Wednesday, May 12, 1999

Roselawn art focuses on diversity

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Poster depicts area's hopes

BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Maybe a poster painting, reflecting the diversity of Roselawn, can change a negative image.

        Artist Annie Ruth, a Roselawn resident, has captured that diversity in a poster called “I Dream A Community.” It will be unveiled at a meeting Thursday of the Roselawn Community Council at Our Mother of Sorrows Church, 7243 Eastlawn Drive.

        The poster is a variety of colors with a woman's face in the forefront and the face of an Orthodox Jewish man in back.

        “It was created to express the pride we have in diversity in our community,” Ms. Ruth said. “We have had a lot of incidents in Roselawn in the last several years that created fears of racial tension. Unfortunately this has created a negative image of Roselawn.”

        Cindy Shafer, president of the Roselawn Community Council, said the painting is part of an effort to show what the community stands for.

        She said the poster will be displayed in Roselawn and throughout the city of Cincinnati on public buildings and on buildings owned by businesses.

        The small northern Cincinnati community has seen a drastic change in its racial makeup from predominantly Jewish to African-American in the last 20 years. Its African-American population was 7 percent in 1970. Today, 56 percent of the community's 6,627 residents are black.

        About 29 percent of the residents are over 60 years old, the highest percentage for any neighborhood in the city.

        Several incidents have created fears of anti-Semitism. Last December, a 17-year-old African-American youth was accused of stabbing two elderly Jewish women in Roselawn.

        But Jewish leaders said the incidents seem to be random urban violence, rather than anti-Semitism.

        “The poster is designed to show that there is no racial tension in Roselawn,” Ms. Ruth said. “Roselawn is a mirror of the kind of diversity that exists in the world today. We are proud of our diversity.”

        Ms. Ruth, an African-American, is a touring artist with the Cincinnati Arts Association.

       

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