Angry words and frustration over racial tension in Cincinnati turned into action by African-American protesters and City Council on Wednesday.

        A recently formed black civil rights organization put the city on notice, saying it would continue to take radical action and embarrass the city until African-Americans are treated fairly.

The Rev. Damon Lynch III (right) listens as William Land, pastor of La Amistad United Church of Christ addresses the media Wednesday. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Several of those protesters brought that message to City Hall on Wednesday, where the City Council passed a motion telling the Hamilton County prosecutor to immediately convene a grand jury and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Nov.7 death of Roger Owensby Jr. at the hands of city police.

        “I agree we can't tell the prosecuting attorney what to do,” said Mayor Charlie Luken, who authored the motion. “As a legislative body we can tell him to do the right thing.”

        Councilman Charlie Winburn said the motion was simply playing to the crowd.

        “It's like telling the sun tomorrow morning not to come out,” he said. “We're just teasing the people.”

        That received a round of applause from the Owensby family, who urged the coun cil to find the truth surrounding Mr. Owensby's death and pleaded with others for restraint.

        “If it doesn't stop, it's going to escalate. I don't want that,” said Roger Owensby Sr, adding that he has been asked several times about taking part in violent protest against the city and its police officers. “I don't want anymore hurt and pain for no family.”

        But protesters said they will not remain silent, saying they are tired of being targeted by police. Since 1995, 13 people have died in confrontations with police and all have been African-American.

        Protest groups are calling for a boycott of white-owned shops and restaurants, initiated by the Cincinnati Black United Front. The boycott will start Friday and end Jan. 7, the last day of Kwanzaa.

        Organizers are asking people to shop instead at Swifton Commons shopping center in Roselawn. There, organizers are inviting vendors from across the country to sell everything from vegetables to computers.

        “We have found it necessary to take these actions due to the blatant disrespect the city of Cincinnati continues to show African-Americans,” said the Rev. Damon Lynch III, chairman of the organi zation.

        About two dozen people on Wednesday marched from the spot in a Roselawn parking lot where Mr. Owensby died to Cincinnati City Hall. Mr. Owensby, of College Hill, died of asphyxiation, and Cincinnati police officers have refused to answer investigators' questions, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights.

        At the march, some carried signs with messages such as “Police brutality will stop when you stop putting up with it.”

        “I'm out here for a lot of reasons,” said Angela Crump, 29, of Westwood. “They're doing things that are illegal, and because they're police, they're getting away with it.

        The Black United Front has also said it is planning to file a class-action lawsuit against the city. Organizers hope the legal action and boycott will pressure city officials to make systematic changes in the operation of the Cincinnati Police Division.

        Group members have been talking to the American Civil Liberties Union and will decide within a week or so who will take the case.

        But the deaths of two men in police custody this month are only two in a number of incidents that have angered members of the black community. The first blatant act of racism, they say, was this summer when downtown businesses closed for two events that attract predominately black crowds.

        The Rev. Mr. Lynch also said his organization will no longer accept city officials allowing the Ku Klux Klan to put a cross on Fountain Square.

        “You never capitulate,” the Rev. Mr. Lynch said. “You never acquiesce. You never give in. The fight never needs to stop.”

       Reporter Robert Anglen also contributed to this report.

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