Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP, talks with residents of Over the Rhine as he tours the area. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        NAACP President Kweisi Mfume on Thursday called Cincinnati “the belly of the storm” of police violence against young black men.

        At a crowded town meeting — timed around the city's curfew — Mr. Mfume pledged the support of the national organization to finding justice.

        “There are Cincinnatis in every state in the union,” he said at the meeting at New Friendship Baptist Church in Avondale that was cut short so participants could get home before the 8 p.m. curfew imposed after three nights of rioting.

        Mr. Mfume arrived in Cincinnati at 11:38 a.m. Thursday. By 1:35 p.m., he was meeting with Angela Leisure and her husband at the office of her lawyer, Ken Lawson. Mrs. Leisure is the mother of Timothy Thomas, 19, who was shot by a Cincinnati police officer early last Saturday morning.

Mr. Mfume meets with Angela Leisure, whose son Timothy Thomas, was shot to death by police. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        At the evening meeting, Mr. Mfume told the crowd: “This is a strange situation in Cincinnati — 15 black men killed in six years.” Only Oakland, Calif., Mr. Mfume said, has had as many deaths as a result of its police force.

        “The NAACP and I personally appeal to those good and decent police officers who put on their gun and badges every day and who respect the citizens of this city to reach out to their counterparts and tell them to stop the violence.

        “The blue wall of silence must come down.”

        Mr. Mfume told both the crowd and Mayor Charles Luken that he hoped answers would be forthcoming in the Thomas shooting.

        “I'm sick and tired of going to teen-agers' funerals,” Mr. Mfume said. “What do we want? We want justice in this case. This can't wait two or three months down the road.”

Mr. Mfume visits the makeshift memorial where Timothy Thomas was killed. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

Sharing stories

        Earlier, Mr. Mfume toured the riot scene. When he arrived at 13th and Vine streets, curious onlookers began to gather.

        When he emerged from the silver Mercedes-Benz, people surrounded him, eager to tell of their experiences with Cincinnati police.

        John Hurt, an Over-the-Rhine resident, led Mr. Mfume down Vine Street to 13th Street then on to Republic Street and the alley where Mr. Thomas was shot.

        In the alley, Mr. Mfume looked at the shrine that friends and family had built for the dead 19-year-old. There in the alley lay flowers, a football, and half-filled bottles of beer and wine.

        Mr. Mfume walked back up Republic Street shaking hands and exchanging hugs with men and women, young and old. He listened to residents' stories as they told him how they were shot with rubber projectiles and bean bags for being out on the streets. Many of them showed him their wounds.

Mr. Mfume talks with Patricia Price (right), girlfriend of Timothy Thomas, and takes a peek at their baby, Tywon Thomas. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        He told them about his talk with the mayor and the NAACP's commitment to turning around police-community relations in Cincinnati.

        Antonio Barfield, 30, of Over-the-Rhine said, “If you see a police officer, you automatically think they're going to do something to you.” Mr. Barfield said he has had a couple of run-ins with police in which he has been physically assaulted.

        “If we are asking for restraint, then the police have to show restraint,” Mr. Mfume said.

        “It makes you feel good that we got some support from outside the city,” said Kenneth DePriest, 25. “It's not right what the police have been doing to us, and it's time that the whole world knows it.”

        Del Wadkins, 34, an African-American who lives in Fort Thomas, said he was concerned the night meeting started late and ended early. “It wasn't enough time. We never got a chance to speak. It was counterproductive. People went away mad.”

Protesters rally outside the church while Mr. Mfume spoke inside. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        Things broke up inside the Avondale church at about 7:20 p.m. Heavy traffic on Reading Road was punctuated by people walking by giving the raised fist Black Power salute.

        Among the black leaders present were Councilman Paul Booth, Councilwoman Alicia Reece and Dr. Milton Hinton, former chapter president of the local NAACP.

        Mr. Booth, also a past NCAA lo
president, said Mr. Mfume's pledge of national support is “significant and points at the seriousness of what we're dealing with in Cincinnati.”

        Dr. Hinton said he is hopeful. “There seems to be a predisposition of government to be amenable towards finding solutions at times like this. Now people from the community, and not just black people, have to get involved.”

        One young white woman, Jamie Vaske, criminal justice major at UC from Lima, Ohio, carried a sign at the Avondale church. She said she had marched on Main Street and downtown during the week.

        “I think this is a human issue, not a black and white issue. ... I've always thought Cincinnati police department needs more self-policing.”

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