Sheila Hunt-Sharpley, East Cleveland Public Library Board Secretary & Personnel Committee Co-Chair; Carlos Latimer, Executive Director
Written by: Tyisha Blade & Sheila Hunt-Sharpley
The East Cleveland Public Library (ECPL) held an event Feb. 26 celebrating Black History Month and honoring the legacy of the Tucker Family. Organizers invited community members to the Greg L. Reese Performing Arts Center for the event which included musical selections from the Jazz Heritage Orchestra. The event began with a speech from Sheila Hunt-Sharpley, East Cleveland Public Library Board Secretary & Personnel Committee Co-Chair, to celebrate the Tucker Family and the life of Truman
and Melvin.
Speech given by Sheila Hunt-Sharpley:
“I came across a 2020 Scene Magazine article written by East Cleveland’s own Tyisha Blade. The article is about Tucker’s Casino celebrating its 40th year in operation. In the article, she interviewed Truman and spoke about the negative changes that had taken place in the city. He admitted to positive change on the horizon but stated that “I might not be here to witness all the results, but I think it is on a comeback.” No truer words were ever spoken because the city is on the comeback.
She also asked him ‘Why did the family to move to Cleveland in the first place?’ “I relocated because back then, there were more opportunities for Blacks in the northern cities than there were in the southern cities,” Tucker said. So just like that a dye was cast and the brothers born in Mason, TN moved right here to East Cleveland, OH more than 60 years ago with two of the five already living in Ohio prior to his relocation. For the last 50 years, their collective establishments: The Columbo Room, Tuckers Casino and The Room have been the backdrop of our lives. These places have created lasting memories for people who lived in and out the city.
I had my 30th birthday party [at Tucker’s Casino] some odd years ago. These three places
have housed all of [the] rhythm, funk and blues in our city. It’s a place to play a competitive game of bid whist and smack talk. A place to meet before you go anywhere in the world or stop by before you go
home. A place to hold reunions...and pre- reunions. A place to hold birthday parties and a place to host a repass. (Classmate Paul Wadley). A place for karaoke on a Sunday night. A place to get anything from a walleye fish dinner, corned beef, pork chops to an old-fashioned fried bologna sandwich. Or just a place to go two step on a Sunday afternoon for no good reason at all. But most importantly its been place to “gather.” A place to lick our wounds, share our lives, sprinkled with loss, love, triumphs and tragedies.
This is Black History Month and today we gather to honor the Tucker Family and celebrate all they have done for the City of East Cleveland, for the East Cleveland business community and for us, its people. Over 60 years ago, five brothers Joe, Chester, Columbus, Truman and Melvin went on a search
for a better life for themselves but we, the City of East Cleveland, are better for it. And even as we support them in mourning the recent loss of brothers Melvin and Truman, The Tucker family is still offering a place for us to gather. Thank you all for attending this event and we dedicate it to the Tucker Brothers.”
For more events at the East Cleveland Public Library, you can visit eastclevelandpubliclibrary.org.
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