Lincoln Heights incident: Orchestrated act of hate and prejudice

By Treyshawn Shegog

I want to discuss what occurred on February 7, 2025. It would be easy just to call it a rally of racists coming to discourage and anger the people of color in the village of Lincoln Heights. It would be even more easy to say that this was just a random act of prejudice and hate. But I believe that this was an orchestrated controlled planned psyop to cause emotional instability and to create an physical response of outrage or and emotional reaction out of the people of the Lincoln Heights Village for us to get a full understanding of what exactly we people of color face here in the Cincinnati area. 

We must look into the rich history of this German/ Irish immigration to this city. 

Cincinnati has a copious history of racism and prejudice. Not only has the KKK had a stronghold on the city in its history, but it has also been known to allow the KKK to burn crosses in the heart of the city and the square of the downtown area. In the early 1900s downtown Cincinnati had a building that sold KKK regalia and uniforms in the open eye of the public. We must not forget that the very bridge that attaches Cincinnati to Kentucky, White racists stood along that bridge and shot down slaves in the Ohio river before crossing into Cincinnati. So we must not forget or act behooved when we see blatant racism in the city of Cincinnati. Racism is a staple here in Cincinnati. 

If you were to ask me, Lincoln Heights is a city of rich history of Blackness and self sufficiency. It is the the first self-governing Black owned community north of the Mason Dixon line. It is also the first Black power town as it was incorporated in June 18, 1941, The people of color in the village of Lincoln Heights tried to do this many times before, but because of racist in the nearby communities known as Lockland and Evendale, the residents there objected to this attempt because they feared the businesses would be competing with theirs

So they filed a motion several minutes before the filing for incorporation was completed to make this more than a community or neighborhood. It was a status symbol.       

Kitty Morgan wrote in Cincinnati Magazine that Hamilton County and state governments were unsympathetic to the attempted incorporation, the manager of the GE plant at the time also found an objection because he did not want the plant to be in a predominantly Black municipality.

In the 1920s, people of color bought that land, but Cincinnati refused to annex it. They denied citizens of Lincoln Heights essential services like police and fire services, but the resilient people in the Village of Lincoln height developed and built anyway. 

At their pinnacle this great community was an epicenter of energy with a thriving community of multiple grocery stores skating rinks, a movie theater and a thriving nightlife for entertainment. Many Black families bought land and built houses, because red lining prevented them from buying houses and land elsewhere in the Cincinnati area. Due to this fact, many of the roads were unpaved and a lot of streets had no street lights. 

So when it comes to the tragedy that happened on February 7, 2025, I am not surprised, to see the malevolent behavior of the barbaric swastika waved by White men with a sign that read “America is for the White man,” and that they strategically sought out a specific area in between Lincoln Heights and Evendale on a overpass and the highway so they could target, harass and attempt to provoke as many people of color as possible. This type of behavior is not new to Cincinnati coming from White racist men, but this is their cultural beliefs. I raise the question why were  these men not charged with ethnic intimidation?        

According to Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece, there was a Supreme Court case in Columbus, Ohio, that was won, stating that the parties used the N-word in a threatening manner.

I’m sure Eric Ruffin, (a Lincoln Heights businessman who was approached as his truck was stopped on the overpass by an armed neo-Nazi) who was one of the many victims who was targeted with hateful racial slurs over  megaphones should look into filing charges. He said, “I feared for my life.’’

These men should be charged with felonies for attempting to insight a riot, threatening citizens and  child endangerment, since they had guns on the school premises after being escorted by police when they jumped in the U-Haul truck. I’d like to ask Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost why hasn’t he done the proper steps to make sure this is done? This is a man who stated when college students were protesting with masks on that they would be faced with felony charges. So why aren’t White men who had face masks on and carrying weapons to provoke individuals faced with felony charges?

No one has spoken on our behalf as people of color here in Cincinnati.

They also had help and were escorted by the Evendale police. I was not surprised to see the help of the boys in blue helping a historically racist violent group commit civil unrest, because I know, that the boys in blue burn crosse, too. 

The purpose of what they did was to intimidate and incite pandemonium through fear mongering tactics amongst the people of color. Once the body cameras were made public, it was disturbing to see Evendale police ask how they could help the neo-Nazis. In fact, in one part of the body cam, the neo-Nazi says, “Yeah, I made the call (to the Evendale Police Department), and they’re coming to get us.” This is very interesting, especially since the Evendale Police Chief Tim Holloway said that he knew some of them. In hindsight, I believe that Evendale police should be investigated to see if they are aiding and abating a known racial organization. 

The school children were terrified when released from school that afternoon. This”demonstration,” as Tim Holloway called it was a total disaster due to the fact the people of the village of Lincoln Heights stood up and raised up against the invasion.

As Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reese stated, they responded in a manner that any other people would have responded when they see an invasion on the forefront of their community.

I believe that many of the individuals in the village of Lincoln Heights should get counseling and some type of free mental health service to help them cope with the traumatic experience that happened to them February 7, especially the children who had to witness this horrific event.

When you are feeling boxed in, you go into flight or fight mode, and the beautiful people of the village in Lincoln Heights responded by saying, “No justice, no peace,” which was a respectable, benevolent response to these wicked people who came to cause civil unrest amongst that great community.

I trust that Hamilton County will do what should be properly done to correct and rectify the situation and not just constantly put a Band-Aid over a wound without treating it. 

I think that the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department did a beautiful job as well by holding a hearing to let the villagers of Lincoln Heights respond and ask questions to gain a full understanding of what exactly happened. Evendale should do the same, because, again, “no justice, no peace.”