Page 5 - May2019_BarJournal

COLuMN BarJournal

JULY/AUGUST 2015

tHe cmBA cULtUrAL LegAcy

series ALLoWs Us to ceLeBrAte

oUr Ancestors AnD PrePAre

for oUr fUtUre

Marlon A. Primes from tHe PresiDent

he Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Series focused on some of those iconic Cleveland The Cultural Legacy Series will conclude at
Association’s (CMBA) Cultural neighborhoods and the outstanding Cleveland noon on May 31, when the local bar associations
Legacy Series allows our lawyers they helped produce. of color will convene and discuss Cleveland legal
legal community to celebrate On March 13, Part I of the series featured icons in the African-American, Hispanic, Asian,
T Cleveland’s rich history and Ken Callahan, Tom McNair of Ohio City, Inc., and South Asian communities. Please join us.
prepare for our amazing future. and historian Judith McKeigan. They discussed Though the series examined how immigration
The series celebrates the large number of Irish Bend, a community along the Cuyahoga from all corners of the world greatly enhanced
immigrants who migrated to Cleveland at the River where Irish-Americans initially settled in our city’s culture, it also enables us to discover
height of the Industrial Revolution. At that Cleveland. The presenters discussed the history the important role lawyers from those
time, thousands of immigrants from Asia, of Irish Bend and exciting plans to build a park communities played in Cleveland’s renaissance.
Central America, Ireland, Italy, and other to educate the public about its rich history. In many cases, the lawyers were the children
parts of the globe arrived in Northeast Ohio. On April 2, Part II covered the legacy of Judge and grandchildren of immigrants or those who
As you may recall from my inaugural address, Anthony Celebrezze, Sr., Judge Frank Battisti, arrived in Ohio from the Jim Crow South. Those
my grandfather, George Primes, Sr., and so and Italian-American lawyers in Cleveland. lawyers found ways to guide our city during
many other African-Americans from former Basil Russo provided a thorough history of its most challenging times of civil unrest, a
Confederate States left their jobs as sharecroppers the local Italian-American community, which burning river, desegregation, and the benefits
during the Great Northward Migration and settled in the Little Italy neighborhood on and burdens of the industrial revolution. As
joined them. Although those new residents of Murray Hill in Cleveland. According to Basil, we stand on the brink of the new technology
Northeast Ohio spoke different languages and a much larger Italian-American community also age that will feature drones, self-driving cars,
had many different accents, they worked together lived in another part of Cleveland called Big Italy. artificial intelligence, and so much more, we
at large factories to help our community become Dan McMullen, a former law clerk of should experience no fear or trepidation. Like
an industrial giant that supplied the country Judge Battisti, discussed Judge Battisti’s legacy our ancestors, we, too, can continue to rise
and the world with steel, oil, tires, automobiles, of desegregating the Cleveland Metropolitan to the occasion and set a firm foundation for
industrial parts, and other products. School District to ensure equal educational future generations to continue to prosper and
The Cultural Legacy Series also allows our opportunities for all Cleveland students. Judge grow. After all, the multiple opportunities and
legal community to learn about our past and Celebreeze’s grandson, Anthony Celebrezze career paths many of us now enjoy are what
the tremendous sacrifices of our ancestors, III, travelled from Columbus to discuss his our ancestors envisioned when they arrived in
who reached their promised land of Ohio, by grandfather’s legacy as Cleveland’s mayor and Northeast Ohio –– it is what they were fighting
crossing the Atlantic Ocean, penetrating the Iron a federal appellate judge, and he explained how for and working so hard to achieve.
Curtain, or trekking through the South during our local federal building came to bear his
the Jim Crow era. They were rightfully proud grandfather’s name.
of their work in Northeast Ohio factories, and On April 25, Part III of the series featured the Marlon A. Primes has been a CMBA member
many of us are first-generation lawyers because impact of George Voinovich, Frank Lausche, and since 1993. He previously served as: a member of
our ancestors worked tirelessly so that we had the Slovenian-American community. Cleveland- the Board of Trustees, the Chair of The Litigation
opportunities to pursue different career paths. Marshall Law Professor John Plecnik, Ohio Section, the Chair of the 3Rs Committee, and the
While our ancestors wore down their bodies State Senator Kenny Yuko, and Tim Cosgrove Chair of the Justice for All Committee. Marlon has
toiling in hot and dangerous factories, they discussed Cleveland’s Slovenian-American worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Cleveland
often set aside money for our education and community, which is one of the largest in the for the past 26 years. He received his law degree
repeatedly lectured us about the importance country. According to the panelists, the late U.S. from Georgetown University Law Center and his
of obtaining a college degree. Although far Senator and Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich undergraduate degree from Ohio University’s E.W.
from perfect, they established iconic and strong was a son of the local Slovenian community and Scripps School of Journalism. He can be reached
neighborhoods that continue to culturally enrich an avid supporter of it, using his legal skills to help at (216) 622-3684 or Marlon.Primes@usdoj.gov.
our city and region. The CMBA Cultural Legacy Cleveland rebound from some challenging years. Follow him on Twitter @MPrimesCMBA.
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