It's routine for The Enquirer to acknowledge anniversaries. Some are more relevant than others. Some are celebratory. Some are poignant. Some are historic.
This one, however, is complex.
This week marks 20 years since 19-year-old Timothy Thomas was killed by Cincinnati Police officer Stephen Roach, an incident that sparked civil unrest in downtown Cincinnati and created urgency around local police reform.
Summarizing that day in one sentence does not accurately portray the impact of April 7, 2001.
Here we sit, in the midst of police officer Derek Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis on charges he killed George Floyd in May 2020. Here we sit, less than a year removed from protests around the country and in our own community in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
We in Cincinnati patted ourselves on the back for the Collaborative Agreement that was put in place after the civil unrest here and for the improvement in police-community relations over the past 20 years. We have been held up as a model for other cities to follow. We agreed that the dynamic in our community was better.
Last summer, though, it felt like we were questioning ourselves all over again. Even though the protests were in response to Floyd's death in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor's death in Louisville, emotions escalated here, as well, especially after police used tear gas and pepper balls against protesters. There was damage to downtown businesses and graffiti on public property. There were arrests. There were accusations of mistreatment from those in custody. The mistrust and adverse relationships were back.
It was worse in other cities. But still, it took us down a memory lane filled with tension.
So we asked ourselves, what should The Enquirer do to do mark the 20 years since the 2001 riots? How do we ensure we never forget, but also make sure the lessons learned continue to move us forward?
Here is where we landed. In addition to talking with Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, we went with a two-pronged approach:
- We built a history lesson of sorts, a timeline with key events, dates and players, so those who do not know or recall what happened in 2001 can be educated.
- We sought the voices of community members with strong memories of 2001 and even stronger feelings about what it all means now.
You are going to hear from:
- Littisha Bates, associate dean for inclusive excellence and community partnerships, University of Cincinnati.
- Pat Bready, owner, Quest Management Consulting.
- Peter Bronson, former Enquirer columnist and author of a book on the riots.
- Elsie Carpenter, whose son, Michael, was killed during a police traffic stop in 1999.
- Mark Curnutte, former Enquirer reporter and visiting instructor of social justice studies and journalism at Miami University.
- Keith Fangman, former head of Cincinnati police union.
- Al Gerhardstein and Iris Roley, who worked together on the Collaborative Agreement.
- Stephanie Jones, daughter of the late judge Nathaniel Jones.
- Aprina Johnson, community activist.
- Damon Lynch III, pastor, New Prospect Baptist Church.
Respectfully, we reached out to the Thomas family, as well as to Roach. Neither accepted our invitation to participate.
What you will read are thoughtful words filled with emotion and sometimes frustration. Some of that is about what happened 20 years ago. Some of that is about what's happening today.
In editorials written by The Enquirer over the years that look back on the events of 2001, we have talked about the significant progress that has been made and conclude that "much work lies ahead."
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, that's where we are 20 years later.
Note to readers: In Enquirer-produced content we are using "civil unrest" to refer to the entirety of what transpired in April 2001. We use "riots" to refer specifically to violent episodes of protests, looting, etc. Rioting was part of the civil unrest, but the civil unrest included much more.
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