The headline-grabbing deaths of two African-American men at the hands of Cincinnati Police officers have done little to curb continued police abuse of blacks and other minorities, the victims' parents charged Tuesday.

        The parents said it's imperative for them to speak publicly about what they perceive to be an adversarial relationship between police and minority residents.

        “I will speak out nationally to make sure I'm heard, and make sure I keep the spotlight on what's going on in Cincinnati,” said Angela Leisure, mother of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas, who was fatally shot last Aprilwhile fleeing police. “It's a nightmare.”

        Ms. Leisure spoke to about 100 Xavier students gathered Tuesday for the second of three open dialogues on race.

        She was joined by Roger Owensby Sr. and his wife, Brenda, whose son Roger Owensby Jr., 29, died shortly after being wrestled to the ground while being arrested in November 2000 at a Roselawn gas station.

        The officers involved in both deaths were acquitted of all charges.

        Since then, nothing has changed, Ms. Leisure said.

        “Something has got to be done, something has got to change,” Ms. Leisure said. “I will not go away until it does.”

        Brenda Owensby attributed tensions to simple racism on the part of a mostly white police force.

        “The (police) will never treat us equal because we're a different color,” Mrs. Owensby said. “They want to identify blacks as thugs or hoodlums. Roger had never been in trouble with the police before.”

        Mr. Owensby told the young people, “The only way to improve race relations is to find out something about them, and tell them something about you.”

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