Unraveling Cincinnati’s racial dynamics: A story of resilience

By Blossom Smith

My name is Blossom Smith. I am a retired librarian and my father was a psychology professor and co-creator and first Director of the Black History Department at the University of Cincinnati. 

I have been keeping him updated on the news and events that have occurred that are affecting African Americans in our city, as he and my other siblings have long since moved out of Cincinnati. I remain a resident. 

We’ve discussed recent occurrences such as the Haitian community attack following the remarks of Donald Trump. As well as the Nazi presence in Lincoln Heights. Most recently we have discussed the death of Ryan Hinton, the subsequent killing of Deputy Larry Henderson by Rodney Hinton Jr., the police reaction in court and the fact that Mr. Hinton is now suing CPD, claiming police violated his Civil Rights. 

We’ve also discussed the DEI changes and legislation that has allowed higher learning institutions, such as the University of Cincinnati to change longtime practices that will affect students and faculty and staff and alumni for years to come. Finally, we’ve been discussing the most recent lawsuit filed by the CPD lieutenants against the police chief, citing unlawful preferential treatment towards women and minorities. 

He asked me this: 

Do you feel like Cincy is a tinder box? Like, Is it a tense situation racially?

Here was my response:

This is a really good question and I thought about it the past couple of hours. I don’t think it’s a tinder box, or a volcano, or a powder keg, or even a time bomb. 

Those references imply that we are on the urge of an explosive reaction or on the verge of a battle and/or confrontation between the races.

Instead, I would compare the current reactions of Cincinnati’s Black residents to an earthquake. Earthquakes are defined as: “Shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks. Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one another suddenly fracture and ‘slip.’”

There’s definitely fractures, but that’s all. And then what happens afterwards? Everything goes right back to normal.  If it’s a small earthquake, people barely notice.  If it’s a bigger earthquake, some might prepare. 

Unlike a tinder box that might explode at any moment, earthquakes are not seen as an imminent threat. They may cause discomfort, disruption and damage. Then the problem appears to go away, leaving people to live with a false belief that one needs only to prepare for the short term. They will believe that soon/eventually everything will go back to normal. 

While underneath the surface, there is something different happening altogether. Under the surface there are changes happening to the core of the planet, or in this case, the city of Cincinnati, that will prove detrimental to every citizen sooner or later.

With a tinder box,  something could explode at any moment. It could become violent and awful.  It will definitely happen, and soon. With an earthquake occurrence, one doesn’t know when or even if it will happen. 

If this were the early 2000’s there would be racial riots and large(r) protests. If this were the 1960s or 70s, there would be a great uprising of African Americans in their communities in Cincinnati, fighting for change via sit-ins, marches, protests, etc. 

But it’s neither of those things. It’s 2025. It’s Trump‘s world, Trump‘s country, Trump’s state and Trump’s city. Trump and his cronies know what a strong base they have in Cincinnati.  

So, they are able to push the limits. They will keep pushing and pushing without any retaliation. As you know, Trump has a history of violating the rights of African Americans in Cincinnati via his the rental properties he owned. That was way back in the 1960’s. So he knows all about pushing boundaries and pretending it is lawful. 

So, it is easy to continue to grow his base here. It is why JD Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy, Vance’s brother Cory Bowman, Mike DeWine, Jim Jordan and all the others thrive here and all over Ohio.

With the exception of African American women, many African Americans here don’t care anything about politics and don’t see these issues as a travesty of justice. They want to ignore it. Many of the people I know cannot even show solidarity by boycotting at least one store.

They haven’t been raised to fight for these things.  We (our parents, family and siblings) have been provided with a lot of information. We learned and absorbed and appreciated all of it. We received information via our elders, parents, community, churches, schools and higher learning institutions. We embraced the history of fighting against racial discrimination and injustice. 

Yet, I’m not currently prepared to fight! I have a longing for change. I try to do what I can, like you do. But like many, I often don’t know where to start. And when I do start, I become quickly overwhelmed, upset and frustrated.

Many generations here, also don’t see it as a priority. As you, yourself have witnessed, many of our own family members don’t seem concerned about the most recent turn of events in regards to African Americans Civil Rights restrictions in Cincinnati and the legacy of our father at the University of Cincinnati.

So these types of travesties against our Civil Rights will continue, because no one will push back. If we do not choose to riot or rise up and fight, then our only other option is to vote for change. 

The news will report the injustices. People will get upset for a little while, but then when it’s time to vote, the White people will continue to vote for the MAGA  Republican party and most of the Black people won’t vote at all… 

They are not quite indifferent, but they are not proactive. Their beliefs suggest an uprising. But their actions do not. Instead, their actions mimic how many people usually respond to an earthquake. They say to themselves: “Well, things will eventually stop shaking”

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