*

*
Politics Extra
Enquirer reporters give the scoop on what your politicians are doing


Jessica Brown,
Hamilton County reporter


Jon Craig,
Enquirer statehouse bureau


Jane Prendergast,
Cincinnati City Hall reporter


Malia Rulon,
Enquirer Washington bureau


Carl Weiser,
Blog editor


Howard Wilkinson,
politics reporter

Powered by Blogger

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The letter a lot of folks are reading

Judging from the names on the email list, this is making the rounds among Cincinnati's movers and shakers.

We're trying to verify and talk to Ms. Perkins-Ball; there is indeed a Michelle Perkins-Ball listed as working at Archbishop Romero school in Toronto.

Here is the letter. What do you think of it?


Dear colleagues at The National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre,
>
> Thank you for your great work at the museum. Here is a copy of the
>letter I wrote with my husband which I sent to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
>We thought you may find it helpful to read:
>
>
>
> Dear editors and staff of the Enquirer,
>
>
>
> I am a secondary school teacher in Toronto, Canada. My husband and I
>have just returned from a three day trip to your city. I was planning
>on bringing my students to visit the National Freedom Centre in the
>fall. I came to check out the city ahead of time to see, outside of the
>Museum, what sites and experiences the city would have to offer my
>students and me. I will not be returning to Cincinnati with my
>students. Here's why:
>
>
>
> From the moment we walked into the streets we sensed a tension. At
>first we could not put our finger on it. We had arrived at 5p.m. and
>the city already seemed to be closing down. There were a lot of people
>looking like they were going somewhere, leaving the city, it appeared.
>After 6p.m. these people were gone and there was a very different group
>of people who remained. It is obvious there are two separate worlds in
>Cincinnati.
>
>
>
> We decided to watch the local news each day. From doing so, one might
>never know that Cincinnati's population is 47% Black, as we learned on
>the internet before choosing to visit. We saw one Black reporter on
>each of two stations, but watched many reports on Black people being
>arrested for drugs in a place called OTR. We saw snippets of happy
>white children splashing in swimming pools, but read of other pools
>being closed in English Woods such that Black children in nearby
>projects don't have a place to cool off.
>
>
>
> Not one person had initiated any conversation with us in the city so
>by the second day I decided to step out and tried to talk to people. A
>friendly individual who responded was an African-American woman named
>Diane. She actually lives in Kentucky. She took it upon herself to give
>us a walking tour of the downtown core. After this and coming to the
>realization that it would be a challenge to find a reasonably
>affordable sit-down restaurant downtown where I could eat with my class
>as a group, I commented that the Cincinnati does not seem
>teen-friendly. I asked about this and the conversation evolved onto the
>subject of race.
>
>
>
> I had forgotten about the riots of 2001, which, back then, were only a
>brief spot on the news in Toronto. I don't know why this didn't click
>with me when I was initially thinking about bringing my students there.
>However, I now recognize what my husband and I were feeling. It was/is
>the dichotomous nature of the city, I believe. Despite the fact that we
>saw barely a hint of garbage or graffiti on the face of Cincinnati,
>below there seems to lie a deep-seated anxiety and simmering anger
>waiting to resurface.
>
>
>
> On the morning we were to visit the National Freedom Centre we
>happened to pick up "The Downtowner". In it a columnist calls the
>museum a "Welfare Centre". (She might be interested to know that it was
>the only place in the city during our visit where we actually witnessed
>Black and White people interacting on a truly engaging, respectful and
>positive level, in our opinion.) Another columnist (the owner and
>publisher of this paper) writes what seems to be a "call to arms" to
>police to "kick butt". In Canada we don't call our police force a
>"posse". This alone was quite informative. Another paper included a
>caricature of a Cincinnati Bengal's player breaking into a liquor
>store. In addition there were pictures and a list of the Black players
>in trouble with the law.
>
>
>
> I stood by the restored slave pen in the National Freedom Centre and
>looked out the window. "Great American" says the building across the
>street. I was struck by the irony of the situation. Does the average
>American understand this history, I wonder? Can one even think about
>the development of the United States without discussing this past? A
>little Black girl sitting beside me moaned as we watched a film on
>humans escaping across the Ohio River being chased by dogs and bounty
>hunters. This sad and horrible sound represents for me the ongoing
>legacy of slavery, racism and poverty that leads in great part to the
>divisions and social breakdown that you are living out daily in your
>city, that even we in Toronto are experiencing more as of late.
>However, I am convinced that solutions can't be found in the
>"sanitizing" or desertion of a city.
>
>
>
> Upon returning home my husband and I looked up the background, events
>and aftermath of the 2001 riots. It is clear that much is left
>unfinished and that many are willing to abandon, even punish,
>Cincinnati and its people. In commenting, I do recognize that the
>social issues are complex and that every citizen has the responsibility
>to contribute to their community in a positive manner, and that police
>as well as other groups and members of society have a role to play.
>However, until the issue of racism and the related beliefs and
>behaviours on all sides are truly acknowledged, I believe, much will
>remain the same or even grow worse. Thus, at this point in time,
>although I do believe my class of diverse students would be safe in
>downtown Cincinnati, I do not think they would be welcomed by many.
>
>
>
> In conclusion, I want to be hopeful for Cincinnati. I am encouraged by
>people like Diane and those I met in the Freedom Centre, who symbolize
>for me the roots upon which reconciliation and true community building
>are founded. I wish for them and for others who work for change,
>courage amidst the voices of opposition and fear who would rather
>scream "kick butt", it appears, than reach out, redress and reform. I
>hope this reflection will stimulate open and honest discussion and that
>the next time I visit Cincinnati I might sense a different vibe, a
>spirit of hope in the city.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Michelle Perkins-Ball


11 Comments:

at 4:31 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This letter reeks of bull-crap. An 'out of towner' who has never been to Cincy before uses the abbreviation 'OTR' ("someplace called OTR")? Yea, right.

I am sorry if it is an inconvenient fact that most of the crime in the City of Cincinnati is committed by blacks. It is a simple fact. Of the 53 and counting murders this year almost every one of the victims is black and nearly every one of the identified suspects are black. Again, simple facts.

What has happened to the Black community? What has become of the things that MLK and so many others fought for in the '50 & '60's? All of these gains have been squandered by today's Black youths, and their parents.

Dr. Bill Cosby said it best last September in New Orleans:

""They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.
In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living. People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. $500 sneakers for what? And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics. I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.
Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol? And where is the father? Or who is his father?
People putting their clothes on backward: Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?
People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something? Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up? Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?
What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail.
Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.
We have got to take the neighborhood back.
People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now. We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard. We cannot blame the white people any longer."

The Cincinnati Police Department needs to get out of their cruisers and get out on the streets and confront the criminal yoofs head on. In New York when Giuliani and the NYPD started cracking down on the small quality of life crimes the big crimes took a nose dive. Clear the yoofs off of the corner they are hanging out on at 1am, enforce the curfew and while we are at it introduce mandatory school uniforms into the Cincinnati Public Schools.

 
at 4:47 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think this lady is right on the money. Cincinnati is a dying decaying city with not much to offer. We are out of here in about a year and that will be one of the best days of my life. Cincinnati is the arm pit of the USA!

 
at 4:53 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is very easy to point the finger at that black child and that black parent !!!

The fact is they are paying a white landlord to live in sub-standard lead-based paint conditions.

They are being taught by white teachers who write them off as being black.

They are being employed by white minimum wage employers and haven't seen a raise in 10 years.

They are placed in front of white judges, prosecutors, who openly state they have writen them off and a bigger jail is the answer !!

Blacks purchase an enormous amount of gasoline, but, BP petroleum doesn't even have one, THAT IS ONE, black owned distributor !!

Even if the article may be a hoax, we certainly were able to relate to it.

 
at 6:41 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the whole stinks like cow poop. Why would a "teacher" bring a class all the way to Cincinnati? If she wanted to see blight and decay, she should look no farther south than Detroit. Oh, wait a minute. The "teacher" wants to blame white people. White people left Detroit decades ago. Maybe she should blame the failed policies of liberal Democrats? And what the hell are Canadians paying their school "teachers"? They can afford to bring a class to another country?

 
at 8:28 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting letter, I was recently in Moscow,Russia and roamed the city day and night and felt perfectly safe I would never do that in Cinti.at least any more. I took my family downtown to the mall there about 3 years ago and was approached three different times by indivuals wanting money.The one said he had just got out of the penitentary and needs money. Thats their line to try to scare people. Anyway I think our city should be known as more of a donut city. there's not much in the middle but the outside is pretty good.

 
at 9:47 PM, August 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The letter hits the nail on the head and is yet another reason we need to elect John Cranley to Congress. He alone has the solutions to fix what is wrong with our racist, bigoted city. CRANLEY is the one who put a stop to racial profiling by the police. CRANLEY brings blacks and whites together at the meetings he runs. And CRANLEY would make sure people had jobs in OTR so they would not get arrested.

 
at 10:52 AM, August 10, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks like the lil dwarf(Cranley) is posting as anon...

 
at 10:56 AM, August 10, 2006 Blogger Nasty, Brutish & Short said...

Well, this letter was posted yesterday afternoon. Has the Enquirer discovered yet if the person who purportedly sent it, actually did?

I hope you all will post an update on this, as I am really curious. The word choice does indeed reek of bull poopie. It sounds like it was written by someone local--and with an agenda.

 
at 8:51 AM, August 11, 2006 Blogger Monica said...

It seems that the consensus opinion seems to lean toward this letter being faked. But what if it wasn't? What if someone from Canada came to Cincinnati, visited the Underground Railroad Freedom Center (UGRFC) and made the observations written. I know for a fact that there was a large contingency of black folks from Canada who visited the UGRFC because they were there the last time that I was there. They were part of a group who had family ties to the Undeground Railroad. How would it change the opinions of many of you if these were actual observations made by someone without an agenda. Jim Meeker is just plain ignorant and his attitudes are the reason that Cincinnati remains a bastion for racist idealogy. The recent Enquirer article clearly showed in fact that the majority of the repeat offenders were not black but appeared to be homeless, white alcoholics. Further of the white folks who have been murdered for example in OTR they appeared to be drug users and buyers. As in any industry its a matter of supply and demand. Our own PD has made it clear that folks are coming from NKY, Warren, Clermont and even Brown county to purchase drugs who are these people I would warrant that not many of them are black. But that may soon be a non-issue as the number one drug of choice of white folks has become crystal meth. Interesting that now Bill Cosby's words are taken as gospel but when he honored the boycott here in Cincinnati he was ridiculed by many white folks including probably Jim Meeker.

 
at 10:47 PM, August 14, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,
This is Michelle Perkins-Ball from Toronto writing. I just received an e-mail from a Mr. Weiser and my husband suggested I google my name and Cincinnati. This site came up. I want to assure people that I do indeed exist, that I am a high school teacher and that the reason I/we drove to Cincinnati was to check out the city and the National Freedom Centre before bringing my students this fall. Why? I teach an African-Canadian Heritage Course and there is an Ontario based connection in the Museum to the curriculum I teach. This would have been a great opportunity for my students to travel, related to the course. My intention in writing my letter was to highlight my/our experience of the visit and to share it with people in Cincinnati. It is obvious some people can relate to what I've said. This is the most important point. In addition, I had never seen the abbreviation OTR before I saw it/heard it on the news for 3 nights, a police project related to drugs in "OTR". These are the initials that the news report put up in big letters during the newscast . We also saw these initials in a local paper which spoke of drugs and police projects in OTR. In reading the responses to my letter, I wonder why people are suggesting someone is anonymously writing? Perhaps these issues are coming up regularly in Cincinnati? I am not pointing fingers at any one specific group. As I wrote in the initial letter, I realize that the problems faced are complex. However, I think before they can be addressed as a community, there needs to be a willingness, however unpleasant, to recognize some of the root causes. One of them, I unapologetically believe, is racism. Not that this should matter, or be of any importance as related to my letter, but for those who are interested in these types of things, my husband and I are middle-class "white folks".

 
at 12:48 AM, November 11, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it is interesting how, as soon as Mrs. Ball posted a blog, everyone shut up.
I am from Cincinnati, but lived in the South for a few years recently, and all I can say is, yes Cincinnati has a problem with race/crime/drug issues, but so do A LOT of other areas in the U.S. The race thing is even more HUGE in the South. That doesn't make it okay for us, its just a fact.
Maybe (?) we should all take Mrs. Ball's advice, and try to look at/recognize the root cause of the problems here, PARTICIPATE in our communities, and honestly discuss our thoughts with one another a little more.
I truly wish this town was more fun, and we could feel safe downtown after dark. If people really think that the solution is just to jail all law-breakers, then I am worried for our future as a city.

 
Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site.

<< Home


Blogs
Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck