The Cleveland City Council convened on November 17, 2025, to address urgent community safety and infrastructure issues, honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance, and advance numerous legislative actions. The meeting was marked by significant public testimony regarding Tanisha's Law, systemic failures in the school system, and frustrations with the administration's responsiveness and funding allocation for lead remediation and crime prevention tools.
Is that hard enough? Okay, star. Good evening, everyone. Madam Clerk, can you please call the role? Griffin, Bishop, Conwell, Gray, Hairston, Harsh, House Jones, Jones, Casey, Kelly, Moore, Polensic, Santana. Present. Welch. You have a quorum, Madam President. Thank you. Everyone rise for a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. No person with purpose to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting shall do any act which obstructs or interferes with the due conduct of such meeting. Such disruption may constitute a misdemeanor and violation of section six zero five point zero four. Anyone who disrupts this lawful meeting is in violation of the codified ordinance, commits misdemeanor, and is subject to prosecution. Sorry, to the proceedings and direct the assembled officers to escort any person participating in disruption out of the chambers. Again, this is the first and only warning. Council members, if you could turn your chairs around to the speakers, and we're going to start with Michael Anderson from Ward Ten. Topic Tanisha's Law. Representing no one being paid by no one. Michael Anderson. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to be here this evening. So I just want to say my name is Michael Anderson. I am Tanisha Anderson's uncle. And so we as a family, we do not believe that the two officers that came out that night actually came out with any intent to take Tanisha's life. For 11 years, we have presented ourselves with dignity and respect. So maybe in the beginning there were rallies and protesters, but emotions were very high, and understandably so. It was 32 degrees the night Tanisha passed. Faced and body smashed onto a slab of cold concrete. She passed stark-necked from the waist down, handcuffed, yet right before passing, she began reciting the Lord's Prayer. So you see, even in her passing, she left us with how she wanted this thing conducted. I believe in this democracy. As a Clevelander, born and raised, I've been very proud of the city. I believe in this city. However, there are family members who doesn't share my sentiments. Tanisha's mother was one of them. I wish this committee could have witnessed how her health deteriorated. She stopped talking, she stopped eating. Slowly but surely she left us. Slowly but surely she did leave us. Never knew something can get inside of your soul and rip it to threads. Did you know Tanisha is honored, celebrated, and remembered in other cities around the U.S. than our own. Tanisha's name has been on the front page of Time magazine. The third row of a jumbotron at Beyonce at a Beyonce concert. American singer songwriter Janelle Monet, Kimberly Crenshaw, who is the founder of the Say Her Name campaign, joined forces with Beyoncé, donating their time and their voices, and created a 17-minute video of people who lost their lives to either police brutality or police neglect. Tanisha's name is at the 11th minute, 20 second mark of that video. In no way is this name dropping. I'm just stating if she's being honored in more ways and manageable in places what's taken us so long as a city, her city, to follow suit. But until this law is amended and passed, she is still laying there. Just like just like she was on November, just like she was on November the 12th, 2014, 32 degrees on a frigid cold night, such as the one we're experiencing tonight.