By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The state of race relations in Cincinnati remains an overriding concern for many residents and civil rights activists who say they want to see the city move forward in 2003.

But Mayor Charlie Luken talked very little about the city's racial climate in his annual State of the City Address on Thursday at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

Notably absent was any mention of Cincinnati Community Action Now (CAN), the blue-ribbon panel he commissioned after the April 2001 riots to find solutions to the city's racial inequities. The mayor also didn't address the 18-month-old boycott against downtown and its lingering effects on the city.

Luken emphasized the city's commitment to improving neighborhoods, increasing economic development, reducing crime and strengthening police-community relations. They are issues that some argue would directly address most of the concerns expressed by the groups calling for a boycott.

The mayor's silence on one of the city's most polarizing topics did not go unnoticed by some listeners. The boycott, they said, continues to be one of the major impediments to true progress in Cincinnati.

"I had hoped that we would be able to put the boycott behind us this year," said State Rep. Tyrone Yates, D-Cincinnati. "It is something that must be resolved, but not ignored. Race cannot be the defining issue for us in 2003 and 2004."

Luken opened and closed his remarks by expressing his desire to see Cincinnati become a city that embraces diversity and welcomes everyone with open arms.

"We celebrate our diversity in Cincinnati, Ohio," Luken said.

Activists say while many efforts are under way to improve the racial climate, not much has changed since the 2001 unrest.

"The jury is still out on whether there has been any real progress, but at least there appears to be some real discussion," said Calvert Smith, president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP.

Cecil Thomas, director of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, said the city's strides in police-community relations are critical to improving the racial climate. He cited establishment of community problem-oriented policing programs and Citizens on Patrol units that have brought a new level of respect and cooperation between police and African-American residents.

"That is very important because if you look back in our history, it is the relationship between the police and citizens that is the spark that causes all of these other things to blow up," Thomas said. "We can work on the economics, housing and jobs; but we have to hold that relationship together if we are going to move forward."

Rev. Peterson Mingo, pastor of Christ Temple Baptist Church in Evanston, has been participating in Evanston's community problem-oriented policing program for seven months. He likened the current relationship between blacks in Evanston and police to that of two people in a new courtship.

"When you are dating somebody, they show you some things and it takes you a while to find out if they are sincere," Mingo said. "We are going through that same feeling out process right now where we're trying to get a look at everyone's agenda. So it will take a while to find out if it will bear fruit."

While the mayor identified crime as the greatest threat to Cincinnati's success, some said resolving the boycott remains one of the biggest challenges.

While the boycott has had its peaks and dips over 18 months, the movement recently showed that it still holds some sway. Filmmaker Spike Lee canceled a Feb. 28 speaking engagement at the University of Cincinnati, whose campus is not even in the defined "boycott zone" that encompasses downtown.

Smith said it would be difficult for the city to move forward until boycott organizers and city officials agree to negotiate in good faith.

"All of the things the mayor talked about were important, but I think race relations is at the core of our community moving forward, " said Sheila Adams, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati. "I don't think that one can assume that if you take care of those other things that (racial harmony) will come."

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com