Contributed
Councilmember Scotty Johnson and Mayor Aftab Pureval held a press conference on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at City Hall. They, along with members of City Council, expressed sincere regret and initiated reconciliation to former residents of the City’s lower West End, their descendants, and to all Cincinnatians for the elimination of the lower West End community (now referred to as “Kenyon-Barr”) and the losses that it caused: 26,000 mostly Black residents and hundreds of Black-owned businesses – restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, and funeral homes. Eighty churches were closed as well. This was part of the “slum clearance” plan that the federal government funded across the country starting in the late 1950s to make way for a highway and an industrial area. Cincinnati had the largest displacement in the country.
Former resident Oscar Wright said he still remembers the streets filled with furniture and personal belongings as families evacuated or were put out on the street. He mentioned that Vice Mayor Kearney’s father, Dr. Luther Lemon, had to leave his office on Clark Street where Mr. Wright and his family were patients. “My dad remained hurt about that displacement his entire life,” Kearney said. Families lost generational wealth with the demise of their businesses, and the entire West End lost the vibrant, close-knit community on which they depended. Many had nowhere to go because the City did not provide enough housing for the sudden relocation of the 26,000 people who received 30-day eviction notices.
The City of Cincinnati failed to deliver on its promise to adequately re-house displaced residents. Cincinnati Herald Publisher Walter White said he remembers his family having to move and not being sure about where they would go. White said they moved from place to place. “I ended up going to five different schools begore graduating from high school,” White said.
Dr. Wendy Ellis, Director of the George Washington University Center for Community Resilience, and Dr. Anne Steinert, professor in the University of Cincinnati’s Department of History, made a presentation about the Kenyon-Barr tragedy earlier in the day during City Council’s Healthy Neighborhoods Committee. They emphasized that the massive displacement was rooted in institutional racism and resulted in the destruction of social, political, cultural, and faith networks, resulting in trauma and the loss of generational wealth within this Black community.
Mayor Aftab Pureval gave the apology on behalf of the City and emphasized that this administration and City Council are working for equity through investments in resources for Black homeownership, small business support, a financial freedom packet (guaranteed income for some low income families pilot project, medical debt relief, and “baby bonds” – savings accounts for Preschool Promise children) – a packet that was approved by City Council the next day. The Mayor also mentioned funds to revitalize Linn Street and establish minority-owned businesses there, as well as other resources. “We are working,” added Vice Mayor Kearney.
African American Chamber President & CEO, Eric H. Kearney said words matter, so an apology for the past wrongs done to the community is a good step towards reconciliation.
Many attendees thanked Councilmember Johnson for his courage in stepping forward to acknowledge that the City’s injustices to the Black community were wrong. An apology is long overdue, Councilmember Johnson said. It’s one piece of reconciliation. Building equity is the ongoing work.