Barely two months after being hired as president of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Michael Fisher found himself caught in the firestorm of the race riots of April.

                Issues of diversity and economic inclusion were already on his agenda, he says, but that agenda was forceably accelerated in April.

        Mr. Fisher spoke with Enquirer reporter John Byczkowski.

        QUESTION: Is there a division in this town along racial lines?

        ANSWER: There's no question there are tensions. And one thing this community has been challenged by is various kinds of divisions -- black and white, city and suburb, Ohio side and Kentucky side of the river. In so many ways this community has probably created some artificial divisions and boundaries.

ONLINE EXTRA

• Complete poll results and PDF of the report

MORE COVERAGE

•Races See Two Cincinnatis   • About this series   • How this poll was done   • Letter from the Editor   • Subtle racism gets under blacks' skin   • City combines best, worst of North, South

        Q: What's the impact?

        A: The impact is we're not achieving our potential as a community and as a region. There are those who feel at times excluded from the process and excluded from the opportunities. At a time when diverse interests and talents can be a real strength for a community and a region, we haven't always enjoyed the full benefit of that.

        Q: Is there any potential damage to the community long term if we don't bridge these gaps?

        A: I think that in a society that's becoming more diverse, if we aren't able to create an environment where people are valued and accepted, where we aren't able to pull together the best, (there are) a couple of things I think we run some risk of.

        We run some risk of not attracting people and businesses to come to our community. We run some risk of not keeping some of the most promising talent and businesses. Increasingly -- particularly, for example, businesses and talent that are plugged into the technology sector -- they want to be part of a community that is diverse. We know that those kinds of businesses, with that kind of talent, have higher-paying jobs, have faster-growing economies and so forth.

        Q: Do you think it's important to convince businesses to take steps toward being more inclusive in hiring and promotion?

        A: Yes. (Chamber Chairman) Tom Cody talked about it as a business imperative. It's an imperative ... if your customers are increasingly diverse and your pool of workers is increasingly diverse. If you want to be a viable business going forward, and have a quality work force and have customers who want to buy from you, you've got to look like and understand both your work force base and your customer base.

ONLINE EXTRA: Complete poll results and PDF of the report
Races See Two Cincinnatis
About this series
How this poll was done
Poll reflects attitudes, defines problems
Subtle racism gets under blacks' skin
City combines best, worst of North, South
Tensions hurt potential for growth