This is the statement released Monday night by the Rev. Damon Lynch III, pastor of the New Prospect Baptist Church in Over-the-Rhine. He was ousted Monday from the Cincinnati Action Now (CAN) race relations panel by Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, who had appointed the minister to the board in April.

RELATED NEWS

Complete coverage in our special section.

        Often times I am asked which hat are you wearing today? CAN, the Collaborative on Police Community Relations or the Cincinnati Black United Front? Of course, there are other hats, father, husband and pastor of a 1,200-member congregation, the New Prospect Baptist Church, in Over-the-Rhine. My role as husband, father and pastor seldom make headlines and almost never require comments or quotes, for the evening news.

        Although I belong to numerous national and local organizations that address issues of fairness, equality and justice, perhaps the most urgent or significant hats are the hats of progress, reform, and justice.

        Cincinnati Action Now (CAN), the mayor's commission proposed and implemented after April's civil unrest to address racial and economic equality issues in our city, is making steady and deliberate progress. With over 200 diverse volunteers committing their time to bridge building, CAN has become one of the beacons of hope and progress. CAN has examined the major socioeconomic challenges that face Cincinnati residents and has proposed policy and programs geared to addressing the disparities that divide and polarize our city. Many people have labored tirelessly to pursue the important and necessary goals of CAN. CAN represents progress for our city.

        While CAN represents progress, the Collaborative on Police Community Relations represents reform. The Collaborative on Police Community Relations has engaged over 3,500 residents from every walk of life to give their valued input in helping design reforms for the Cincinnati Police Division with the expected ultimate outcome being mutual respect and accountability between citizens and those sworn to protect them.

        The collaborative process has a unique way to address much-needed reforms in the patterns and practices of the Cincinnati Police Division. The death of Roger Owensby Jr. while in police custody was the catalyst for the class-action lawsuit filed by the Cincinnati Black United Front, the ACLU and other citizens who have been victimized by some members of the Cincinnati Police Division.

        The collaborative is mediating the racial-profiling lawsuit in a prototype process that separates Cincinnati from other cities that have faced the same issues. Completion of the collaborative process would result in not only change in policy and practices, but also substantially improve the relationship between police and citizens. The collaborative represents meaningful reform for our city.

        The third hat is the one I wear representing the Cincinnati Black United Front, a grass-roots organization committed to speak out for justice. While the work of CAN and the Collaborative receive moderate criticism, the work of the Front is heavily criticized. Yet when downtown restaurants closed their doors rather than serve the public, particularly the African-American public during the 2000 Annual Coors Light Festival and Ujima-Fest, it was the Front who organized and spoke out against this unjust practice. This resulted in restaurant owners opening their doors to festival goers. When unarmed men were shot and choked to death by police officers it was the Front and others who spoke out. When local prosecution lost three high-profile cases involving police misconduct, the Front along with the NAACP, Urban League and a coalition of progressive groups organized and spoke out. The Front's position has always been to be a vocal advocate for justice.

        The letter in question that has been used to take away my position as CAN co-chair speaks for itself. The intent of the letter is not to paint all police officers with the broad brush of police misconduct, but it is to highlight the indisputable facts of past and present police misconduct that undermines public safety and trust. Officers who do their jobs well and speak out against those that abuse the authority entrusted to them are to be supported. In this same vein, police officers who abuse that authority, plant evidence and kill unarmed citizens should be punished.

        Cincinnati is at a crossroads. We are one of the few cities that allowed the prosperity of the 90s to pass us by. We have a greater poverty rate than all but a dozen cities and our home ownership rate ranks among the lowest in the nation. We are the eighth-most segregated city in America, and the killings of Timothy Thomas and Roger Owensby and subsequent acquittals of the police officers in question give us a national reputation as a city unconcerned about justice. Is it a city for conventions and tourism? Not until progress, reform and justice intersect at the crossroads of meaningful change. As a lifelong resident and pastor of a growing, diverse congregation, I remain committed to progress (CAN hat or not), committed to the critical reforms of the Collaborative and committed to the Front's call for justice.

        Damon Lynch
        Pastor New Prospect Baptist Church