Black Lives Matter: What Needs to Change in Cincinnati?

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Written by Kiersten Wones with additional research by Janet Chu, Sara Skaggs, and Chelsie Walter. Photography by Chelsie Walter. All photos that show protestors’ faces were taken with permission from each individual during a peaceful demonstration.

As I knelt in the front line of the crowd and everyone around me chanted, “Hands up; don’t shoot,” I was struck by the simple privilege of being able to reach into my pocket for my phone while staring the police in the eye. I was part of a barrier of white people called forward to shield our Black cohorts – despite the fact that it was 1:30 in the afternoon and the event had been peaceful so far.

As white folks are called forward to literally place our bodies in defense of the oppressed Black community, the question on our minds shouldn’t be, “Has it really come to this?” but rather, “How the hell did we let it get this far?” 

And more importantly: “What are we going to do about it?”

Saige Smith, a recent high school graduate, asked the crowd: “What will you do once you leave this protest?”

This particular event was Monday, June 1, in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse, but I took her directive and spent the week asking folks on the ground and on social media: What specific, actionable change do you want to see in this city? Solidarity is lovely. Protesting is powerful. But I wanted to know what further actions are required to see our city change.

Here’s a collection of the community’s answers. Note that these are paraphrased, edited, and combined for clarity, but all represent direct viewpoints from those I interviewed at protests and via social media, and/or demands published by protesters around the city. (See *The Ohio Justice & Policy Center and the Cincinnati Black United Front’s “Protests and the Pandemic: Recommendations for a More Equitable Cincinnati” and **protesters’ “The Demands of the People of Cincinnati.”)

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Community focus

  • Police spend at least 80 hours/year volunteering in the communities they patrol**

  • More African American police officers policing areas that are highly dense with African Americans

  • Strengthening and funding the next phase of our city’s Collaborative Agreement

  • Offer warnings first and problem-solve for constructive, creative solutions while policing*

  • Commit to understanding why reducing arrests and citations produces better outcomes for the community*

  • When charging people with a crime, cite-and-release rather than arrest, wherever possible*

  • More community conversations in regards to cultural competency

  • More presence from local churches

  • Cincinnati Public Schools and local universities reconsider relationships with the police, with input from teachers, students, and parents**

  • Collective change that stems from dialogue between police, government, and communities

  • Re-adopt community policing: police need to get out of their cars, onto the street, and get to know their neighbors

  • Improve dialogue and show respect when interacting with people of color

  • More accurate information on how to affect change

  • Media that tells all sides of the story

  • More community organizations visiting schools and sharing opportunities

  • An open channel of communication where folks can start conversations and make suggestions to their local police department

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Police training focus

  • Dramatic increase in number of hours required to become an armed police officer, including at least 40 hours of cultural awareness courses and at least 80 hours of de-escalation training**

  • Conduct/repeat trainings for officers about responding in ways that protect the safety and health of officers and community members*

  • Better training around choke holds [Note: Choke holds are banned by the city of Cincinnati; information in regards to a ban in Hamilton County was not readily available]

  • Specific training around mental health

  • Specific training around domestic violence

  • Partner with Greater Cincinnati Foundation to have every member of law enforcement, first responders, and city government engage the Racial Equity Institute to take their Groundwater, Phase 1, and Post training

  • Reduce emphasis on firearms and violent tactics**

Funding focus

  • Reallocate funds from police force and military towards public transportation, libraries, education, social work, and the Black community

  • Invest in proactive programming like after-school activities, mental health resources, vocational programs, job training, apprenticeships

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Accountability focus

  • Eliminate racial disparity in the criminal-legal system – including in arrests, convictions, and sentencing*

  • Police departments enhance anti-profiling and anti-bias policies*

  • Revive the Citizen Complaint Authority and the City Managers Advisory Group, and empower these groups to fulfill their work*

  • Review use-of-force policies and hold officers accountable for policy violations*

  • Improve policing data collection, analysis, and evaluation capabilities – including tracking by race*

  • Create data-driven policies collaboratively with police and the community to ensure accountability in law-enforcement activities*

  • Voters should do their research and vote for folks who are proactively anti-racist even when the cameras aren’t on them

  • Mental health resources for law enforcement**

  • Reassess the police union contract

  • Ban the use of military-grade weapons**

  • Body cameras for all officers; all interactions must be recorded and made available to the public**

  • End use of no-knock warrants**

  • End Stand Your Ground laws**

  • Create and implement a strict no-tolerance policy against the use of excessive force**

  • Online live count of citizen complaints, injuries, and deaths**

  • Easily accessible demographic data from the justice system**

  • Immediate release of and charges dropped against protestors**

“We will sit down on this street and we will wait; we will wait for change,” sit-in co-organizer Jones said to a crowd gathered at City Hall on Wednesday, June 3. “If we are met with violence, they will know that it was unnecessary because we were very clear about our peace.”

This event was held at 1:30 p.m. in anticipation of the 2 p.m. City Council meeting; organizers asked us to sit on the ground in small groups and discuss our emotions, our reactions, and what we planned to do moving forward. A few hours later, a car tried to drive into the crowd before speeding away.

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I hope these protests represent progress, action, real change – but change doesn’t come easily, or quickly. I hope you feel like it’s time to do something – and understand that everyone holds an important role in a movement like this: the organizers, the protesters, the caretakers, the storytellers, the teachers, the donors. Do not think your role is more or less than another’s; do not waste energy looking sideways when we must look forward. Here are some things you can do...

...on your feet:

...with your voice:

  • Check out this local advocacy guide with contact info and email templates for Cincinnati Police, Cincinnati City Council, Ohio state representatives, and more.

  • Explore statements and motions made by the following folks and organizations and let them and people in power know what you think:

...with your money:

...by educating yourself:

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This article will continue to be updated at least once a week to the best of my ability. Please feel free to fill out this form to contribute ideas, demands, resources, and needs and we will work to review and add those in. 

I want to leave a reminder that the issue of police accountability is barely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fighting racism: For example, just Thursday, Hamilton County announced it would restart eviction hearings a month earlier than expected – a move we know will disproportionately affect our city’s Black families.

This article, these lists are far from comprehensive. I am no expert; I am not perfect. I’m a pissed off girl who’s very active on Twitter, who has some very trusted friends here in Cincinnati, who’s passionate about justice and putting your money where your mouth is, and who’s also trying really hard to keep her 5-year-old alive and maybe occasionally get the dishes done. Each of you has your own passions, skills, shortcomings, and obstacles. But together, we can get things done if we are focused, diligent, determined, and honest. I’ll leave you with these words from Klarke Griffith, a recent high school graduate and co-organizer of Monday’s protest:

Community Mix is our monthly hodge-podge of content from a beautiful hodge-podge of Cincinnatians. Nominate folks for us to spotlight.

June 2020, Outreach + AdvocacyKiersten WonesCommunity Mix, Celebrate Black Stories