I really enjoyed watched the “10 Years Later” video. Even though I am from Cincinnati, I did not know much about the race riots in 2001 prior to watching this video, primarily because I was so young when the events occurred. It was nice to learn about this part of Cincinnati’s history. I think it is important to understand a city’s history in order to appreciate its present state and be prepared for the future.
The time of the race riots was described as a period of racial tension between the black community and the police. One speaker in the video, Brian Thomas, described the events as a “breakdown in communication” (“Ten Years Later”). This reminded me of Block’s assertion that urban problems and conflicts actually represent a much deeper issue; they are “symptomatic of a breakdown in that community – a breakdown in citizens’capacity to create a place where this kind of tragedy could not happen” (Block, p. 33). I think this is a very fitting description of Cincinnati at the time of the race riots. The race riots revealed serious issues and a deeply ingrained division in the community. The video noted that one of the core issues that led to the race riots was the shooting of Timothy Thomas. Following this incident, in which a police officer was found to be dishonest, the public felt that the police was not being held accountable to the public and that the police could not trusted. Similarities can be seen between the state of the Cincinnati Police Department following the shooting of
Timothy Thomas and the state of the Los Angeles Police Department after the beating of Rodney King. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about the investigations into the LAPD and complaints against its officers. These studies revealed a power law
distribution; the majority of the complaints were against a select group of officers. The solution needed to be targeted at these officers (Gladwell, p. 181). The problem among the Cincinnati Police Department seemed to be similarly concentrated. Cincinnati did begin a movement of improving relations between the police and the community members. In 2004, the Citizen Complaint Authority began to track complaints against officers and compiled a list of officers who accumulated ten or more complaints over a three-year period. By 2010, no officers were on this list (“Ten Years Later”).
I was very interested by the video’s description of the city’s efforts to rebuild itself. A large movement was started in Over-the-Rhine to bring business and activity back into the area. Over-the-Rhine was seen as a “major injury” to the city that needed to be fixed (“Ten Years Later”). The broken windows theory states that “public disorder leads to a breakdown of public order” (Palen, p. 179). In other words, establishing order in problematic areas like Over-the-Rhine is one of the best ways to prevent future crime and issues. As a result, the entire city benefits from these efforts. A major component of this
redevelopment was the effort to get black citizens involved in earning economic real estate in order to close the “wealth gap.” The accumulation of wealth is crucial for upward mobility through the social classes. Marger describes a family’s wealth as a “safety net” that gives future generation an economic and social advantage over others (Marger, p. 66). Those involved in the redevelopment of the city began to see the potential of Cincinnati as a city where all members could be healthy and prosperous. It was this attitude that pushed the city to persevere and to continue improving itself.
I think that for our flex class on Halloween, we should participate in an event that my high school supports called “Trick-or-Treat So Kids Can Eat.” The purpose of this event is to collect canned goods and non-perishable food products to be donated to those in need. We could notify campus organizations and offices that we will be collecting canned goods. We could possibly set up a few collection boxes around campus. On October 31, we would go around campus to collect the boxes of canned goods and then we could deliver the canned goods to the collection drive at my high school, which is approximately twenty minutes from the university. I think participating in this food drive would be a good way to interact with the university community. Also, we would be encouraging members of the university community to get involved with the larger community of Cincinnati. We would be benefitting a positive organization, interacting with other members of the university community, and traveling to a new part of our city of Cincinnati community.