it made people really comfortable. You want to be able to see that representation. You want to see somebody that looks like you, where you feel like, ‘That’s me….’ You have to create this open, relatable, welcoming space.

And not just on Thursdays when it’s free to the public. There’s got to be more to draw people in.”

Nichole Epps, an artist working in acrylic and ink pen, adds: “There needs to be ongoing interest in communities that don’t frequent the museum. There has to be genuine interest in understanding and learning why these groups of people don’t frequent the museum and wanting to create programming that interests these groups… The board has to reflect that. It’s very difficult to put out a message of inclusion and an equitable space where everyone is represented when the board and the people in a position of power all look the same.

“For me, as a little girl whose parents always exposed me to art, as much as I loved art, I hated the art museum growing up. Nothing looked like me,” Epps adds. “From the people giving the education, even when we would walk through, it wasn’t relatable to me, my life, my experience. And even when there was an African-American exhibit, which only happens during Black History Month, which sends a message to me as a little girl, like, ‘Oh. I only matter during this month.’ It’s your story. You want to feel heard, you want to feel seen. You want to feel like you matter. And if you go into a place and everything around you looks completely different from you, it sends a message that you don’t matter, which means your story doesn’t matter and your voice doesn’t matter and your experience is not important to us.

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

If you think about it in this case, the little people’s voices didn’t matter until the big people got in trouble. That’s the scary thing about being an artist in this town.

Because of the powers in place, you are afraid to speak your truth out of fear of losing what few crumbs are thrown to you. And until that atmosphere of fear dissipates, it’s going to be difficult for any long term changes to occur.”

Lastly, Amber Cullen, lead facilitator of VIBE Collective, adds: “From here on out, there has to be great transparency if the value is to build that community trust. It might be not to. And that’s the choice of leadership. If the Akron Art Museum desires to be the community institution rooted in Akron, yoked with the community, there must be that community building piece where the equity and the accessibility of art is valued.

“We can’t really imagine a way forward until we know where people stand. For me I see it as an opportunity for the Akron Art Museum and leadership to really envision and to name the values.

You might not value diversity, equity and inclusion. Do I agree with that? No. But if that’s not what you value, name it so we know where you stand,” Cullen adds.

“It’s a come-to-Jesus moment, except for an institution. It’s really about evaluating and digging deep into: What is the institution downtown, why does it matter, what do we want it to be?”

Reach Noor Hindi at noor@thedevilstrip. com and Rosalie Murphy at rosalie@ thedevilstrip.com.

Editor’s notes: Chris Harvey, who joined The Devil Strip in March 2020 as Art Director, was formerly an employee of the Akron Art Museum and has been quoted in other publications about his experience there. The Devil Strip’s journalists did not interview Harvey for this piece, nor did he see it before publication.

In 2019, the Knight Foundation made an investment of $200,000 over two years in The Devil Strip to support our transition to a co-op ownership structure.

The Devil Strip

| 21

Suffocation A grocery store employee reflects on becoming an essential worker

“

by Lauren Whitley

Stay safe,” I said to the customer as I stuffed the receipt into one of her bags. She nodded thankfully before rolling the shopping cart past my register and out of the store.

Three months ago, I never would’ve imagined that every “have a good day” would be replaced with “stay safe,” yet here we are. As I sanitized the pin pad and countertop before my next customer, it all flashed before my eyes like a time-lapse — everything that has changed.

It all began on Monday, March 9.

Almost minutes after my shift had started, my manager frantically came up to the front end of the store and announced, “Three cases of coronavirus were just confirmed in Cuyahoga County.” I stared back at him in disbelief. I wanted to laugh because it was so common for him to crack jokes, but his stern expression told me everything I needed to know. Earlier that day in Linguistics, we had joked about everyone’s classes getting cancelled if the virus continued to spread between states. However, it was not a joke anymore. This was real, and this was happening.

It only took roughly 24 hours for this joke to come to life. I got an email from the University of Akron that all classes would be cancelled for the rest of the month. All restaurants and bars were ordered to close down by the end of that week, and it didn’t take long for malls and retails stores to follow the trend. By the time March was coming to an end, stay-at-home orders were in place to encourage

22 | The Devil Strip

everyone to quarantine themselves as much as possible.

long at all for the new policies to start rolling in.

I watched as everyone around me lost their jobs and filed for unemployment. Some of the lucky ones had jobs that were stable enough to continue sending them paychecks during their time out of work, but others were laid off completely.

By the time it was mid-April, every team member was required to wear a face mask, whether they wanted to or not. Tables and chairs were removed from the store to discourage lingering. Large boards of plexiglass were bolted in front of the registers to protect cashiers more thoroughly. All of our aisles became one-way. We turned away reusable bags, we limited the use of cash and our sanitation routines reached an extreme. We even offered face masks to customers for free at the door, though a handful of customers still refused them.

My store was doing everything in its power to slowstop the spread of this destructive virus, so why was I still left feeling this sense of neverending doom?

On the other hand, I still had a job to go to every day. Careers were falling apart all around me, and yet, I was still grabbing my apron and driving to work every day as if nothing had changed.

I, an insignificant grocery store employee, was left with one of the only jobs that still had to face the public every day. It was bittersweet.

As I heard the stories of people around me losing their jobs and struggling to pay rent, I couldn’t help but think how incredibly thankful I was to still have a job that could pay the bills.

Despite this, there were nights I’d sit in my car after work in tears, filled with anxiety and fear that I was going to go home and spread the virus to everyone I came in contact with. Even though I never felt sick, I always feared the small chance that the virus was latched onto me in secret, lingering like a parasite that desperately searched for a new host to destroy.

I could see this same fear and paranoia within my coworkers as many of them started to wear gloves and masks, with a bottle of sanitizer in hand at all times as if it were a weapon. Work began to adapt to this new, apocalyptic life we were living, and it didn’t take

As the beginning of May marked a fresh start, I tried to walk into work feeling uplifted. “It’s a new month,” I told myself, “and things can go back to normal soon if people continue to do their part.”

With shaky hands, I threw open the side door to the store and tried to maintain a feeling of hope.

“Welcome back,” a team leader greeted while ushering me over to the wooden contraption I had to stand behind to get my temperature taken. “99.1,” he declared after zapping my forehead and handing me a mask, letting me proceed into the store. “That’s getting pretty close!”

I laughed hesitantly as I tried to correlate my temperature with the warm weather that day. I inhaled a deep breath of air before putting on

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

my mask as I prepared myself for the next eight hours of suffocation.

After throwing on my apron and clocking in, I lathered my raw hands with multiple pumps of soap in the break room sink. I took a leap of faith by glancing over at the TV with a constant stream of news playing on it. It only took me seconds to locate the “20,000+ confirmed cases in Ohio” plastered across the screen in bold. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by that number. A month and a half ago, we had just become aware of the three existing cases in Ohio.

Realizing that those three had multiplied by thousands in a matter of weeks the span of a month, just in our state alone, was terrifying, but it was even more terrifying trying to predict how much our current count would increase in the following months.

I tried to shake off these dark thoughts as I dried off my hands and walked out onto the floor. By habit, I scanned the front end of the store as I walked up to the registers, briefly taking a look at our clipboard with the list of workers on the schedule for the day. After watching lines of customers starting to pile up on the open lanes with one of our main registers closed, I immediately noticed the absence of a cashier.

Double-checking the schedule again, I asked, “Where’s Jessica?”

“She has a fever,” my supervisor frowned. “She’ll be out for at least the rest of the week.”

As silence passed between us, chills started to run down my spine. I had just talked to Jess two days ago thedevilstrip.com

when she was showing me precious pictures of her new nephew. “I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” my supervisor she sighed after noticing my worried expression.

I exhaled after realizing I was holding my breath, my throat already beginning to feel dry from the mask. “No,” I said, shaking my head, “I appreciate you telling me.” Not wanting to dwell on it any longer while the lines continued to grow, I snapped out of my thoughts and slipped a pair of thick vinyl gloves on over my hands.

As I walked over to my register, I couldn’t help but subconsciously realize how our list of healthy workers was depleting. Not only was there a handful of workers who refrained from working while our job remained hazardous, but the amount of people who called off sick seemed to be growing every day.

Immediately entering customer service mode, I put on my enthusiastic voice as I asked my first customer about her day. The lady burst into a smile as she placed each of her items up on the belt, her face exposed without a mask. “I’m doing great!” she exclaimed. “We’re throwing a party tonight in celebration of everyone being able to get together again.”

In my head, the world seemed to stop moving. My mind struggled to process the words I was being told as I tried to recall the latest updates from the governor. Restrictions on social gathering had barely been loosened, let alone removed completely. Could she really be serious?

throbbing from tightened mask strings, for what?

The customer continued to chat about her plans as if she was now immune to the virus now that May had rolled around. It only took 10 minutes into my shift to accept the disappointment that this new month was not going to be as hopeful as I had anticipated.

I began to feel sick to my stomach as I remained silent and continued to scan the rest of her groceries, nodding along to the words she was saying that I was not hearing.

I couldn’t help but feel powerless as I gave her all of the resources she needed in order to host her celebration. I disagreed with everything she said so strongly that I felt my blood begin to boil, but I couldn’t afford what would happen if I got into a political debate with a customer. My heart began to slowly beat faster, and my hands began to tremble at the thought of infected people gathering in large groups again. I began to see the numbers of cases on the live news reports rapidly rising in my mind.

This is not going to end, I thought. I am suffocating every damn day for these people, and I don’t know how or when it will ever end.

Finishing the transaction, I made sure to slip the receipt into her bag before she left. “Stay safe,” I hissed, forcing a smile through clenched teeth. While my eyes sparkled with the kindness that I had nailed over years working in customer service, the woman failed to see the quiver in my smile as I took a suffocated breath behind the mask.

// Lauren Whitley is a senior As I scanned her boxes of cupcakes pursuing an English degree at The and bottles of champagne, I University of Akron. realized that she was clearly not joking. “Oh!” I gasped as an attempt to disguise my horror. Here I was, sanitizing every surface around me between every single customer, breathing dry, hot air back into my lungs all day, the back of my ears

Akron Music, Art & Culture

Applaud

Akron music, food & drink

IN THIS SECTION: THE AKRON PIZZA TASK FORCE VISITS FIESTA PIZZA & CHICKEN · ROID RAGE AND SWELL TIDES RELEASE JOINT RECORD

Shaking It Up

L

Smoothie recipes from Taylor McKinnie

words and photos by Charlee Harris

B

y now we are all suffering from extreme cabin fever. We’ve watched all the movies and accepted every challenge on social media. How can we shake things up as we navigate our new normal? In an effort to answer that question and change my routine of eating, sleeping, and binge-watching every season of Agatha's Christie “Poirot,” I called my good friend Taylor McKinnie.

Taylor is a Certified Person Trainer and the owner of the Mizzshake Sum, a juice and smoothie company that Taylor opened in July of 2018.

“I used to work at a juice bar when I was doing freelance personal training and I just fell in love with the process. It was just so quick and healthy. I loved mixing all the different ingredients together,” Taylor says. “I learned a lot about different supplements — for example, how Spirulina is good for fiber but also has anti-cancer benefits.”

In time, Taylor started making her own recipes. “I enjoyed making something that was nutritious but also tasted good,” she says.

Mizzshake Sum operates out of the Akron Food Works Sharded kitchen, a program

24 | The Devil Strip

offered by The Well CDC, this has allowed Taylor to continue business during the quarantine.

“I've been doing a lot of shopping and have seen toilet paper missing but not fresh fruits and vegetables. I would recommend stocking up on these items instead of snack foods because it's going to be better for you,” Taylor says.

After I admitted to shamelessly eating nonstop queso and midday wine drinking — in my defense, I was doing this long before COVID-19 aka Auntie Rona blew into town — Taylor suggested some simple yet healthy recipes I could incorporate in my diet, both now and after quarantine is over.

Taylor, who is currently training for a bodybuilding competition, also suggested that we increase vitamin intake. “During times when food shortages could be an issue, it is a good idea to increase protein and supplements.”

Having sampled just about all of Taylor’s smoothies and juices (my favorite being purple haze), I can personally attest to how wonderful both her smoothies and juices taste. Taylor hopes that she can continue to increase her business and hopes to partner with other businesses to expand her product availability.

Order Mizzshake Sum or learn more by calling or emailing Taylor at:

“I would suggest lettuce tacos, Just cook ground beef or turkey like you would normal tacos, then mix in cheese, peppers, and black beans. Get a head of lettuce and use leaves as wraps instead of tortillas shells,” Taylor says.

Instagram: @mizzshakesum Facebook: Mizzshakesum Akron shakesummovesum@gmail.com www.shakesummovesum.com 330-203-0452

She also suggests a good smoothie recipe: “Mix a handful of strawberries and a banana in your blender. Add some whey protein (or any plant-based protein if that's what you prefer) and almond milk.” For those of us that like to snack, she suggests celery with almond butter and raisins.

Charlee Harris was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She loves her family, her community and has a passion for creative expression. As an avid arts advocate, she volunteers for the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, is the creative director for the East Ave. Flea Market and has contributed to many local projects.

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

thedevilstrip.com

Fiesta Pizza & Chicken words and photos by Abigail Palombo, Akron Pizza Task Force

L

ocal restaurants are relying on takeout orders more than ever. Fiesta Pizza and Chicken is a family-owned business that has been around Akron for 50 years and is the home of the original jojo. There are three locations throughout Akron — in Cuyahoga Falls (the one I went to), Ellet and Goodyear Heights.

Considering all I had to do was call in and order and then go and pick it up, it was an all-around pleasant experience.

When deciding what to order, I noticed that their website could be a little more mobile-friendly. But staff answered the phone in a timely manner, repeated the order back to me and gave me a reasonable wait time for a Saturday night!

When I got to the shop, I had to wait outside due to social distancing rules, so it was a good thing it was a nice day. The man at the counter was friendly, greeted me right away and informed me my order would just be a few minutes longer. The food was freshly made, presented well, and tasted AWESOME! Pizza Breakdown

Crust: There was no choice between thin and thick crust, but that didn’t matter because it was the perfect in-between. It was cooked until it was just a light golden brown, not undercooked on the bottom or overcooked on the top. It had a little bit of a crunch at the end, which I loved.

Sauce: The sauce was a little bit on the sweeter side, which paired well with the cheese and the toppings. They don’t overdo it with the sauce, either — there is a good amount but it doesn’t outshine the other flavors.

Toppings: Getting toppings on your pizza was a little pricey, though. Each topping costs an extra $1.50 on a small pizza, $2 on a large pizza and $7 on a sheet pizza. Options include pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, green peppers, onions, anchovies, banana peppers, black olives and bacon. Believe it or not, I am not a big pepperoni person, so I got just mushrooms on top and did not regret it. The mushrooms were cooked to perfection and you do get your money’s worth. They weren’t some small little mushrooms – they put big, full slices on and cook them until they curl just a little bit on the end.

Cheese Pull: As far as the cheese goes, it was a good blend. They cooked the cheese until you could see those little golden brown bubbles throughout. It wasn’t stringy, but I don’t look for that too much in a pizza. The cheese-to-sauceto-crust ratio was great.

The Final Slice Takeout Experience: Like I stated above, the takeout experience was enjoyable.

I did not have to wait too long and everyone was friendly, especially given the current times. At this location, you would not be able to sit down anyways — it is small and probably offers takeout only at all times. There is just a checkout window you walk up to to pay. I think I waited maybe seven minutes, but I was also a little bit early to pick up my order, so the promised wait time was reasonable.

Atmosphere: I think this pizza shop is perfect for on-the-go families and teenagers. It’s a quick on-the-go kind of pizza place and would be perfect for a game night.

I also got a side of jojos, which came in a bag of 10 for $3.75. The order came to a total of $16.70 and fed two people.

Overall, considering the quality and quantity, I think this pizza was worth it. It tasted authentic and well-made.

Rating: I’d actually give this place a perfect 10!

Fiesta Pizza and Chicken www.fiestapizzaandchicken.com Goodyear Heights: 330-733-2201 Ellet: 330-784-0435 (Delivery only available at this location) Cuyahoga Falls: 330-929-2004 Hours vary at each location // The Akron Pizza Task Force is made up of students from the Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing at the University of Akron.

Value: The starting price of the pizza is

by Floco Torres

ello! As businesses begin to As Ohio businesses open up, how open back up and offer indoor we want to make sure do we stay safe? We asked public you can beservice, safe if you decide to visit your favorite shops and restaurants. We spoke health officials. on the phone with Marlene Martin at

H

Summit County Public Health to share

Akron Music, Art & Culture

reasonable: $6.95 for a small, $10.95 for a large and $29.95 for a sheet. Where it starts to get expensive for me is the toppings, which each cost at least $1.50 extra. If you get more than one topping, you’re looking at spending as much on toppings as you did on the pizza itself.

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

some general information.

Besides the symptoms we discussed before, are there any new symptoms of COVID-19 that people should be looking for?

The CDC has updated their list of symptoms with a few new ones. The list

The Devil Strip

| 25

On the Record

“Split,” the new EP from Swell Tides and Roid Rage

by Kyle Cochrun

Natural Light, maybe even a bottle of Rolling Rock. The microphone is naked. The air reeks of sweat-soaked cotton. The concrete is cracked, covered by an army of guitar pedals.

This record may include lyrics with political implications, since there’s a song called “Senator.” Then again, it might not. Hard to tell.

This record was recorded, mixed and mastered by Rob Keith at Electric Company Records.

“I

love straightforward, nasty records. You know? Don’t think too hard. Make it fast.

Do it. NOW.” – Jordan King of Swell Tides This record is an armada of ocean liners combatting a rowdy sea of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

This record is a mouthful of oilslicked seaweed slicing your tongue, but the blood tastes kind of good.

This record is justification for the idea that a thematically cohesive album can be created through a collaboration between two distinct bands. Roid Rage and Swell Tides mine the same crag of psych-rock, but the nuances in their sounds (Jordan’s oily snarl vs. Jake’s brawny yowl, Tides’ trebly keyboard pings vs.

Rage’s meaty bass gurgle) demarcate their respective sides without straying from the album’s mood.

This record is, all metaphors aside, filled with high-quality, organic, DIY rock n’ roll songs that you can party or just violently nod your head to.

This record was written and recorded by two local psych-rock bands: Swell Tides and Roid Rage.

Swell Tides plays the first four songs, Roid Rage plays the last four songs and both bands play the middle song, “Sooprize Package,” which was recorded in one take in a basement. The track order was decided by a bowling match, and let it be known that Jordan King of Swell Tides bowled a nearlyperfect game, winning his band the first four songs on this split EP, which is aptly titled Split. Congrats, Jordan!

This record is probably about many things, but it’s at least partially about pedal-bolstered guitar tones as terrifying man-eating bog monsters with nine-inch fangs and virescent skin that’s somehow both scaly and dripping to the jungle floor.

now includes: Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell.

As things begin to open up, how would you recommend people go about seeing family members and friends? Should we do so at all?

What’s the safest way to socialize?

Marlene says: “When we decide to visit family during this time, it’s important that we remain vigilant in protecting our elders and children, who we’ve found are being affected more than we thought. Visiting

26 | The Devil Strip

This record is for fans of Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, The King Khan & BBQ Show and Jay Reatard (RIP). Both bands work within the realm of noisy, low-fi psychrock, though neither can be accused of ripping off the sounds of their influences.

The music should impact listeners on a gut level, though both its success and its differentiation from similar bands relies on subtle alterations on a well-worn formula.

This record includes a song called “Mashed Potato Alligator.”

This record is not two different

family outdoors, refraining from hugs and kissing, keeping six feet of distance and following the rest of the safety guidelines are a good place to start in keeping everyone safe.”

What do we know about the dangers of spending time indoors vs. outdoors?

Air flow is much better outside and spacing is easier, so the less time you can spend indoors where a lot of people are, the better off we can be. It is still important to follow safety guidelines to limit exposure to those around you.

statements by two different bands, but one collective statement by two different bands working in tandem.

This record may include vocals shouted through a baby monitor.

This record will be deemed garage rock by some listeners, though that term is useless unless you determine the exact garage the songs were made in. A guess: There are at least two posters with variegated kaleidoscope designs, but also a poster of the first Ramones album.

The inside of the plastic cooler beside the drum kit is dappled with black mold and contains empty cans of Busch, Miller,

Does open mean safe? Even if someone comes behind you and wipes down surfaces after you touch them, is it safe to spend time in an indoor public place like a restaurant?

Marlene says: “While this is a very personal decision to take the risk, following the safety guidelines in place can help decrease your chances of contracting or spreading COVID-19.”

Those guidelines include wearing your mask, washing or sanitizing your hands regularly and maintaining six feet of

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

This record is impressively executed and leaves one hopeful that Roid Rage and Swell Tides have a future playing clubs outside of northeast Ohio, inducing flannel-clad youngsters to mosh their brains out and crowd-surf to feedback barrages for a reliable income, if that’s what they want.

Stream or buy “Split” at smelltides. bandcamp.com/album/split.

// Kyle Cochrun is a writer from Akron, Ohio. Contact him at kylecochrun@gmail. com.

distance between yourself and your neighbor. Businesses that disinfect frequently are great, but we need to make sure we take personal responsibility in keeping everyone safe. // Floco Torres is The Devil Strip’s Community Outreach Director. Reach him at floco@thedevilstrip.com.

thedevilstrip.com

Reflect

Passing the mic to more akron voices

IN THIS SECTION: SOBER CHRONICLES: THE ART OF PRACTICING · THE DEVIL STRIP DISPORT · URINE LUCK

A Letter to My Unborn Black Baby Boy

by Kenyona Matthews

D

ear unborn Black baby boy,

.

I saw you today. You, with your strong heart and spine, refused to turn over for the ultrasound technician. You stood your ground and would not budge.

I jumped and shook my belly. I begged you to flip over so we could see your heart. You proudly and defiantly refused to budge.

Oh baby boy, please don’t be so stubborn.

My unborn Black son, you mesmerize me when I see the inside of my womb.

Seven months in and I am in awe of you already. For a while, I enjoy loving you unconditionally and look forward to the life we will soon share when you are born. I have nesting Mommy problems.

I worry about getting more diapers

Akron Music, Art & Culture

and wipes. I stress about finishing up my baby registry after my friends and family blessed me with almost all of the items needed to care for you. I focus on you and your new life. I pray you come into the world safely. Then, America’s ugly reality hits me as soon as I get on Facebook or hear the news. Another Black body lays in the streets. Another Black boy is taken from this world.

Another Black person is killed for no reason at all.

I weep for the loss of a loved black soul and his or her mama. I am gutted by the reality that this could be you, my unborn Black baby boy. I am reminded of a cold hard truth. This world will never love and honor you like I do. You see, my beloved unborn Black son, since I learned of your existence, we have lost so many Black souls to racism. At least three Black men and one Black woman have died due to White privilege and racism. Those

are the most viral ones. Those are the ones we hashtagged, but there are so many more. #ahmaudarbery #seanreed #breonnataylor #georgefloyd Baby boy, America has placed a target on Black souls for hundreds of years. I know one day that target will be on your back. To be Black and male is to live in a constant place of contention with Whites.

The same weekend a Black man died under the knee of a White cop, a White woman called the police and lied about an innocent Black man threatening her. To hear a man say, “I can’t breathe”. To hear him call for his Mama is gut wrenching, especially as I think about the little Black boy I am growing inside of me. As I carry you in my womb, I wonder, will this be your only safe space? Will this be the only time I will look at your stubbornness with pride and not fear?

You see, my unborn Black son, I know I

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

have to teach you how to keep yourself as safe as possible. Early on, I will have to kill your innocence. Early on, I will have to remind you that we live in a majority White community, and you need to be on your very best behavior. Early on, I will have to teach you how to navigate Whiteness. Your childhood, baby boy, will be clouded with unspoken rules about how you have to act. In every power structure, people of color must navigate a very harmful and damaging minefield.

Even as a little black boy you will have to learn these complicated moves. The systematic grouping and labeling at schools requires that I prepare you in a very different way than White parents prepare their children. Black parents must be honest with their kids early on about how their race will affect them. I will teach you how to brush your teeth. I will teach you to be humble and kind. I will teach you about the world, using your

The Devil Strip |

27

schoolbooks and the books I give you.

As a little Black boy, I will also teach you how to act when a cop pulls you over.

I will teach you how to deal with being followed in a store. I will teach you how to keep your guard up early in life. Black parents must have harsh conversations with their kids at younger and younger ages. White people will never have these conversations about life and death with their kids.

The sad truth, making me weep as I prepare to bring you, my Black son, into this world, is that these rules will not guarantee your safety. At any point, Whiteness in America can see your fierce independence, stubbornness, and strength as less than human. At any point, Whiteness in America will use its outrage, at your mere Black existence, to vilify and kill you. At any point, you will be seen as a threat, my sweet child, and you will have to fight for your life. In one moment, white fear of black skin could end in your unjust death. Today, Black mamas worry about their baby boys, just like the mother of Emmett Till did so many years ago. Lynching has changed in form but still exists and is being recorded by cell phones now. America is still a place full of hate, insisting on controlling the black body. While I love your stubbornness now, because it speaks to your strength and independence, it scares me.

28 | The Devil Strip

I am afraid that an officer will see your lanky body with a toy gun, and shoot and then ask questions. I am afraid that a neighbor will not know you live here and will attack you while you are wearing a hoodie stuffed with snacks. I am afraid that when you stand up for yourself, a White woman will call the cops to teach you a lesson. All of this scares me, my unborn Black baby boy. All of this will hang heavy on your shoulders, and it is not fair. From the day you are born, Whiteness will have its noose around your neck and be ready to hang its strange fruit. Until White people face the power of their whiteness and actively work to be anti-racist, I will worry about you.

You have an older Black sister, and I have already begun to teach your sister these lessons. Raising Black Americans is scary and hard.

told her, “She can’t act like this in public.

She has to learn this lesson sooner rather than later. People will judge her and me based on her perceived unruliness. It’s not the same for me as it is for you as a white person.”

privilege, oppression, and racism.

I will not let you believe that the heavy weight of racism is your cross to bear alone.

I will do my best to keep your strong heart and spine filled with pride.

Our system of privilege and oppression makes the lesson Black kids must learn a lot different than White kids. You must do your best, even as young as five, to convince people you aren’t bad. And the truth is, you may not even get a chance to prove it. You may be shot while jogging. Your life may be seen as totally inconsequential in the face of another person’s assumptions, borne from the color of your skin. My fear for you, my unborn Black baby boy, is that the odds are much more against you because you are going to be a Black man.

Stand tall because you are my beautiful Black baby boy.

I bring your sister to my anti-racism trainings and speaking engagements all the time. I always explain to her my expectation. She is to be seen, not heard.

She is to sit down and not interrupt the meeting. I will never forget one training where she acted like any other kid. She wouldn’t stop interrupting me, and she kept walking through the circle of people.

She wanted to be involved in the event.

She was playing loudly in the room, and finally, I lost it. I packed my stuff and left abruptly from the event. My friend ran after me and said, “Sunny, she is fine. You can stay. She isn’t bothering anyone.” I

To my unborn Black baby boy, I make these promises: I will always love and carry you in my heart once you leave my womb.

I will do my best to be your soft spot to land when the world gets tough.

I will always teach you to stand strong and proud.

I will always teach you to honor and love your black skin.

I will always do my best to protect and nurture your stubborn and beautiful heart.

I will not mince words when it comes to

Love, Mama Mama, aka Kenyona “Sunny” Matthews, is a motivational speaker focusing on issues of diversity, inclusion, and antiracism. She is a University of Akron School of Law graduate who focused on civil liberties. She earned her bachelor’s from Guilford College majoring in Political Science, Philosophy, and African American Studies. Please reach out to discuss how her anti-racism trainings can help your community heal.

For personal anti-racism consultations, bookings and engagements, inquiries may be emailed to dimensionsofism@gmail. com.

Sober Chronicles with Marc Lee Shannon

THE ART OF PRACTICING

W

hen I was 14, I took a monthlong trip with my sister back to her home in the San Bernardino Valley in Southern California.

Along for the ride was my really terrible, cheap acoustic guitar that played and sounded pretty bad. I had found some big letter stencils at the Gray Drug store before I left and spray painted my first band’s moniker in rough fashion on the vinyl gig bag. I was practicing to be a rock star.

The rest of that summer, I was just a lonely kid with little confidence. My family had divorced a few years earlier and I had too much self-doubt and a bad self-image. Kinda like the stain and the

holes on my cherished Pink Floyd T-Shirt, I was pretty worn out. I was in a constant state of wandering, for days on end, a teenager sentenced to living in a duplex with my father and brother who had their own lives and issues. We were more like a group of roommates than a family. I thought it was kinda cool at the time that I had so much freedom, but in reality, I was unparented and unprotected from my own deep aloneness. I was depressed.

But I had that guitar.

Every day it was my ticket, and I was a passenger to a place where I could be someone else. Songwriting came right away even with my limited skills and technique; I was a devout practitioner

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

of the art of being alone in my room practicing. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew what I wanted. I just wanted to be good. Actually, I wanted to be good at anything, because I wasn’t good at much.

But I had that guitar.

Looking back I can see now that was my gift, my way up and out. I would never become a big rock star, but I would play with some in a few great bands. My story would ultimately be about being around the guys that were around some of the greats. I have been very blessed and lucky after all.

I knew I wanted to take it to the next

thedevilstrip.com

level, so I left Akron and I went to music school in Hollywood at 20. There I was thrust into a different level of players, and in very short order, was taught some important lessons. Lessons about learning and practicing. This was a new planet where there was nothing more common than unrewarded talent, and everybody was at least good or great. You had to really be something special to stand out.

So I had to dig in and do the lonely work and take practicing my craft to a different level.

So, I guess you may be wondering what all this has to do with living sober. Isn’t this a column about that? Yes… let me explain.

To this day I continue to practice the art of practicing itself. Sobriety takes practice.

Playing guitar takes practice. Everything in my life takes practice.

When it comes to both guitars and getting sober, here are three things that I know work for me: Have a plan. Know what you are doing and why. Practicing guitar is just like being sober. I have to begin each session with a purpose and know what the end result will be. I have to see it clearly. “I want this and here is what it will be.” I

Akron Music, Art & Culture

can see, touch, feel it deep in my soul.

I know what I want and why. Purpose begins with a plan.

Do it with a schedule. I pick a day every week to plan and schedule my work. Every Monday I look at the Google calendar for the week and I put appointments on selected days and times. In practicing and in sober living, I have airtight compartments that no one is allowed to penetrate. If someone wants that time I just say “Sorry, I have something scheduled”. As with studying my art of music, I have designated days and times to exercise my practice in the art of learning more, sharing more, and understanding better the life of recovery and sobriety.

Measure the time. I encourage my music, composition, and performance students to keep a practice log. That way they can see the progress. When I look back on a week I can see if I have spent the time needed to enhance the desired skill. Playing guitar, like sobriety, takes time and effort. It’s nice to look back and see that I have done the work and gotten the job done.

Sobriety is a skill — like playing the guitar, or like anything else. If I think that I’ve got it but don’t do the work, then I turn

into that guy that hits the bandstand and realizes that he should have put the time in. Believe me, I have been that guy.

You don’t want to be that guy. Similarly, I never want to look in the mirror and see that face of relapse again. This is my life.

I do not want to go back to the old, sick me.

player of note, a minor league slugger that had promise, got off track, and found the trail again. I’m not gonna get to the promised land of rock stardom.

But I’ve had a great career jousting at windmills with a vintage fender guitar.

And, I still have this guitar and I’m still sober.

I have a character defect, and that is flexibility. I am not good at being flexible when life happens and I cannot keep my schedule. I need to practice this more.

Unfortunately, the online search for being more flexible as a topic took me to some really cool exercise and yoga sites. Ummm. not what I was thinking.

Onward.

“The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.” – Duke Ellington Ahhh. Thanks for that, Duke.

I cannot be the master of all when it comes to the guitar. There is so much to learn. And similarly, in sobriety, like any lifestyle or regimen, I know that I cannot be the Yoda, the Moses on the rock, or the latest popular podcast personality.

But, deep down I know what I see in life’s living mirror:

I can keep practicing the guitar and the art of sobriety. It’s the practicing that keeps me sane. Daily goals set, selfpromises kept. It’s the one step, one more major scale, one more 12 step meeting, one more new song written or learned, one more airtight 24-hour compartment of leaning in that keeps me doing.

The art of practicing. One day at a time. One more day. One day better than yesterday. One day still alive and in the game.

Steady on.

Reach Marc Lee Shannon at marcleeshannon@gmail.com.

Photo: Angelo Merendino. Used with permission from Marc Lee Shannon.

Editor’s note: Marc Lee Shannon holds the trademark to “Sober Chronicles.”

In the music business, I’m a regional

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

The Devil Strip

| 29

Urine Luck

BATHROOMS IN AKRON, REVIEWED

Marissa bought a bidet

by Marissa Marangoni

W

ell, reader, here it is: the review you never asked for, but the review I know you need. This month, I bring you my extremely biased bidet review. Thank COVID-19.

Back in 2015, when we could freely travel the world, I traveled to Europe. That trip was responsible for my introduction to the bidet, my safety-net-turnedhousehold-mainstay in the great toilet paper shortage of March 2020.

For those unfamiliar with the bidet, it could be described as a miniature gravitydefying toilet shower for your nether regions. Doesn’t sound as nice, but it’s the truth. And Urine Luck only ever brings you the truth.

You’ll know a bidet when you see one: it looks like a very short bathroom sink or a toilet attachment with extra knobs or buttons. These mini toilets were a staple in every European Airbnb and VRBO I stayed in. I’d always wanted to use one, and as soon as I did, I knew it’d be one of the things I’d miss about the trip. Ah, nostalgia: you can even have it for toilets.

When TP went scarce during the pandemic panic, I did not look at it as the last sheet on the roll but the first sheet of new opportunity: there was finally a reason for the bidet to become a fixture in my own home. I’d toyed with the idea before, but I was overwhelmed with all the options and convinced myself not to make the jump because, well, money. And while you can find a bidet attachment for under $30, the negative reviews deterred me from being cheap, so I waited.

30 | The Devil Strip

But then the TP was plucked clean from store shelves, and my own bathroom shelves were running low. So I finally did my research and, wouldn’t you know it, in addition to the toilet paper shortage, there also seemed to be a bidet shortage.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who knew about this TP alternative. Every site I went to was sold out of bidets — even Amazon! — so I found a place that had them on backorder with a return policy and hit “purchase.”

Before I tell you about the particular bidet I selected, I will tell you my reasons for preferring this method of sanitization to The American Way. First, there are the bears. Bidet commercials aren’t a thing here, so they have no bears, which automatically makes the bidet better than toilet paper. I’ve complained before about those damn toilet paper bears with red linty butts they shake in the name of being cute. I hate those bears. I hate their bear butts. And I hate that they are accurate. I won’t say more about that.

However, directly related to the lint issue is cleanliness. True cleanliness. I assume that all of you have had the unfortunate experience of cleaning up poop from a place where it didn’t belong, be it your feet, shoes, hands, the floor, a swimming pool, your tax paperwork (not that I know anything about this), etc., I’m willing to bet that in your cleaning process, you did not simply reach for a piece of toilet paper, wipe the floor off, and then call it a day. You most likely involved some sort of cleaning agent to remove the mess properly.

Other reasons for bidets? They’re friendlier to the environment by decreasing or eliminating the need for TP. Got hemorrhoids? No more abrasive

wiping. If you’re a period-having person, well, you can probably imagine what this handy device can do for you. I’ve even heard they’re helpful when you’re cloth diapering babies! And if you’ve been searching for a refreshing (possibly jarring) wake up after your morning coffee, this may be your solution.

I bought Omigo’s bidet attachment, which seems to be a popular choice in the U.S. Tushy, an even more popular brand, was more expensive and more back-ordered, and I liked Omigo’s 90-day trial period and return/exchange policies.

The bidet was easy to install, is simple to operate and does not require electricity.

I bought the Element, which is the barebones model, but other models include heated water, air dryers, carbon filter deodorizers and even remote-control options. The Element has two nozzles (one for your back, one for your front) that are covered when not in use to keep them clean and a knob for operation.

U.S.’s reluctance to adopt this gadgetry.

Some speculate that it goes all the way back to the 18th century when bidets were associated with brothels and considered dirty, but whatever the reason, I am here to tell you that there’s nothing dirty about them. My husband sincerely doubted he’d be happy about our bathroom bidet, but once he tried it, he admitted he was sold.

So, readers of Urine Luck, I implore you: Wash, don’t wipe. Let’s work on getting us a cleaner America. And cleaner butts. And, for the love of god, no more bears. // Marissa has been writing Urine Luck since 2015 and, clearly, has strong opinions about toilet paper.

The knob also controls the intensity of the spray, and you should be aware that if you turn it all the way up, you might be a little shocked. Some people worry about the temperature of the unheated water, but I haven’t found it problematic. It only adds to the clean feeling.

When we started Urine Luck, we never wondered about what would happen to our column if there were a global pandemic and stay-at-home orders (which have mostly been lifted but it’s still weird) for our state. We’ve wondered about lots of other things, but never those two things together.

Once you figure out where to sit so you get hit where you want with the water, you should be good to go. If you’re worried about drip-drying, you can always follow the European way and have a stack of towels at the ready to pat yourself dry and toss into the laundry, or you can save a few squares of TP for this purpose.

I’m not sure what I have planned for our next column or if I will have used any public bathrooms. Are we even allowed to use them? Instead, we are inviting you to review your own bathroom or send us pictures of your bathroom for us to review. To share your bathroom with Urine Luck’s writers, email info@ thedevilstrip.com. — Emily Dressler

I’m not sure what is at the heart of the

June 2020 · vol 6 · issue #6

thedevilstrip.com

PART OF A

BALANCED MORNING. Wake up with WKSU. Start your morning with WKSU as your wake-up alarm.

Listen to our balanced news and NPR programming as part of your morning routine.

Check out these WKSU morning programs:

DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY

Kent State University, Kent State and KSU are registered trademarks and may not be used without permission. Kent State University is committed to attaining excellence through the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body and workforce . 18-IMPACT-00454-073

Buy, L ove,Collect

affordable

LOCAL ART

summitartspace.org/artist-listing

FOR SALE

by Summit Artspace tenant artists, top left to bottom right: Jennifer Worden Don Parsisson Tom Baldwin Joan Colbert Lizzi Aronhalt April Couch Jessica Skinner Claire Marks Ron White