The mediator shaping the settlement of a federal racial profiling lawsuit is asking thousands of Cincinnatians to help.

        His innovative approach has the blessing of a federal judge and the cooperation of everyone involved in the class-action lawsuit accusing Cincinnati police of decades of discrimination against blacks.

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Take part in Cincinnati's racial profiling mediation process by filling out the questionnaire at www.ariagroup.com. You must provide your name, address and telephone number, though it will remain confidential.   The questionnaire also asks if you'd be willing to attend a four-hour feedback session. The ARIA Group will choose about 800 people from the questionnaires to participate.

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How mediation process works

        Three months after the lawsuit was filed against the city by black activists and the American Civil Liberties Union, both sides have begun a mediation process that some hope will become a national model for other cities with racial problems.

        Organizers of the Cincinnati process hope to get 8,000 people in a city of 331,285 to fill out questionnaires. Most will do it online, but some will be reached by street canvasses. All will be asked how citizens and police can get along better.

        A fraction of the people who answer the questionnaires will be asked to join focus groups that brainstorm and set goals for change — ranging from reforms in police division hiring to smaller efforts that citizens can take on themselves.

        It's all part of a process that is nearly two months under way and that parties to the lawsuit hope will culminate in December in a written settlement.

        “We're not coming down to Cincinnati and saying, "Here's a magic wand. Follow these steps and everything will be better,'” said Jay Rothman, president of the Aria Group, a conflict resolution firm with international experience that's heading the process.

        “(But) people sense that there is truly a possibility of refocusing the hurt, the anger and the pain and frustration,” he added.

        Mr. Rothman's efforts run parallel to other efforts to engage Cincinnatians in conversations about race and community building. Their efforts likely will dovetail in the months ahead.

Group leaders trained

        Aria Group members have trainedabout 70 Cincinnatiansto lead hundreds of participants in sharing their hurts and hopes, as well as brainstorming solutions.

        Some of those group leaders are professional mediators and others psychologists, social workers or educators.

        U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott sat in on a training session last week at which facilitators took part in the kind of feedback session that hundreds of citizens eventually will be asked to participate in. The judge appointed Mr. Rothman the court's “special master” in this case and she must approve any settlement agreement.

        Judge Dlott listened as those involved in the lawsuit — attorneys and representatives of Cincinnati Black United Front — shared their own stories and why they hope the process works.

        This case is one of the biggest the judge has overseen since she was appointed to the bench in 1995 by President Clinton.

        “I'm vitally interested in the mediation,” Judge Dlott said, “and I hope it works.”

        The first feedback session, which will serve as a pilot, consists of religious and social service leaders. They have filled out questionnaires and will meet today at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. The public is invited to watch and listen.

        “I have hopes or I wouldn't be working on it,” said the Rev. Duane Holm, director of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, who will be at today's feedback session.

Lawsuit claims bias

        The federal lawsuit filed in March is one of more than a dozen involving the ACLU nationally, though the one in Cincinnati promises to delve deeper into the operations of police division than others have.

        The original plaintiff was businessman Bomani Tyehimba, but the lawsuit was broadened to a class-action with the addition of 28 other complainants who say Cincinnati police discriminated against them during traffic stops and other incidents.

        The class action proposed the mediation process and hiring Mr. Rothman's firm. After the city agreed to participate, Judge Dlott told everyone to try it.

        Concurrent efforts include:

        • Cincinnati Community Action Now, a privately-funded task force on race, which was formed by Mayor Charlie Luken in response to the rioting and protests that followed the April 7 shooting death of an unarmed black teen-ager by a white Cincinnati officer.

        • Study Circles, a nationally recognized program that brings diverse groups together to talk about issues and develop grassroots solutions. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is sponsoring this program.

        The mediation process for the class action starts by asking Cincinnatians to fill out a questionnaire that asks:

        • What are your goals for fu ture police-community relations in Cincinnati?

        • Why are these goals important to you?

        • How do you think your goals could be best achieved?

        The Aria group hopes to get 8,000 responses, 1,000 each from eight “identity” groups Aria has established, such as African-Americans, religious leaders and police officers and their families, among others. Such a response would mean that 2.4 percent of the city's residents would be participating in the settlement.

Questions forward-looking

        “The "why' question is available for people to tell their stories,” Mr. Rothman said. “Who are you that makes this matter a lot? (And) given that story, how do you think we can make things better? It's designed to be forward looking.”

        After questionnaires are complete, 100 people from each “identity” group will be asked to participate in focus groups to ar ticulate specific solutions and goals.

        Later, 10 people from each of those groups will meet to hone the lists of goals.

        Lastly, Aria Group will merge all of the goals and present them to members of the settlement group, who must draft the agreement for Judge Dlott's approval.

        Bill Brown, president of the Leadership Council of Human Services Executives, said he hopes to hear new ideas for solutions. “This is not a problem that is going to be solved overnight,” he said. “It's going to take some time.”

        The council is a group of executives who head agencies that receive funding from the United Way. Because many of those agencies reach some of the same people involved in April's rioting, Mr. Brown and others wanted to participate in Mr. Rothman's project.

        “My hope is that the collaborative sentiment will somewhat sus tain itself,” into negotiations, Mr. Rothman said.

        In the weeks ahead, Mr. Rothman's representatives will interview Cincinnatians ages 14 to 32 at three social service agencies. They are another of the “identity” groups he believes are vital to the healing process.

        They will fill out the same questionnaire available online to everyone else.

        “We're going to have to go to the streets, clubs, neighborhoods,” Mr. Rothman said. “We need to enroll them in the idea that this is ... an opportunity to envision a future.”

        The feedback session for this “identity” group is scheduled for July.

        In the meantime, Aria Group will seek $200,000 to complete the $400,000 budget for the project. It has $100,000 from the city and $100,000 from a foundation.

All sides optimistic

        Those involved in the lawsuit have expressed optimism about Aria's approach to mediation.

        “We picked the process after a lot of work, after a lot of negotiation,” said Scott Greenwood, an ACLU attorney who is part of the group that filed the lawsuit. “I think everybody is committed to the process. We're at the very beginning of it and I think we're all looking forward to it. That's all the way around.”

        Mike Harmon, chief counsel in the city solicitor's office, echoed those sentiments.

        “I feel very positive about the process,” he said. “I don't think litigation warfare would solve the problem. It's the most important thing I've ever done as a lawyer.”

        Mr. Rothman hopes to keep that momentum going.

        “Everybody likes to quote Mark Twain saying, "Cincinnati is 10 years behind,'” he said. “Well, maybe Cincinnati is 10 years ahead.”
       

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