Najae Jackson interview, 10 September 2025

Abstract

In this 2025 interview, educator and community advocate Ms. Najae Jackson discusses her lifelong connection to East Cleveland and the experiences that shaped her path as a teacher, civic leader, entrepreneur. She reflects on her K–12 schooling, Morgan State University, and the impact of attending an historically black college. Jackson describes the turning point that led her into urban planning and community development, emphasizing the influence of local mentors and personal experiences. Jackson also explores family history, neighborhood culture, the Shaw Reunion tradition, and East Cleveland’s challenges and strengths.

Interviewee

Jackson, Najae (interviewee)

Interviewer

Mays, Nicholas S. (interviewer)

Project

East Cleveland

Date

9-10-2025

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

60 minutes

Recommended Citation

"Najae Jackson interview, 10 September 2025" (2025). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 757002.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/1402

Related Resources

East Cleveland @ Cleveland Voices

Transcript

Nick Mays [00:00:00] My name is Dr. Nicholas S. Mays, and today is September 10, 2025. We are here at the Mickey’s Building, located in East Cleveland, conducting an official oral history interview for the East Cleveland Oral History Project. I’m joined by Ms. Najae Jackson, a lifelong East Clevelander, educator, entrepreneur and community advocate. This interview will become part of our Historical Archives initiative to preserve the stories and contributions of past and present East Clevelanders, as well as it will serve as a historical source that will inform the production of a scholarly historical article and digital documentary.

Najae Jackson [00:00:53] Exciting.

Nick Mays [00:00:55] Can you briefly introduce yourself, Ms. Najae Jackson. For the record, can you state your age, the year you were born, and your name?

Najae Jackson [00:01:07] I’m a woman. I can’t say my age. No, I’m just kidding. My name is Najee Jackson. I am a lifelong East Cleveland resident. I would consider myself to be an advocate, a property owner, just a die hard East Clevelander. I’m 26 years old and I was born in 1999.

Nick Mays [00:01:26] Can you share your educational path, including your more recent graduate school endeavors?

Najae Jackson [00:01:34] Okay, should I go from kindergarten? I can make it quick. Or should I just go up first?

Nick Mays [00:01:38] Whatever you like.

Najae Jackson [00:01:40] So K through 5, I was at Citizens Academy, so that’s why we did our tour. I was talking about the drive thru where I used to get my KFC. Sixth grade, I was at Monticello Middle School. Seventh grade, I was at Heritage, which is East Cleveland. So shout out to the East Cleveland city School District. [00:01:53] 8th grade, Adelaide Stevenson. That was a Cleveland school. High School 9 through 12 was Cleveland Central Catholic. Then I went to the illustrious HBCU, Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. I love my HBCU and I am currently pursuing my master’s of Urban Planning and Development at Cleveland State University.

Nick Mays [00:02:12] Can you briefly talk about your time in undergrad?

Najae Jackson [00:02:17] Oh, my goodness, briefly. I can try. No, I’m just kidding. It was amazing. It was an amazing experience. For those four years, I was the majority and not the minority. I felt just home, love, familiarity. Everywhere I went. Black Queen, do this. Be this amazing person. I was just uplifted in any room I was in. [00:02:39] Everywhere I turned, it was just a sister or brother. Like, I’m almost getting literally chills talking about it. Like, Morgan State was the basis of so much for me. And I loved my experience. I did tours. I got my first apartment there. I met people that looked like me, that were nothing like me. [00:02:53] And it was such an amazing matriculation. Like, if it wasn’t for Covid, I would have got my full four years. But I Had an amazing experience at Morgan State University. It was amazing.

Nick Mays [00:03:03] So what happened because of COVID.

Najae Jackson [00:03:06] You know, like, junior senior year, you get all acclimated. And in 2020, that was the end of my junior year. And we went on spring break, and we never came back. So we took classes online. And for me, I was good. I was set. I had my apartment so, you know, I could have my little parties, have my friends come over. [00:03:23] But it became online learning. And all of my friends who lived in the area, who lived in Philly, New York, Jersey, D.C. they went home. And I was in my apartment that last six months. You know, obviously, the ones who stayed around, we kind of kicked it with each other, made meals, and we were still together, so we still made that little sense of community on campus. [00:03:39] But a lot of stuff left, and a lot of stuff dried up. Obviously, for Covid, you know, the city was shut down. I ended school in December of 2020. I was done a semester early. You know, I’m in academia. We don’t play around. And then I had the opportunity to walk in May of 2021. [00:03:58] So I came home in August, September of 2021. Cause I was tired of being by myself. Covid just sucked all the life out of college for me. But before that, Morgan State was amazing experience. Amazing.

Nick Mays [00:04:14] How would you say attending an HBCU Informs who you are?

Najae Jackson [00:04:18] In every aspect?

Nick Mays As a.

Najae Jackson What? I’m sorry.

Nick Mays [00:04:24] No, I was gonna say just, you know, as an individual, as a person, as a entrepreneur, or as a, you know, as a professional.

Najae Jackson [00:04:33] It shaped me in all different forms because it would be crazy. You know, we have our college parties. I would see people on Friday, Saturday listening to music, having a ball. And then Monday morning, suits and ties. So I saw the duality of a person that looked just like me. I saw where I could go. [00:04:47] I saw people that came back from graduate like, that graduated and came back and would bring life into us. Come to the, like, the entrepreneur fairs or just people from different organizations. We had, like, the. We had, like, an African American association for people from. Or can I say, like a Caribbean association. [00:05:03] Excuse me. It was that. And then we would have people from, like, Baltimore with the slang or people showing me what type of food to eat or just meeting so many different people. Like, it was just. It was just any way I could be influenced. I would. But in all the right ways. [00:05:19] Like, there was so much positivity. Okay. Freshman year, I was crying. I wanted to go home. Homesick. Okay. Everybody does this. I was so homesick. I Was crying, ready to go home. A senior grabbed me and said, just give it time till January. Come back second semester, I got you. So just, that was what made me want to be there. [00:05:36] So I ended up doing tours and bringing in all the freshmen. Like, come on, little babies, you gotta stay. You gonna love it here. So just those full circle moments that people treated me right, just made me want to get back to my college community. So I loved it.

Nick Mays [00:05:48] And just for the record, where is this school?

Najae Jackson [00:05:53] Baltimore, Maryland. Yes.

Nick Mays [00:05:55] Okay, good. Can you. I want to pivot a little bit and get to graduate school. What inspired your graduate work at CSU [Cleveland State University]? And this is a tool. Two part question. We’ll start with question A.

Najae Jackson [00:06:12] What inspire the reason why I’m in grad school? Or what inspired me to get a degree in urban planning or development? Might sound cliche, but. East Cleveland, Ohio, before I met this lovely, amazing woman from the Cuyahoga County Land bank at a community meeting, I had no interest in ever going back to grad school. [00:06:29] I did my four years, I got my A’s. I said, oh, I’m good. But I was connected to this amazing woman. Instead of talking at me, she talked to me. Because I came home fresh from an amazing experience and saw all the blight, all the craziness. My father had an incident where he was pulled out of his car by police officers and saying he did all these crazy things. [00:06:49] And they were like, oh, my apologies. And I was like, wait, this can’t be okay. Like, this is my city, East Cleveland. Then I saw all the blight going on, and it just made me want to go to a community meeting. So. So I found myself, every first and third Tuesday, 22, 23 years old, going to council meetings, which was crazy. [00:07:06] My friends thought I was insane. Or going to local meetings at the library. Or I would do something. I would call it my drive. And I would just drive around, and I had a list of properties and houses. So when I finally met this woman from the Land Bank, we sat. We had a conversation at the Starbucks over here in University Circle. [00:07:23] And we just talked and communicated. And she connected me with so many other people. And I said, this is what I want to do. So I ended up buying my first property here in January of 2023. I was 23 years old. Found it on Facebook and happened to buy this property from. It was so crazy. [00:07:41] The guy who sold the property happened to be my little brother’s, his first girlfriend’s dad. So just saw how small the community was. He was like, wait, that’s your brother. And just seeing that I could buy a house, and I was like, what else can I do? Like, how else can I do this? [00:07:54] So I went to. To diversify my palate. And every semester since then, anytime that I could aim my studies towards East Cleveland, I did it. I have projects, I have data, all driven around East Cleveland and how I can do better. So East Cleveland is what prompted me to go ahead and get that degree. [00:08:10] And now I’m taking over the world.

Nick Mays [00:08:15] Thank you for your response. And you sort of answered. Responded to the the second question, but I think we could get more out of it. So I’m gonna. I’m gonna ask you. I’m gonna go ahead and ask the second part of the question. How has your graduate work at CSU shaped your vision for East Cleveland and your aspirations to contribute to the future development or revitalization?

Najae Jackson [00:08:48] Connections, connections, connections. Anywhere I’m going, I’m screaming from the mountaintop. East Cleveland, East Cleveland, East Cleveland. I’m asking questions. I’m asking people. What do you think? What would you do? How can you help? Do you have any input? Like I was saying earlier, all of my studies, like, my professors, we know when Najae comes in the room, it’s East Cleveland. [00:09:08] Like, it was a point. We had instructors coming in, and I was like, hey, if you could make this example for maybe a city like East Cleveland. And my whole class turned around and laughed because they were like, we knew that that question was coming. But I just ask questions. I try to make connections. [00:09:22] I’m asking people, okay, you see the blight, you see all the problems. We got a thousand problems, zero solutions. What will be a solution? How would you help? And whenever I can study. So I found out stuff about the median income here or what type of jobs we have or what jobs we don’t have. [00:09:37] What type of jobs do we need here? Those are things I looked up. I’m talking about the homeowner rate. Well, excuse me, the owner occupancy rate or renter occupancy rate. So I’ve just been able to study a lot about East Cleveland because it’s one thing to feel a certain type of way, because I was. [00:09:51] They hate us. Look at our streets. The police never come. Which, okay, those things can be true. But to have research and knowledge, so to have my educational background and then still my personal ability, because I’m a person, I’ve lived here, I’ve seen changes. So just kind of being able to mesh the real lived experiences with the educational background. [00:10:10] And kind of picking the brains of other people. Because of East Cleveland, I’ve been able to do that. So super exciting.

Nick Mays [00:10:17] Ms. Jackson, can you articulate this passion that you have for being a positive force for your city?

Najae Jackson [00:10:32] I think I look at it like, if not meeting who, because some people are like, oh, I’m over that. East Cleveland is never going to do anything, but I feel like it’s. It was home for me. It was places where I was just here as a baby a lot. And when I think about it, it’s like. [00:10:46] My mother worked at the old Huron Road Hospital, so I tell people I’m a Huron Road baby. My cousin was. She worked in the kitchen. So I would be all in the back getting snacks and stuff and then going back up to my mom with X rays. Well, she worked in the X ray booth or whatever. [00:10:58] I would go play with her, or I would again go to Peter Pan’s, or I could go to the street and see my family. So to me, East Cleveland was always home. So. So even now, when it’s kind of, like, scarier, I guess it’s still home to me. I’m not going too crazy. [00:11:12] Obviously, there’s blight and there’s discomfort, but beyond that, it’s so much beauty. Honest to God, there is not a day that I don’t drive down Euclid Avenue and see somebody or something or get a hunk or get a hey or even me just smiling at somebody else. Because to me, East Cleveland is home. [00:11:28] And I know for a fact East Cleveland is already low enough. It can’t go nowhere else. The only thing we could do was elevate, redevelop, revitalize. And I want to be at the heart of that. Like, this is home to me. So I want to be at the forefront being one of those people making these steps to really just push and elevate East Cleveland. [00:11:45] So it’s home. So that’s why home.

Nick Mays [00:11:47] What are some things that you’re doing now or you’ve been doing recently to be a part of making that change.

Najae Jackson [00:11:54] Recently, as in, like, this year? I could go back a little bit and talk about Circle East.

Nick Mays [00:11:59] Yeah, a couple years.

Najae Jackson [00:12:00] Yeah. Okay. So it was in 2023. I did some outreach and engagement within this area of East Cleveland. So this is Circle East. It’s a new development coming on from about. I tell people about a third of East Cleveland. And my thing is, I want us to get engaged. I wanted us to know what’s happening. [00:12:16] I wanted us to be involved. So I was the one door knocking saying, hey, this is happening. Please be at this event. We want your opinions, we want your perspective. We want to see what people like us want because the development is here. Cuyahoga County Land bank is here. They’re making stride. But development has to be people oriented. [00:12:34] If we’re not happy and you make this big change, only us people will have to live for either the greatness that comes or the detriment of these different things that happen or, excuse me, these different developments that emerge from us. So I wanted it to be people centered. I want our people to be able to come out. [00:12:50] So it was hot and sweaty, and I had these nice floor, these nice bright colored flyers, and I had me and my little sister racing to put doors, I mean, put stuff in people mailbox, going up all of these streets. And then once we hit the target area, then I went down there because people are saying, hey, this is all. [00:13:07] No, it’s gonna come eventually. Somebody’s gonna come along, some great developers gonna push to continue to rise with East Cleveland. So I just wanted to make sure the stuff is going on now. People like me, residents had a genuine input and were involved so that we don’t look and it’s like, oh, yeah, this is this big divide. [00:13:24] Like, I want all of East Cleveland to be together, all of East Cleveland to be one. So I wanted to make sure that with this new development, it was people centered. So get the people here, get them knowing about what’s going on. So that’s what I’ve been doing more recently, and then buying properties. [00:13:38] I own two properties of my own here in East Cleveland. So that’s amazing for me. And one happens to be like, on, like the old. Near the old block where my family used to live at and own property. So that was really. That was like a full circle moment for me. So I have two properties of my own here. [00:13:54] And then just being an activist.

Nick Mays [00:13:58] What informed that decision and then I’ll get back to that. What does that mean to you? But what informed the entrepreneurship and purchasing property?

Najae Jackson [00:14:07] Crazy enough Sometimes it’s just that dog and you. It’s in me. There was no way that I was paying thousands of dollars for somebody else when I know I can get it on my own. My family owned properties when I was younger, so just home ownership was just something that was really important to me, really young. [00:14:21] And some people were like, so who did that? Who told you I was like, me? My mother and father would tell you, like, I don’t know why Najae is doing this. I Don’t know what she’s doing. She’s doing something. But me just wanting to be independent, wanting to own property in a place that I felt like was home and is what kind of drove me. [00:14:38] And also the price, the price of living is crazy. I was like, hold on, I can pay that to myself and on my own house. So I would stay up in the middle of the night because, believe it or not, I bought both of my properties on Facebook. I did the first deed three times wrong before I did it right. [00:14:54] But then that second time, it was like clockwork. So just having it in me to want to have independence and just wanting to make East Cleveland home is kind of what motivated me to buy these houses.

Nick Mays [00:15:06] Clearly, you are an entrepreneur. Talk about entrepreneurship, why it’s important for you to be entrepreneurship, and why is entrepreneurship significant?

Najae Jackson [00:15:23] So my degree is business administration. My undergrad is a business admin. So I kind of always have that underlying business thing or business mindset in the back of my brain, like, how can I make this lucrative for me? So for me, entrepreneurship is just seeing a way to make some money when nobody else can, or just finding a way to just say, hey, I gotta hustle. [00:15:42] Like, some stuff is just what they say is in you, not on you. And some stuff is just in me to want to go out there and go get it. So I teach now. I own properties, I’m in school. Some of the other entrepreneurial things I did when I was in college, I was waxing. [00:15:55] I was doing hair more recently. Not this year, but for the past three years, Shaw reunion. Oh, my God, I wish you would have been able to see it this year. But I didn’t do it. Sell Mexican cornbread, walking tacos, chips, drinks, pops, whatever. And I was probably out there from 10:00pm to like 4:00 clock in the morning because people saw a party, which I did too. [00:16:16] It was a community party, but I also saw Cha Ching, Cha Ching, Cha Ching. And I was like, okay, come on here and make you some money. So just seeing opportunities and just wanting to just be comfortable and have ideas. Like, I’m a really creative person. So if I have an idea and they make me some money, I’m gonna do it.

Nick Mays [00:16:52] So in discussing entrepreneurship, you mentioned that you are a teacher.

Najae Jackson [00:16:58] Yes.

Nick Mays [00:16:58] What do you teach and talk about your career as a teacher?

Najae Jackson [00:17:02] So I am A teacher. This will be my second year teaching. I teach at John Adams College and Career Academy. Last year I did 11th grade algebra two. This year I’m working with a freshman doing algebra one. So it’s a community that’s really similar to mine. Not as large scale, but the same demographic of students, you know, the same struggles, just a different area. [00:17:23] So it was kind of like I just kind of fit right in. But I love teaching, although it’s a little struggle. I got the babies this year, but once you get them in shape and they just, you make them want to learn, you get a classroom dynamic, you shape the way you want to shape things and you just get, you know, a good rapport with your students. [00:17:40] And then they’re, we’re good. So we’re on week four and they love me now and I make them do this thing. I say, I’m sorry, who? And they say, I’m sorry, Ms. Jackson, who? So that’s our little thing. Like, they love it. I can show you a video record later. But I love teaching.

Nick Mays [00:17:54] Talk a little bit about your teaching philosophy. I know some practitioners and teachers bring obviously their skill sets and their training and their, themselves, their personality, their lived experience as a part of the teaching process. Some others are really more rigid and that they’re just going to come in and, you know, use their skill sets, their training to do to the job. [00:18:28] To do the job. Can you talk about how you approach it and your philosophy?

Najae Jackson [00:18:33] So the way I approach, like the classroom or the way I get a good rapport, I. I let my students know at the beginning because sometimes school can be a little intimidating. I let them know it’s okay to be loud and wrong. I want you to be able to be humble here. I want you to be able to laugh at yourself. [00:18:47] I want you to be able to learn. I want you to be able to be comfortable. And sometimes when we’re working in these urban communities, sometimes there’s a disconnect. Maybe they’re not on grade level, but my job is just to instill confidence. That’s my biggest thing. Some people don’t know how hard it is for a student to just come up to the board. [00:19:01] So I’m instilling confidence. I’m instilling humility. I tell them all the time, hey, I’m not perfect. If I put a negative on a board and it’s a positive, correct me. And I’m commending them. Thank you so much for paying attention. Thank you for catching that. Or look at you, baby genius. Like I’m that type of person. [00:19:14] Like, I’m encouraging and inspiring in the classroom. I asked them, you can ask me the question 100 times. That’s one of the things I get at the beginning of the year. I say, I don’t care if Billy, Bobby, and Suzy ask me. If you have the same question, ask it. Like, that’s what I’m here for. [00:19:28] Or just embracing that culture of learning together. Because some people are like, oh, I don’t want to say the answer wrong. I’m encouraging it. Like, give me something. Or I always tell them, give me something. Help me help you. Like, I can’t. Because sometimes they give this stuff. I don’t know. I don’t know. [00:19:43] No, you know something. You know what? You don’t know. So what is not working for you? How can I help you? So just embracing humility, walking with grace, and just being confident. So those would be the two things. Confidence and humility is one of those themes in my class.

Nick Mays [00:19:57] Thank you. Thank you for sharing. Please. Moving on. Please share some of the recognitions you received in and outside of East Cleveland, as well as competitions or projects in which you were involved.

Najae Jackson [00:20:15] Oh, yeah. Okay. So two things. This year, in January, I did the Urban Land Institute Heinz competition, which was like, this crazy development where me and a couple architects got together from where did they go–to Kent State. And we were downtown at the collaborative studio, and it was like, two weeks. We had to quickly come up with this entire development project from start to finish, about, like, the phases of how we would do it, the money, the contracts, what we would put there, all of this. [00:20:43] And it was amazing. We didn’t win the money, but we did amazing. We had to do this marginal development near Fox 8 and all Horizon near Bratenahl. It was this hypothetical development of maybe, don’t quote me, like, 40 acres or something. And we just had to go through this entire process in two weeks. [00:21:02] And I did this while I was teaching and while it would be my third semester of grad school was rolling in, so I was like, oh, my goodness. But that was an amazing experience because the Urban Land Institute, connecting you with so many people, because I had never worked with these individuals. There were three teams in Ohio, and then we had to come together and then present. [00:21:20] So that led me to other connections. So that was amazing. And that was in January and then May. I had the opportunity of speaking at the American Planning Association. There was, like, a conference, and I was actually there talking about East Cleveland. So I talked about my perspective as a resident, as an Advocate as a die hard East Clevelander. [00:21:43] That was actually the first time somebody called me a champion in East Cleveland at that conference. And I was like, huh? I’m a what? She’s like, I would say you’re a champion of East Cleveland. I was like, I’m just a resident property owner, investor, whatever you like. But that was amazing to go in there and talk on, just to have the platform to speak about East Cleveland on a, you know, like a state level, because people were everywhere there at the planning association. [00:22:07] So to be able to and be recognized at a place like that, it was kind of like, okay, you’re doing good. It felt really good.

Nick Mays [00:22:15] Have you taken the time to unpack that statement of recognition by the individual who called you a champion of East Cleveland? Have you taken time to think about what that meant or what it means to you?

Najae Jackson [00:22:35] I think in that moment it was like shocking. And I was like, oh, that’s what people consider me to be. But I don’t think I’ve ever just sat in it and thought, like, what does this mean to you? I guess if I was to sit in now, it felt good. If I was to think about it, I was like, okay, so she sees that I’m working to do something for East Cleveland. [00:22:52] So for her to say, you’re a champion of East Cleveland, I never sat down and just thought about that. But now thinking about it, for me, it’s like I’m kind of doing small things that I was already doing. Like, I was already advocating for my city, I was already buying properties. I was already doing these things. [00:23:06] So just to see it and what some would say in such a short amount of time, it just felt good to feel recognized and understand, like, okay, we’re only at the very beginning, but you’re doing something right. So that’s how I felt.

Nick Mays [00:23:18] Before we pivot, can you, can you tell me about Teach for America? Is it Teach for America?

Najae Jackson [00:23:27] It’s Teach for America. What did they do? They kind of like prepped me to be a teacher because I wasn’t teaching prior. I subbed for and I was multi district sub in. I did Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, Richmond and Euclid. And my uncle, he works for them on like a bigger, like admin level. [00:23:45] And he was like, well, hey, if you’re already subbing, you might as well roll in a classroom for teaching. And I kind of love subbing. So I was like, okay, let me try it. So they kind of prepped us over for the summer and then placed you within a school Based upon your testing and whatever you wanted to teach or your specialization. [00:24:01] So they kind of just prepped me to teach, and then I rolled in. So they kind of just bridged the gap of where I was and where I came. Because if you was telling me, like, 10 years ago, you’d be a teacher, I’d be like, who? I’m gonna be a what? But it just happened, and I’m like, okay, I like it. [00:24:16] I could do this. So. And I love math. So when people are like, you teach algebra? I’m like, yeah, I like it. So I don’t know.

Nick Mays [00:24:23] Do you think you’re making a difference?

Najae Jackson [00:24:26] 100%. One of my students literally asked me. She was like, why are you teaching? You got houses. You’re doing all of this. How can you do all of this? And just knowing that they saw that I’m doing all of these things that I’m teaching, I know for a fact, seeing me as a young black woman in a school, that I’m making an impact on my students. [00:24:43] I know for a fact. And even when they talk about me and they’re saying, oh, you’re from East Cleveland. It’s almost unbelievable. Or when I tell them, hey, I’m in school, they’re like, Ms. Jackson, you’re in grad school and you teach us. It’s like they know the potential of what they can do. [00:24:56] And by me being so much. Well, not so young, but by me being, you know, close in age with them, not too far from high school, they can see the future. They’re like, oh, wait, Ms. Jackson, you doing that? Or I write with them. I know the first day of school last year, I didn’t have the opportunity to do it this year, but I said, how can I help you beyond education? [00:25:13] And some would be like, help me get a credit card. How can I do this? How can I do that? And I’m like, you want somebody to really help you evolve as a person? So just beyond education, I know for a fact I make impact. Like, one of my seniors, she messaged me, hey, Ms. [00:25:28] Jackson, can I use you for a reference? Yes. Yes, you can. And they’re in college, or one of them called me. She works at Young or. Excuse me, goes to Youngstown. She was like, I just passed my math test. It was some of the stuff you taught me. And I was like, good job. [00:25:40] So having those babies look back, and in college or reaching out to me, it lets me know that I’m doing something right.

Nick Mays [00:25:46] Thank you. Thank you for that. Your story is so. It’s profound. Okay, so now I want to talk a little bit about your history. I’m going to pivot, talk about history, your history with East Cleveland, your family. We want to go back, you know, a little bit. Right. And talk about your connection and personal history to East Cleveland. [00:26:13] Can you talk about your family growing up in East Cleveland? But before we go there, like, yeah, where did your family come from in Ohio? Or kind of going back to Great migration? Like, where is your family, your ancestors, from in the South?

Najae Jackson [00:26:33] So to kind of go back and give you, like, a brief history about my family, where we came from. So, yes, from down south. Yes. Alabama, I would say. And it’s actually a small town. Wedowee, Alabama. That would be where my great grandmother, her name was Velma, and she had, like, three last names. [00:26:49] Velma Maribel o’ Neal Jackson. So that was her name. And she did move up here from Atlanta. Excuse me. Not Atlanta, Alabama. Excuse me. But we do have some family back in Alabama. Atlanta, like, probably six generations back. Oddly enough, I was able to go, like six generations back, and I can kind of name them, which is so sick. [00:27:07] But just to start with my great grandmother, her name was Velma. She migrated up here with two of her sisters. She is like, one of eight. She moved up with my aunt Ann and my aunt Pearl, and they started off on 117th in St. Clair, and then she lived here, Euclid Avenue, with my grandfather. [00:27:24] That was my great grandfather’s schoolboy. So I didn’t have the opportunity to meet either of them. But they are still here, resting in East Cleveland. They’re in Lakeview Cemetery. They had my grandmother, which is Princess. My grandmother’s name was Princess Jackson, hence my middle name. I also did not get to meet her either. [00:27:40] She died at the age of 36. And then my father. So I will say that’s how we got here. My father grew up here in East Cleveland, and my mother, they met at Heritage and moved on to Shaw. We’re high school sweethearts. And then I came along. So I would definitely say it started with us being in Alabama. [00:28:00] I keep saying that. Alabama. And they migrated up here, my grandmother and her two sisters. She met Schoolboy, which is like the East Haven biker legend. I’ll say his name in a room full of people that are like 50 plus, and they’re like, who? And I’m like, that’s my grandfather. But then my parents met at Shaw, and then me.

Nick Mays [00:28:19] Were you born in East Cleveland?

Najae Jackson [00:28:21] I was born at Rainbows Babies and Children. So right down the street as close as East Cleveland as it got. Yep.

Nick Mays [00:28:27] Can you talk about growing up in East Cleveland?

Najae Jackson [00:28:33] Family, people, beautiful houses, beautiful homes. People cared about curb appeal. Like, grass is cut, like, looks like they used a blaze. So if I was to talk about what East Cleveland used to look like or what I saw when I was a baby, it was beautiful. It was nice to me. Like, it wasn’t anything bad. [00:28:53] We had all the nice little pool spots around. And then years to come, and it just. It just slowly but surely changed. But one thing that always remained the same to me about East Cleveland, it’s always been home. Like, whether you move across town and come back, East Cleveland has always been home for me. [00:29:09] There’s always at least one family member who lives here, still stays there. Like that house, My great grandfather, at one point, all of his children’s names were on the house. So that’s the family’s house. So East Cleveland has always been home to me. I saw it go from driving down Euclid Avenue and seeing people waving every other person to now, or, excuse me, every other street. [00:29:30] And I was like, maybe every four or five blocks. So there are still people. But it was much. It was so many more.

Nick Mays [00:29:36] What does that mean to you? Right. Let’s grab the always been home phrase that you use. What does that mean to you? Uncomfortable.

Najae Jackson [00:29:45] It means what always been home. For me, it’s like, I’m good in East Cleveland. I’m good here. Whether it’s bad or ugly or pretty, I’m here. So for me, always been home to me, it means I’m comfortable. So you know how people will say, like, oh, this is the hood. I’m nervous, or it’s like, okay, I see the bad, but for me, I’m comfortable. [00:30:08] And although I understand these are not the things that my children deserve to see. But for right now, this is my sense of community. It’s the things that make me feel at home. Just being able to be comfortable or seeing familiar faces. Even if it’s not the best face, it’s a familiar face. [00:30:22] And I know I’m okay. So understanding that the things that I see and that are okay for me, my children don’t deserve to see a whole bunch of empty lots. We deserve to see beautiful and. And feel. We deserve to see artwork, outdoor furniture, homes filled in. Euclid Avenue was once booming with commercial and retail spaces, so we deserve to see those beautiful things. [00:30:43] But beyond all of that, when it is that or when it’s not, East Cleveland is me. It’s a Piece of home. So if I go and move to Africa or to Australia, I’m not Najae Jackson from East Cleveland, like, I’m from E.C. wow.

Nick Mays [00:30:56] Well, thank you for that. I want you to talk about young Najae elementary high school age growing up in East Cleveland. And in doing so, can you talk about your connections with schools and playgrounds and, you know, having fun, but also like businesses that you saw growing up that may or may not exist today.

Najae Jackson [00:31:22] So I know one we world passed earlier. That great old Peter Pans. That was something that I can touch on that was there. I also talked about it earlier. We had a dentist that was there. My first bank account was in East Cleveland. There was a park, if people know, it’s right behind Tucker’s Casino on the corner of Taylor and Euclid. [00:31:47] And there was like this little back park. And I remember my uncle. It was. I have four cousins, all four girls. We were all the same age, or still are all the same age. Our birthdays are like November, March. No, two in November and two in March. Literally all born in 98 and 99. [00:32:02] Four of us. And my uncle took us to this park right behind Tucker’s. And we kind of like walked behind Terrace and popped out at this hill. And I was like, wait, there’s a park back here. Like, my uncle used to take us to the corner store or pick us up. It’s. What is it? [00:32:16] Delmont. We used to have a house on Delmont. We used to spend the night over there. I think we all have that memory of like waking up at grandma’s house, 10 of us sleeping on the floors, the couch, the wherever we laid at. And then we wake up and go in the kitchen, grab our piece of little newspaper and our plate and go sit down and eat that food. [00:32:34] So when I was younger, it was like we always were all there. And I remember the nice cars we had. Like my family, we had a little bit of money back in the day. I don’t know about it. We was good. The cars, the motorcycles, just the people. All of my uncle’s motorcycles, all of my mom nice cars. [00:32:52] We had Cadillacs and cutlasses and every type of whatever. I can’t even name half of them. The big trucks with speakers out the back. I remember just people being around, Music, food, just my family always being there. And we were little, it would always be just a lot of kids, everybody’s kids. We call it the hill, where my family, we’d be like, let’s meet on the hill. [00:33:11] So we having family gatherings up there. We playing up There might be. So crazy. I remember one of my cousins. This is crazy. We were playing, like, one of my cousins hit the bat and we would all go chase it. And she stood behind that bat. And you know what happened after that. [00:33:27] But that’s the story of my cousin that we all know that happened in that field. So that was us just being family and just being together. And everybody had a house, like, on the next street over. So we be like on Holyoke, Wellesley, or this street over. Like, everybody was a street over. [00:33:44] Everybody’s here like a street down from here. My mom lives on Allendale. I got an uncle on Burnett. Speaking of Allendale, Angela Mia’s. We didn’t talk about Angela Mia’s. Angela Mia’s was jumping when I was younger, and they still jumping out. Angela Mia’s Pizza. If you go down Euclid Avenue, go going towards Noble, you make that left right before that Noble light. [00:34:06] Everybody love Angela Mia’s. The biggest, juiciest pizzas. Too much cheese on there, but it’s so good, you’ll be all right. And I don’t like pepperoni pizza, but they put the pepperonis under the cheese at Angela Mia. So it’s under and then the cheese on top. So Angela Mia’s is one of those East Cleveland throwbacks. [00:34:23] Have our uncle go get us a big pizza. Go meet at the park or Forest Hill Park. You know how beautiful Forest Hill park is. I’ve been on that play machine 100 different times, honestly. Or sat by that pond throwing bread at ducks a hundred different times. So East Cleveland was just me being a kid, Me having family food and just having a ball.

Nick Mays [00:34:45] Wow. Thank you. Can you talk about. Just listening to your response. I’m interested in, in high school, Najae Jackson, what you like in high school. And then I have another follow up.

Najae Jackson [00:35:03] Silly, goofy. I don’t know. I was always really smart. Like the 4.0, 3.8. I been did that. We’ve never got anything under a C, like, ever in life. Like, we can call my mom real quick to verify that. Yeah, no, I was. I was good. I played volleyball, basketball. I ran track. I was senior at large. [00:35:21] So, you know, I had my little leadership position. I was cool with everybody. The cool kids, the nerd kids, the sports kids. I was cool with everybody. I had a great high school experience. And, you know, when you were freshmen and you play sports, you get to meet the juniors, the seniors, the sophomores. [00:35:34] So I had a great experience in school. I did my little leadership positions. I love school, actually. I love High school. People like, I didn’t like school. I love high school. I had so much fun at ccc and I was just an outgoing person like myself. I recently had a interaction with somebody. [00:35:52] I went into class. I was doing this thing called class shopping because this is my final semester, so I gotta make sure the classes I’m taking I love. And I popped into a class and it was a girl that I went to high school with. And at the end of the class, she was like, this is. [00:36:04] Nothing has changed. It was like, we still in high school because we was just chitting and chatting. She’s like, why do you act the same? And I was like, I don’t know. I’m crazy. Like, I don’t know. That’s still me.

Nick Mays [00:36:13] Could you, in high school or even prior to high school, could you foresee today’s Najae Jackson and the work and the contributions you make in East Cleveland being a positive force civic leader? Did you foresee that?

Najae Jackson [00:36:35] Absolutely not. I did not. Never in life. No. I would never think that I would be trying to be like this East Cleveland person. Now, obviously, some stuff is just. Again, it’s in United. I know I’ll be doing something great. I know I’ll be trying to do something but get my masters. No, Because I told myself after high school I’m doing college and I’m not going back to school. [00:36:55] And now I’m thinking about getting a doctorate. So, no, I wouldn’t have said that. I just feel like everything happens for a reason. We came back to East Cleveland for a reason. My mother got that big house on Allendale and Terrace for a reason. So, no. In high school, would I have been like, oh, I’m be coming here buying houses and trying to make people develop East Cleveland and going back to school and studying East Cleveland? [00:37:17] Absolutely not. No. Nope. Couldn’t have planned it.

Nick Mays [00:37:21] Can you describe what it felt like to return after college and, you know, recommit yourself to East Cleveland and what it was like when you left for college and then come back the difference or changes that you saw?

Najae Jackson [00:37:43] So obviously it was blight because I left for College in 2017, came back in 21, but it was even more blight, realistically. And I was kind of like, disgusted, like, because, you know, when you’re younger, like, certain stuff is just like, you ride past and you’re like, okay, whatever, that’s normal. But to leave somewhere and, like, kind of diversify my palate and then come back, it was like a small smack in the face. [00:38:02] It was like a Culture shock to my own culture, if that makes sense. Like, it was crazy to come back and see, like, oh, wait, this is where I was at. Like, it probably was bad when I left, but it was like, wait, this is where I came from. How can I make this better? [00:38:14] Like, why is this like this? So I would say kind of like, disappointed when I came back because I was like, wait, this is home. We deserve more than this. So it kind of was like, disappointed. And they put the fire under me to go do something. So that’s what I feel. Disappointment and, like, motivation to just make it better. [00:38:31] So coming back, I would say those are the biggest emotions. Just kind of like shock, disappointment. Like a crazy culture shock of my own culture. And then just, like, motivation to do something. Yeah, I.

Nick Mays [00:38:43] I want to kind of go back. I think it’s important to just put shine on your mom and dad. What? Who’s your mom and dad? And what do they do? What are they like?

Najae Jackson [00:39:02] My mom is Tavette Jones. That’s my girl. When I was younger, it was, I’m not your little friend now. That’s my best friend. And also, happy birthday. Her birthday was yesterday, 9979. That’s my girl. My mom is Tvette Jones. She is a nurse and she currently lives in Las Vegas. Her and my sister left in March of 2020, 23, just to see something new, just to try stuff new. [00:39:21] So I have a little baby sister that’s out there with her. So they are just living their best life. But that’s my mom. That’s my girl. She’s been nursing for about 11 years, and she is a Shaw High graduate. And then my dad, he also graduated from Shaw, and now he’s doing some. [00:39:35] First he was doing, like, on the road truck driving, and now he’s working for RTA doing bus driving. So he had CDLs. He’s driving all around Cleveland. And it’s so crazy. You can see him going from East Cleveland, Cleveland. Cause he. I don’t know. I don’t know the lines. Don’t give me the line. [00:39:47] I’ll say 100 numbers. But sometimes he does the one going down Euclid and he’ll hunk at us. And I’m like, oh, that’s my daddy. That’s my daddy in the bus. So those are my parents. Those are my mom and dad.

Nick Mays [00:39:59] Thank you. And this is a nice pivot because your parents both.

Najae Jackson [00:40:03] Oh, I say his name. I’m sorry. His name is Willie. That’s my dad. Will, Sorry.

Nick Mays [00:40:10] Both of your parents attended and graduated from Shaw. Can you talk about the Shaw reunion and why is it like a holiday?

Najae Jackson [00:40:23] The Shaw reunion is like. It’s not like a holiday. It is a holiday. It’s supposed to be a three day weekend experience of just full out beautiful blackness, just every way you see it. I had a video on Tik Tok that was to going, going viral because I was posting hashtag East Cleveland, hashtag Shaw Reunion. [00:40:40] It was people doing double Dutch, people selling food. We saw a little girl entrepreneur, she was like maybe 8 years old, selling lemonade. Classes from 89 all the way up to 2019. Like you see so many amazing people and show reunion is the Shaw reunion. But it’s like a East Cleveland reunion. Like everybody is there. [00:41:00] I literally walked up on this man and he was my, my brother played for the East Cleveland Chiefs. So I was like, wait, were you used to coach my brother? And he was like, wait, that’s your mom, that’s your dad. He was like, you look just like them. And I don’t even know this man, but he’s telling me, I know your mother and your father and you look just like them. [00:41:15] And five seconds ago you didn’t even know me. Like East Cleveland is a family reunion. And then I was walking around, that’s my cousin, that’s my auntie, that’s my cousin. And it was like everybody. A cousin? Yeah, just about. Or a cousin of a cousin or a friend of a friend. East Cleveland is just like. [00:41:32] Only thing I can compare it to is the HBCU homecoming. There are people everywhere and just, just people just peopling, just being.

Nick Mays [00:41:41] Why is the Shaw reunion important and significant to you? Right. Kind of describe it to you. And then, and then generally, more generally, why is the Shah reunion is this important significant event for East Clevelanders?

Najae Jackson [00:42:01] So I didn’t even go to Shaw. But it’s just a time for us to just be, just be East Clevelanders, just to come together. And another big thing is it only happens once a year. There is only one high school in Shaw. So Shaw reunion is so big because it’s like that heavily anticipated thing like we’re waiting to see this person and that person. [00:42:22] People are flying in from out of town, people are doing different events. Some people are having their 25th year, their 10 year, their whatever year, but it’s still just an all Shaw reunion. And although I did not graduate from Shaw, I went to the East Cleveland school district one of those years. So I even see People that I went to Heritage with that I’m speaking, hugging. [00:42:42] Hey, how you doing? And I’m like, we went to school together. We was 11 and 12 years old, but we just know each other. It’s just family. So I think it’s so important because it’s like, you know what’s gonna happen, you know who’s gonna be there. Even these last couple years, we had some type of, you know, those little events that we don’t have to speak on. [00:42:57] We know you saw the news. But beyond all of that, East Cleveland is just the underlying thing. It’s family, positivity, happiness, and just being a people and just coming back home. Cause that’s how a lot of people look at it. There’s a woman, I actually work with her. She’s a teacher at Adams with me, and she’s like, oh, yeah, I went to Shaw. [00:43:16] I’ll be there. Like, it’s coming home for the weekend. But on the flip side, people come home to, you know, party. But I want people to come home to be. To stay, to kind of revitalize the area so that it’s not just once a year that we see each other. We can make this Shaw reunion all the time, you know?

Nick Mays [00:43:35] So wait a minute. You’re saying people come from out of town?

Najae Jackson [00:43:37] For Shaw Reunion? Absolutely. The Facebook group messages. Yeah, they’re there. People do come out of town for Char Reunion. Yes. It’s. It’s a thing. Like, Shaw Reunion is no joke. And I don’t even know when it started. Somebody asked me that. I’m like, I don’t know. Don’t give me the line. But, yes, Shaw reunion is like that thing. [00:43:55] Yes, 100%.

Nick Mays [00:43:59] Okay, let’s. Let’s pivot. I have a couple more questions. Thank you. You have taken taking on leadership roles in development and civic life after returning from college. Two part question. How did you begin contributing to efforts for the betterment of East Cleveland? So what was. Would have been your first effort or programming or contribution?

Najae Jackson [00:44:33] I think the first time was the community outreach and engagement that I was doing when I was doing a door knocking for Circle East. I would say that would be my first time actually doing something that was, like, facilitated by a larger concept, like a larger group. I definitely would say it was that outreach and engagement in 2023. [00:44:49] Beyond that, it was just going to city council meetings. I was in a chess club for a little bit, but it just so happened to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then, like the previous. The following semester, I started taking classes on those evenings. So I just couldn’t make it to chess club. [00:45:04] But that was one thing. I was even getting involved, going to the East Cleveland library, playing chess, walking my little brothers and sisters around the corner to school. So just being in the community was first. And then meeting people. I would see properties that I like and pull up on the side of the street, like, excuse me, who owns this? [00:45:21] Like that, like. So that was another thing. Just driving around, just being in East Cleveland got me out there.

Nick Mays [00:45:26] Was there a turning point or an experience that made you decide: this is where I need to invest my time and energy.

Najae Jackson [00:45:37] Was there a turning point that said, let me put my. Let me think?

Nick Mays [00:45:42] Yeah, and I’ll repeat the question. Was there a turning point or an experience that made you decide? I’m going to be a civic leader. I’m going to be one of the major contributors or major positive forces to turn this thing around to help and support the evolution of [East Cleveland].

Najae Jackson [00:46:01] Yes, I will say I can’t remember exactly when. I don’t know if it was 2022 or three. It might have been 2022, actually. So I met this man. He just so happened to have known my parents. Crazy. Grew up on the same street as my father, on the street we called the Hill. [00:46:18] His family has been there forever. Pulled on the side of him. He owned this building. It was this big, blue, scary truck. And I was like, I want your house. I want this building. I told myself if I was to ever see the owner here, I was coming over here, and I wanted it. [00:46:29] And it used to be like an old automobile. It’s right next to where we had a family dollar sitting on Euclid. He’s right next to there. So I wanted to own that building. And he was like, well, I own this company or this organization. Come to an event. We have. He hosted an event at the East Cleveland Library. [00:46:44] And it was three people that sat on the panel. And all three of the people I was able to connect with. One person was saying how he went and went to college and did all these things and came home and probably kind of felt like an outcast because he was different. Another person talked about environmental injustices. [00:46:57] And I was like, I was living on Allendale, and there was a house or a building being torn down on the corner, and this sign about this small that says asbestos warning. And I was like, by the time I get up on the sign, I’m already coughing up my lungs. So it was. [00:47:13] Environmental injustices is happening right in front of me. And the last person was saying how he or how she was restoring some land. Atlanta. Or I keep saying Atlanta, Alabama, maybe, because I want to go there. Alabama. How she was restoring some properties in Alabama. And I was like, wait, I can connect with that. [00:47:29] That was when I had just found out about all the history of my family. And I was able to do this thing where I learned my grandfather, my great, great grandfather, all of those things. So I was, like, hot on the press about loving my heritage and a woman from the land bank. [00:47:43] So what happened was I asked a question. I don’t even really remember the question. I know it was something about, how do we start a coalition? Because there was a guy up there talking. He was like, well, we started a coalition here and we did this. And I wanted to say, like, what? [00:47:55] I don’t know the exact question, but it was centered around, like, what do we need to start a coalition in East Cleveland and do something different? Like, how can I start to do something different? And I guess it was a great question. It was thought provoking. And he answered the question. I was happy at the end. [00:48:10] Ms. Lewis walked up to me and gave me a card and said, let’s talk. And from that time, I want to say it was like June or July of 2022 from that day. We sat, we went and talked at Starbucks over there in University Circle. And I was informed. And instead of somebody talking at me, I was talked to. [00:48:28] And I was able to just see. And every question I had was answered. And I was like, wait, okay, this is what I. I could do this. So I would say, like, June or July. Don’t quote me. 2022 will be that experience. Going to that event at the East Living Library, having a woman talk to me. [00:48:45] And honestly, since then, I’ve been just making connections and opening doors where I.

Nick Mays [00:48:50] See what transformations over the years, positive or negative, stand out most to you.

Najae Jackson [00:49:01] Hmm. I would say negative would be all the stuff you see in the news. If you Google East Cleveland right now, it’s not too much good you can see going on right now. So as far as our policing, that’s disheartening to see our government. That’s disheartening all of these houses. I don’t want to see that everybody having something bad to say about East Cleveland in the streets, the road was like, hearing all of that and then be like, wait, but I’m going so hard for this place. [00:49:30] It’s like sometimes it’s like a smack in the face, and I’m like, you know, whatever. Let People talk. You still got to do what you’re going to do. So I would say on a negative end, just hearing all the bad that people have to say about East Cleveland, it’s, like, disheartening. But then on the more positive note, some of the things that I’ve been seeing recently is about me spreading good information about East Cleveland by me telling people, hey, I’m investing here. [00:49:52] I own property here. I’m doing these different things. I can see that people are, you know, getting a little bit of hope back in East Cleveland. Like, I’m having conversations with people about East Cleveland often, and I’m finding that people either want to get involved or people want nothing to do with it, but just being able to get East Cleveland out there. [00:50:08] Because now when you Google East Cleveland, you see the bad, but you see some other stuff coming along. So I want to say, like, publicity has done East Cleveland some good and bad More recently.

Nick Mays [00:50:17] Revitalization efforts are underway in East Cleveland. The Cuyahoga Land Bank is a part of some of those efforts. In general, do you support these revitalization efforts? One, and then two. What do you hope to see as a result of them?

Najae Jackson [00:50:42] Generally, yes. So I like the way you said that. Generally, yes, I do like that there is some type of development going on and revitalization going. Excuse me, revitalization going on with the city of East Cleveland. But my hopes is for it to not just stop. Because to me, I see after we pass, like, superior. [00:51:00] That’s not East Cleveland. Like, that’s not us. That’s university. Right? I don’t want in 10, 15, 20 years, they’re saying anything superior enough. That’s not East Cleveland. So I don’t want this new development to feel like it’s not attached or related. I want it to be inclusive into all of East Cleveland. [00:51:17] So that’s one of the biggest things. I want this development to be a new start for us. I want it to be welcoming. I want us to bring new people, but still make the people that are here feel comfortable, feel immersed or into this whole thing. I don’t want them to feel excluded at all. [00:51:33] I want it to be a very inclusive project. Just makes us all feel like, okay, East Cleveland’s gonna be good for everybody. So I’m encouraging the development. I wanted to be here. I want to be one of the developers pushing the rest of East Cleveland and meeting them in the middle. So I definitely want to keep on sparking this flame or this turmoil of revitalization, revamping things and not just making it look pretty, putting a heart within that prettiness, you know, making people in these places. [00:51:59] Because, okay, again, this is development, but it has to be people oriented. People centered because we are the ones who have to live through this. So, yes, I’m encouraging development because who wants to keep seeing crazy houses? But I want it to be all of these people to be pretty. I want these three miles to look beautiful, and I want us to be a one. [00:52:16] So I do encourage the development and revitalization. I just wanted to be inclusive of everybody in East Cleveland. And I want this to feel like a space for everybody, for people to come and for the people that are already here. I just want us to feel like home, and I want us to be together.

Nick Mays [00:52:32] It sounds to me like you believe that East Clevelanders should also play a role in this development. Why? Or what does that look like?

Najae Jackson [00:52:45] What does that look like? It looks like. So me wanting people up East Cleveland to be a part of this just looks like inclusion. It looks like us getting our opinions heard. The problems that we have are not disregarded or not considered. That’s what it looks like. It looks like making sure that we are heard, making sure that we’re not saying the same thing or we’re not beating a dead horse. [00:53:06] That’s what it makes it looks like. It looks like helping us because sometimes we’re making these big beautiful houses. But what about Ms. Whoever who’s been here forever and just needs a little help to make hers beautiful again? So it’s about helping people. It’s about bringing us together. It’s about bridging the gap. [00:53:21] Because we different. We come from different places. You might work at McDonald’s and this might be the president of organization, but we are all people. We all open our eyes and blink the same, you know, blink in the morning. So I think just being inclusive as possible, that would. That’s what it would look like for me. [00:53:36] It would look like beauty being pushed everywhere. So if we gonna have artwork, let’s have artwork. Let’s make it beautiful. Let’s make it inclusive. Let’s make some of our people that are already in the city, maybe they want to relocate to this area within the city that make it still be home for them. [00:53:53] So just making sure that we have these different spaces and places for everybody to feel one, for everybody to be a community. That’s what it would look like for me.

Nick Mays [00:54:01] I have two more questions. What do you think most outsiders misunderstand about East Cleveland?

Najae Jackson [00:54:18] I think people act like they don’t want to know, but they know the beauty of East Cleveland. Some people try to act like they don’t know, like, in one breath. They’ll be scared now, but then they’ll be like, yeah, because back in the day, we had to go 15 miles per hour because East Cleveland was a real suburb. [00:54:33] So I think people kind of want to, like, hide what they know. Like, we know East Cleveland used to be the bomb, but don’t give it its credit because of where it is now. So I feel like people try to, like, slide out and don’t give East Cleveland his credit sometimes because other people are like, okay, yes, East Cleveland is great. [00:54:48] And people are like, oh, no, I’m not going to East Cleveland. So I feel like people disregard the beautiful, rich history. And to be honest, before the 60s and 70s, there weren’t even a lot of people that looked like me in East Cleveland. It was a predominantly white area. Because I want to say east Cleveland was founded in 1911. [00:55:05] So people disregard that. That there were big names like Rockefeller that were here. So people disregard the deeply rooted greatness and history within East Cleveland. People just kind of forget it.

Nick Mays [00:55:15] And then finally, are there qualities or strengths? Strengths. Excuse me? Are there qualities or strengths of the city that are often overlooked but are essential to understanding the potential of the city?

Najae Jackson [00:55:33] One of the biggest qualities I have is. Or we have is that family, that community. East living is really small. If you think about east living, it’s only three miles. So one of the things people disregard is the friendliness, how nice people are here, how you can have a conversation with almost anybody here, how you can walk up to people or even you might have saw a shower union. [00:55:52] You can almost walk up to anybody, ask for a picture, a hug. People don’t understand the untapped talent. If you go into Shaw right now, I gotta shout out my cousin. I have a cousin. He is one of the grandmother’s sister sons. He just opened up a film program in East Cleveland in East Cleveland city schools. [00:56:10] If you Google fume program, it’s all over the news. So that’s untapped talent. Like, he was a rapper before and made all these music videos, and now he’s coming back to the city to get untapped talent within a school. Like, people don’t know what we have here. Like, you can have conversations with people and be like, wait, and you’re in East Cleveland. [00:56:28] Or some people look at me and it’s kind of like a smack in the face. I’d be like, Wait, so why are you in East Cleveland? Because that’s home. So I can be an investor. I can be a student, I can be a teacher. I can be a landlord, all of these different things, and be right in East Cleveland. [00:56:41] So it’s like they sleep on the greatness here. They don’t know the untapped potential or even a potential that’s tapped and just growing and immersing. And I’m here to let people know East Cleveland is coming. We are amazing. We are full of people that are full of life. Obviously, there’s good and bad with everything here, but we know bad news, sales depressed. [00:57:02] So I just want people to know that there is love in East Cleveland. There is a sense of community, there is family, there is entrepreneurship. There is just. It’s love in East Cleveland.

Nick Mays [00:57:14] One of those talent is the East Clevelander. Can you talk about the East Cleveland?

Najae Jackson [00:57:21] Yes. So I actually had a publication written about me. Well, two. So one faced around. It was called, like, Face to East Cleveland, which was more Circle east oriented. But then the other, a woman by the name of Tyisha Blade, reached out to me and was like, hey, I have this magazine. It’s called the East Clevelander. [00:57:38] I would love if we can write a piece on you. And I know nothing about her, but. But after that, I was like, wait, this is an amazing, dope talent in the city of East Cleveland. Like, the East Clevelander, a magazine. So I went through some of her old catalogs, and I saw how she’s highlighting amazing things in East Cleveland. [00:57:55] She’s highlighting teachers. She’s highlighting community activists, people that are just giving out. She is highlighting all of the good things in East Cleveland. And she said that when we talked, she was like, you know, the news can cover the bad stuff. I got the good. And I said, wait, okay, let me ride this wave. [00:58:12] I like that. So I had the opportunity of being published in her edition. I want to say, if not last year, the year before, it might have been last year, I don’t know. But I had the opportunity of being published in one of her magazines, and it’s amazing. Like a freaking publicist in East Cleveland. [00:58:29] She’s writing her own magazine.

Nick Mays [00:58:30] What about institutions like the East Cleveland Public Library?

Najae Jackson [00:58:34] Love it. I told you. I used to play chess there. I had my first interaction there. Oh, wait, I’m sorry to go back. I met Tyisha’s mom in an Urban Land Institute class before. Just talking about how much I love East Cleveland. She was like, oh, that’s my daughter. You were in her magazine. [00:58:50] So just showing again how amazing the world is, how small it is. But to go back to the library. Our library is beautiful. Did you see those auditoriums? I genuinely think that interaction in June or July of 2022 is what sparked me to do everything. And it was because our library was suitable enough for us to have an amazing event where we hosted people to come to the city of East Cleveland and talk and tell us how we could do better. [00:59:13] So East Cleveland is amazing. And I go a lot. I go in there just to mess with people. I found out one woman, her name is Ms. Cook. She just so happens to be the best friend of my grandmother’s sister, one of my aunts. She’s her best friend, and they went to Shaw together. [00:59:26] So, again, just another place to go and be home. You know, another thing. I was in the East Cleveland library so much. One of my properties that I was doing a deed for. I needed, like, a witness. And a guy that was just. He’s a friend now, but he was just an East Cleveland. [00:59:43] Just an employee at East Cleveland Library. He saw me so many times, like, I’ll be a witness. I’ll sign it. So, ironically enough, an East Cleveland employee is on one of the deeds as the witness for my house. Just randomly. Yeah, yeah. For one of my houses. He wrote. He signed as the witness.

Nick Mays [00:59:59] Well, Ms. Najae Jackson, thank you for your time. Thank you for this interview. Thank you for your contributions to East Cleveland and society and all your. I wish you well in all of your endeavors. And so thank you.

Najae Jackson [01:00:17] Thank you so much. Dr. Nick, it’s a wrap.

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