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Cincinnati is
Still Smoldering
April 27, 2001
by Jeff Ritchie
I live in Cincinnati.
In recent weeks we've become a symbol of what's wrong with race relations
in America. We're the cautionary tale that keeps big-city mayors awake
at night, the harbinger of another long, hot summer. The property that
was smashed and broken on the streets of Cincinnati can be easily repaired,
but the smug belief that racial violence happens only in other cities
is gone forever.
Cincinnati is still smoldering, white and black. The editor of the Cincinnati
Enquirer, who happens to be an unapologetic Confederate sympathizer, had
nothing but contempt for the African-American community following the
riots. He suggested that race-baiting members of the black community caused
the trouble.
The President of the Fraternal Order of Police said that the police are
not to blame for the shooting death of Timothy Thomas, a teenager who
was wanted on twelve misdemeanor traffic warrants. The police say that
suspects need to learn how to behave in the presence of a police officer.
This sounds suspiciously like the Cincinnati police are warning the community
that they could be shot dead in the street for poor manners.
White Cincinnati is concerned that the unrest presents a poor image of
the city. The mother of a woman who works for the Cincinnati Chamber of
Commerce lamented that three days of violence undid five years of work.
Concertgoers were miffed that a performance scheduled in the glitzy new
Aronoff Center was canceled due to rioting.
Meanwhile the African-American community wonders what to do next. Their
children are dying from drugs and poverty, and now the Cincinnati police
have killed more than two dozen people in the last five years. One time
it was a mental patient armed with a brick, another time was a joy-riding
thirteen-year-old. This time it was a desperado who neglects to wear a
seatbelt.
Next time?
And there be a next time. The city charter currently requires the police
chief to be chosen from among the ranks of current officers, which means
that the same toxic culture will be perpetuated. The police union is in
deep denial over the issue, taking the view that only "bad guys"
get shot by police officers. The city's Citizen Review Board that is supposed
to be a watchdog for police affairs is toothless, lacking even the power
to compel witnesses to testify.
White Cincinnati is aghast to learn that there is racial problem in their
city, and Black Cincinnati buries its dead.
Looks like a long, hot summer.
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