Sunday, September 02, 2001
City combines best, worst of North, South
Q&A with Eileen Cooper Reed, lawyer and director of the local Children's Defense Fund
The Cincinnati Enquirer
April's street riots exposed the stubbornly enduring racial divide in Cincinnati and suggested that even as the rawest forms of bigotry have receded they have often been replaced by remoteness and distrust in places of work, learning and worship. Eileen Cooper Reed, director of the Children's Defense Fund, is a former college administrator, social worker and juvenile court magistrate who has spent a good portion of her life championing youth and race issues.
Ms. Reed says it is not enough for blacks and whites to talk about racial differences, they have to act when they have revelations about things that need to be changed. Ms. Reed spoke with Enquirer reporter Kevin Aldridge.
QUESTION: Is Cincinnati divided racially? If so, how wide is the divide?
ANSWER: There is no doubt in my mind that Cincinnati is divided and the gap is wide. It is divided racially. It is divided geographically as well as socially.
Q: Why do blacks and whites in Cincinnati have such starkly different attitudes toward issues of race?
A: It has to do with the history of this place. Cincinnati has a paradoxical mix of Southern and Northern values. It has the best of both North and South and it has the worst of North and South -- that's the paradox. Generally people here are hospitable and family-oriented and those are positive Southern values. On the flip side, Cincinnati tends to have a don't-ask-don't-tell mentality where people won't talk about the hard issues out loud. Too often there is a veneer put over things that are ugly to make them look nice.
Q: Do blacks and whites as individuals get along? If so, where does the breakdown occur?
A: I think there is no question that blacks and whites individually can get along because we are more alike than not. It is when we are confronted with situations that force us to be different that we behave differently toward one another. Institutions that continue to give privilege and create seemingly unfair situations is what causes the breakdown. Institutional racism is the strongest form of racism and it is particularly strong in Cincinnati.
Q: What's at stake for the city and the region if we aren't able to bridge the racial gap?
A: More of the same. I mean that unless we address issues of race in a more reasonable and fair way, we will continue to lose population, not really develop our downtown, educate our children or any of the other things that go along with not being a forward-thinking community.
Q: What needs to happen to ease racial tensions and improve race relations?
A: Efforts to improve race relations need to include people who have not been included before in the discussions that take place. The decision-making that happens across this area needs to be more inclusive. I think we continue to approach this issue in a way that males would approach it, which is fairly combative, territorial and exclusive. What efforts need is an infusion of the female spirit, which is much more inclusive, conversational and nurturing.
ONLINE EXTRA: Complete poll results and PDF of the report
Races See Two Cincinnatis
About this series
How this poll was done
Tell us what you think
Poll reflects attitudes, defines problems
Subtle racism gets under blacks' skin
City combines best, worst of North, South
Tensions hurt potential for growth
