By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mayor Charlie Luken and Cincinnati City Council were unfazed by the Cincinnati NAACP's demand Tuesday to immediately conduct face-to-face negotiations with groups leading the 2-year-old boycott of downtown.

The mayor and several council members said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a "highly respected" and "important" voice in the community, but negotiating demands with boycotters remains a non-starter.

"Absolutely not!" said Councilman Chris Monzel. "The whole boycott movement is so splintered and divisive that you don't know who is doing what or who to talk to.

"Before you can deal, you need to know whom you are going to negotiate with and that they are not going to move the goal line on you at the last minute," he said. "It's just crazy to even think about it."

Luken, who is a lifetime member of the NAACP, said he would be willing to talk to anybody about ways the city can move forward. The mayor said he plans to meet with Cincinnati NAACP president Dr. Calvert Smith in the coming days to discuss the matter.

"I don't know what all this means, but I'm willing to listen to him," Luken said. "The NAACP seems to feel there is an opportunity to talk about this and reach some resolutions."

The Cincinnati NAACP Tuesday asked the mayor to conduct face-to-face negotiations with the groups leading the boycott of downtown, which started in 2001 over perceived racial injustices. The boycott has cost the city millions of dollars by discouraging conventions, entertainers and speakers from coming to Cincinnati.

Smith said the Cincinnati Boycott Council and Coalition for a Just Cincinnati are willing to meet, but the mayor has so far refused to do so.

Smith acknowledged that there has been some progress on the issues raised by boycotters, but he added that a unilateral end to the boycott would not come until all the demands are addressed.

Smith stressed that the NAACP was not choosing sides on the matter, but that it was merely trying to act as a catalyst to spark talks between the mayor and boycotters. He even offered the civil rights group's services as a mediator to any discussions that might take place.

"It is clear to us that the ball is squarely in Mayor Luken's court," Smith said during a news conference at the NAACP's Reading Road headquarters. "Whether it is one group or 10, it is the mayor's responsibility to move forward and get these people around the table.

"This is just not going away," he said. "This city is in a mess simply because nobody is moving to resolve these grievances. You don't solve problems by refusing to talk, negotiate and discuss issues."

Councilman Pat DeWine said the city needs to stay focused on making changes to improve the quality of life for all Cincinnatians. He said the NAACP could play a constructive role in trying to end the boycott.

"Instead of supporting the boycott, which hurts everyone, the NAACP should work with the city on fixing the problems it perceives still exist," DeWine said.

Councilman John Cranley added: "I don't believe the boycott is productive, and the behavior of the boycott leaders should not be rewarded with formal negotiations."

The boycott movement, which enjoyed early success with cancellations by comedian Bill Cosby and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, has been showing cracks of late.

Cancellations haven't been as plentiful, and the group's most newsworthy activity lately has been the filing of court-issued protection orders against one another.

Nate Livingston and the Rev. Damon Lynch III - who lead separate boycott groups - cheered the NAACP's decision.

"It's about time that the responsibility for ending the boycott be put squarely where it belongs, and that's on the shoulders of the mayor," said Livingston, co-chairman of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati. "The city could end this boycott overnight if they wanted to, simply by meeting the demands."

Lynch, who announced his candidacy for City Council at a simultaneous press conference Tuesday, said he hopes city leaders respect the NAACP's voice as much as the community does.

"Their decision may be late in some people's eyes, but I'm just thankful they've taken this position," said Lynch, president of the Cincinnati Black United Front.

Smith said there is no specific reason for the timing of the NAACP's demand other than that the group's executive board felt the boycott had gone on for too long.

Smith described the racial climate in Cincinnati as being in the state of a "tensed truce." He said there is a "huge gulf" between blacks and whites and that many of the issues that gave rise to the April 2001 riots remain unresolved.

"There is no peace in this city," Smith said. "Just because people are going downtown and walking around like everything is all right doesn't mean there is peace."

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com