Outspoken, revered councilwoman Fannie Lewis dies

Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie Lewis remembered

CLEVELAND -- Fannie Lewis, who went from welfare recipient to one of the city's most outspoken and recognizable politicians, died this morning. She was 82. The Bible-quoting Lewis was never one to suffer fools. At one time or another, she clashed with virtually every powerful politician in the city -- often in memorable fashion. Lewis called Mayor Michael White a demon. She labeled Councilman Joe Cimperman a "Judas goat" after the two feuded over a building in her ward. When Mayor George Voinovich proposed putting a mental hospital in her ward, Lewis said Voinovich was crazy and that any black person supporting him should be banned from the black community. She died about 12:10 a.m. today, Council President Martin J. Sweeney confirmed in a phone call this morning to The Plain Dealer. She had been in and out of the hospital since last September. She told the newspaper in June that she was battling rheumatoid arthritis. The condition had kept her from council meetings, but she remained hard at work on constituent issues. Councilman Kevin Conwell said today he visited Lewis throughout the weekend, leaving her bedside Sunday afternoon. Conwell said Lewis was taken off life support Saturday evening. "That lady fought," Conwell said. "She had a good fight." In a statement, Sweeney praised Lewis as "a woman of strong faith that cared deeply about the constituents of Ward 7 and had a tremendous impact on the city of Cleveland during her extraordinary career." President George W. Bush met Lewis while giving a speech in Cleveland in 2002, and told the crowd: "I had the honor of listening to a local elected official, Ms. Fannie Lewis, who had some things to say." Lewis often had something to say. Whether it was talking about the need for jobs and investment in her neighborhood, grilling city officials about slow response to her inquiries or criticizing labor unions she felt had racist hiring practices, Lewis became one of the most memorable personalities on council. Among Lewis' favorite political sayings was: "If you go out in the middle of the lake and there ain't no boats around, and a boat full of snakes passes you by, I guess you've gotta get on that boat." Another was: "When you're fighting, you don't look to see what you pick up to hit a fellow with. You just pick it up and hit him." In her later years, Lewis could be recognized by her shock of grayish white hair and stooped, slow gait. Friends and colleagues would help Lewis to her seat at the council committee table, where she'd munch on peanuts or candy until it was her turn to speak. And when Lewis starting speaking, she was difficult to stop. When protesting plans to tear down public housing in 1982, she said: "We've survived the rats, the roaches and the riots, and we will survive Reaganomics." When a trade delegation from China visited City Council in 2003, their host introduced the delegation to council and then addressed the delegation in Mandarin. Lewis asked the man what he was telling the Chinese delegation. "I was explaining to them that you are the most famous person on council," he told Lewis, much to the councilwoman's delight. Lewis garnered more attention when she was featured in "No Umbrella: Election Day in the City", a documentary film about voting during 2004 presidential election. Much of the 30-minute film focused on Lewis' efforts to get more voting machines in her ward as residents stood in long lines in the rain, waiting to vote. The movie premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Friends and former rivals agree that Lewis' sometimes-controversial tactics were motivated by her desire to help the residents of Hough. Among her achievements were the construction of Lexington Village, hundreds of town houses on Hough Avenue, and Crawford Estates, a cul-de-sac of homes on Crawford Avenue; the renovation of the Eliza Bryant Center, a nursing home that primarily serves blacks; and the building of expensive new homes that residents sometimes referred to as "Fannie's mansions." One of Lewis' biggest victories came in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Cleveland school voucher plan, ruling it was designed to further education rather than religion and did not violate the separation of church and state. Lewis was a strong advocate of the voucher program, leading several demonstrations in Columbus and Washington, D.C., and her stance garnered national attention. Another of Lewis's longtime goals -- the restoration of League Park, the former home field of the Cleveland Indians -- is often discussed but has yet to begin. Lewis often said her strength and political will came from her faith in God. "Every day somebody will come along and shake your faith. They will shoot your attitude down," Lewis said in 1996. "The Lord says, 'If I am with you, that's more than the whole world against you.' " Lewis was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn., where she worked in a laundry and as a cosmetologist before marrying Carlee Lewis at the age of 19. The couple had two children before moving to Cleveland in 1951 after Carlee had a brush with a racist Memphis police officer. Carlee and Fannie Lewis moved in with a cousin who lived on Hawthorne Avenue. Carlee began a trucking business and Lewis pressed shirts at a local dry cleaner. They had three more children and moved into a house on Star Avenue, where Lewis lived. Lewis became involved in the daily life around the Hough neighborhood. She was thrust into the spotlight on July 18, 1966, when racial tension in the neighborhood erupted into fighting, arson and looting. More than 1,700 National Guardsmen were called to maintain order in what become knows as the Hough riots. By the time the riots were over, four people were killed, 46 injured and millions of dollars of damage had been done along Hough Avenue. A photograph of Lewis talking to National Guardsmen and trying to maintain order appeared in The Plain Dealer. Lewis quickly took a more active role in the community. She became a recruiter for the Neighborhood Youth Corps, a city project that helped people find work, and was promoted to recruitment coordinator in 1969. After divorcing Carlee in 1972, Lewis was named director of the citizens' component of the Model Cities program, a national program aimed at developing grass-roots initiatives to improve neighborhoods. By 1976, Lewis had run unsuccessfully for City Council and become an outspoken, often angry critic of Cleveland politics. Lewis's criticism earned her political enemies. In 1979, then-Mayor Dennis Kucinich appointed her to the Regional Transit Authority board, but council blocked the appointment. But that autumn, Lewis was elected to council. Longtime friend Lois Ali said: "Fannie's probably the safest person in the ward. If some guy would try to jump her, I bet she'd know his mama's name." In 1994, Lewis toyed with the idea of running for governor, but ultimately decided against it. Two years later she was inducted into the Ohio Women Hall of Fame in Columbus. Lewis had been in and out of the hospital since last September and had missed most council meetings since then. In a June interview, she told The Plain Dealer that she remained engaged in constituent issues and projects in her ward but missed the action at City Hall. She spoke fondly of her colleagues, many of whom visited her at home or the hospital in her final weeks. Lewis recalled how touched she was that Jackson and Sweeney brought her back a picture of the Eiffel Tower, a souvenir from a May marketing trip city officials made to Paris. "It's been real good," Lewis said in the interview, striking a retrospective tone. "I just thank God for all the people I've met in the community since I've been here." Former Mayor Jane Campbell marveled at Lewis' dedication to Hough residents. "Everything that she did revolved around rebuilding the homes and the people of that ward," Campbell wrote in an e-mail "She was determined and unwavering. Best of all, she produced results." Lewis inspired her colleagues. Cimperman, who in his early days on the council sparred with Lewis, talked of her as a mentor and someone who gave all she could to her ward. "She wasn't just one of the greatest council people I ever worked with," Cimperman said this morning. "She was one of the greatest people I ever worked with. People talk about her in gigantic terms because there's never going to be anyone like her ever again." Plain Dealer reporter Henry J. Gomez contributed to this report. culled from: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/08/fannie_lewis_dies_at_82.html

TRIBUTES: Homage and Praises

Outspoken, revered councilwoman Fannie Lewis dies

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