- City Club of Cleveland
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The City Club of Cleveland was incorporated in 1912 as a non-partisan forum for debate. Known as "America's Citadel of Free Speech", it is the longest continuous independent free speech forum in the country and generally considered one of the top three speaking forums in America.[1] Over the years it has played host to many sitting Presidents and Vice-Presidents as well as some of the most notable citizens of the United States and the world.[2] Archbishop Desmond Tutu referred to The City Club as "a beacon, a symbol and a sentinel for freedom, for justice, for tolerance" when he graced its podium.[3] In 1976 as part of the United States bicentennial, the then President of The City Club led a contingent to England where The City Club's first forum outside the United States was held.[4]
The first President to have appeared at The City Club was Theodore Roosevelt and every President since Jimmy Carter has appeared at its podium.[5] President George W. Bush spoke to the club on the third anniversary of the United States incursion into Iraq. Because The City Club of Cleveland has a policy of not allowing questions from the audience to be pre-screened, President Reagan declined to appear before the Club, but when questions were raised by the media about his mental acuity, President Reagan sought out an appearance before the Club to refute those charges.
Many believe that the most famous talk delivered at The City Club of Cleveland was the "Mindless Menace of Violence" speech delivered by Senator Robert F. Kennedy on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
Debates before the Club have had an impact on Ohio elections. Many attribute John Glenn's victory over Howard Metzenbaum in a 1974 Democratic Senate primary to the following response by John Glenn to a charge in an earlier debate that John Glenn never had to make a payroll:
"I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine to five job where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.
I ask you to go with me....as I went the other day to a Veterans hospital and look at those men with their mangled bodies in the eye and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to the space program and go as I have gone to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their dad didn't hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day, coming up, and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends than I'd like to remember and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell me that those people didn't have a job, I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a job. And they required a dedication to purpose, a love of country and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself. And their self sacrifice is what made this country possible..... I HAVE HELD A JOB, HOWARD! What about you?"[6]
During the 2010 Congressional elections which saw the Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives, John Boehner on August 24, 2010 used the podium at The City Club of Cleveland to unveil a five-point plan that he said would provide an effective economic alternative to the Democrats’ course.[7]
Sometimes politicians avoid appearing at its forums precisely because an appearance at its forums provides exposure to their opponents in a political race. Congressman Dennis Kucinich who complained vociferously about being excluded from debates among the Democratic candidates for President has on a number of occasions refused to debate his opponent for Congress in The City Club of Cleveland debates.[8]
Although The City Club of Cleveland prides itself as The Citadel of Free Speech, it had been the subject of criticism for bestowing its Citadel of Free Speech award upon Justice Antonin Scalia. Members of the media, including CSPAN, decried the award because Justice Scalia refused to allow his speech to be broadcast. The Board of Trustees of The City Club defended its actions by noting that the press was welcome to attend the special presentation and report upon the event.[9] A decision to prevent broadcast of the event did not limit on the press' ability to report upon the event. Other recipients of the Citadel of Free Speech award include Senator John Glenn and Martin Luther King's aide, U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young. The City Club is a membership organization, but its programs are open to all. Information about upcoming events and reservations for upcoming events can be made at its web page www.cityclub.org.
Contents
Friday Forum
The City Club's Friday Forum is broadcast live on the radio in more than 40 states from Maine to Alaska. The broadcast is initiated live on WCPN in Cleveland, Ohio, with an encore broadcast Friday evening on sister station WCLV. Most stations, including the Clear Channel station group in Cleveland, airs the Friday forum as part of their Sunday morning public service requirements[10].
Notable guests
Regina Brett addresses the City Club
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- George W. Bush[11]
- Robert Kennedy[12]
- Bill Clinton[13]
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan[14]
- Theodore Roosevelt[15]
- Geraldine Ferraro
- Richard Cheney
- Robert Reich
- Jane Fonda
- John Boehner
- Henry Louis Gates
- Margaret Mead
- Lester Thurow
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Marian Wright Edelman
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Madeleine Albright
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Janet Reno
- James Woolsey
- Ezekiel Emanuel
- Douglas MacArthur
- William Jennings Bryan
- Cesar Chavez
- T. Boone Pickens
- Ross Perot
- Michael Milken
- Pat Robertson
- Vernon Jordan
- Jim Thome
- Eugene Debs
- Rosa Parks
- Rajmohan Gandhi
- Ralph Nader[16]
References
- ^ WCLV Radio, Cleveland Ohio
- ^ City Club of Cleveland website, History page
- ^ [1]
- ^ Grant Segal, Plain Dealer, July 30, 2011, "Bob Cavano, led City Club, several other civic groups"
- ^ Janet Cho, Plain Dealer, July 22, 2005, "From presidents to sultans, politicians to celebrities, activists to business leaders, the nonpartisan club has welcomed the world."
- ^ [2]
- ^ [Hulse, Carl, New York Times, August 24, 2010 "Boehner Urges Obama to Fire Economic Team" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/us/politics/25boehner.html]
- ^ [Kotz, Pete, Scene, March 20, 2007 "Kucinich is a Hypocrite" http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2007/03/20/kucinich-is-a-hypocrite]
- ^ [Savage, David G., Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2003 "Some 'Mystified' by Award to Scalia for Free Speech" http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/20/nation/na-scalia20]
- ^ City Club of Cleveland website, About Us page
- ^ President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, White House Press Release, March 20, 2006 [3]
- ^ Remarks of Senator Robert F. Kennedy to the Cleveland City Club, Cleveland, Ohio, April 5, 1968, John F. Kennedy Presidentil Library & Museum [4]
- ^ Remarks to the Cleveland City Club - Bill Clinton speech - Transcript, Bnet Business Network [5]
- ^ Reagan, Ronald, 'Ronald Reagan, the wisdom and humor of Great Communicator', 1995 Harper Collins [6]
- ^ BEWARE OF TAMMANY, WARNING TO SULZER; Speakers at City Club Dinner Advise Him to Appeal to the Larger Constituency., New York Times, December 20, 1912 [7]
- ^ a b Beres, Tom, WKYC-TV, Cleveland, October 26, 2008
- ^ City Club of Cleveland website, Speakers page
- ^ Mitchell, Sandy, About.com, February 14, 2008
External links
Categories:- Culture of Cleveland, Ohio
- Organizations based in Cleveland, Ohio
- Organizations established in 1912
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