The growing number of high-profile, multicultural conferences coming to Cincinnati is evidence of the city’s changing – some say improving – economic and cultural environment.
The national spotlight now is focused on downtown during the 99th annual NAACP convention, which wraps up at the Duke Energy Center this week. Though final figures won’t be known until later, organizers estimate the country’s oldest civil right’s organization will attract 9,000 to 11,000 NAACP members, delegates and visitors. They’re expected to spend at least $3.1 million in the region’s packed hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and shops.
And over the weekend, the city made their best attempt at courting the 10,000-member League of United Latin American Citizen’s, or LULAC’s, 2011 convention. The city once again goes up against the likes of Dallas and Orlando, Fla. to play host to the event. The economic impact of that convention is estimated at $1.3 million.
These conventions showcase what Cincinnati has to offer, and in return Cincinnatians are exposed to various ethnicities and cultures. Conventions like these also permeate the city with energy and dollars, said Jason Dunn, the Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau's director of multicultural affairs and community development.
“What we strive to do is create jobs, and when these conventions come here those dollars go to restaurants, to retail shopping attractions, to museums. We infuse our economy with fresh dollars,” Dunn said.
Increasingly these type of large, established ethnic conventions are choosing to come to Cincinnati. This followed years of being shunned when race-relations in the city hit a low point earlier this century. In 2001, after widely publicized street unrest, local activists and African-American leaders led a boycott of the city to protest the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man during an attempted arrest.
No ethnic conventions came to the city from 2001 to 2004 and big stars cancelled appearances here, including Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg.
A slew of lawsuits followed the shooting and a lasting result was the Collaborative Agreement, which brought federal oversight of the police department, and the Community Problem Oriented Policing initiative.
“2001 was a wake up call for Cincinnati and it spoke clearly to disparities that exist between African-Americans and Whites in this region,” said Sean Rugless, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African-American Chamber of Commerce president. “It’s taken regional leadership, civic groups, and city government to all agree that diversity and inclusion is an important part of a vibrant city.”
With little public fanfare, things slowly have begun to change. Though no one called an official end to the boycott, the city started booking ethnic conventions (27 since 2004). Also notable was the return of the Macy’s Music Festival and a visit by Cosby in 2006 during a speech on parenting at Xavier University. It marked his first time back in the city in five years.
Though Cincinnati still has its share of racial tension and disparities, Dunn said things are changing.
“I think the city has come together. It’s come full circle. I think people realize this is a multicultural city. We all live here and have to make this a better place,” Dunn said.
The city’s attempts – and successes – in attracting these conventions is a step in making the city more inclusive to minority groups, leaders said.
This year’s NAACP convention – and in turn, Cincinnati – will get increased attention because it’s in an election year, battleground state. Both Republican and Democratic presumptive presidential nominees are speaking here in a historic election year where Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is the first African-American nominee for U.S. president.
In addition to the NAACP convention, the city will host the National Baptist Convention USA September 8-12. It’s the nation’s largest African-American religious convention representing 7.5 million members. According to the convention, on average 30,000 delegates attend.
But Cincinnati still faces racial tensions and hostilities. Dunn said the city didn’t shy away from those in its NAACP pitch but embraced it as a selling point. This Midwestern, diverse urban city is a microcosm for much of the nation and should be part of finding solutions to racial disparities, he said.
“We were honest about (our problems) and are working to fix these issues,” Dunn said.
The city’s also less than a day’s drive from cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis. This provides organizations like LULAC the opportunity to grow and expand their influence in the South and Midwest,” says Jason Riveiro, Ohio LULAC state director. Additionally, former Mexican President Vicente Fox, whose grandfather was born in Cincinnati, earlier vowed to attend the LULAC convention if it came here.
“We’re playing to the mission of LULAC, it is weaker in this area. LULAC has been in Dallas and Orlando very many times,” Riveiro said. “We might help the cause by focusing on this area.”
The NAACP convention has set the tone for the city’s future convention hosting capabilities, Rugless said. The entire city has worked to make it a memorable one for those attending. It’s been a group effort he thinks will set the stage for more large, cooperative efforts to come.
“We have not seen in recent history this level of cooperation between public officials, community-based organizations and corporations. We’ve never experienced working together like this in enhancing the city’s image. It’s resulted in a level collaboration I haven’t seen in a long time. Hopefully, it’s set the framework for how we do this again and again,” Rugless said.
Photography by Scott Beseler
Feoshia is a former Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky daily news reporter. She now runs her own freelance writing business and blogs about the Cincinnati suburbs at www.cincyburb.blogspot.com.