Cincinnati (USA) activists threatened with frivolous suit

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday March 18, 2002 13:56 by Cincinnati People's Law Collective erhendrick at prodigy dot net

In order to combat the systemic pattern of civil rights violations in Cincinnati, the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati and others declared a boycott - and are now being threatened with a frivolous lawsuit

In April of last year, citizens of Cincinnati rose up following the killing of Timothy Thomas, an unarmed 19 year old African American man, by a white police officer in Over-the-Rhine. Thomas was the 15th African-American man killed by the police in the last five years.

Cincinnati, the seventh most segregated city in the nation, has a long history of civil rights violations, economic oppression and police brutality. After calls to address the problem in our city fell on deaf ears, civil rights groups in Cincinnati formed the coalition for a Just Cincinnati (CJC), which has called for a boycott of the city.

The boycott calls for sanctions on tourism and conventions and a campaign to urge people to not spend money in the downtown business district. In addition, on January 17, 2002, CJC began their Artist of Conscience campaign, which calls for all Artists of Conscience to honor the boycott and refuse to perform in Cincinnati. In recent weeks, several artists, including Bill Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Wynton Marsalis, have canceled their scheduled performances.

The Cincinnati Arts Association has threatened suit against the Coalition for tortious interference, seeking $77,000 plus punitive damages.

We believe that this boycott is necessary as a last resort to force the City of Cincinnati to deal with the racial and economic injustice and police brutality that plague the people of our city. We are confident that we will ultimately prevail. Your help is needed to fight this frivolous lawsuit.

The Cincinnati Peoples Law Collective is establishing a legal defense fund in order to assist the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati in defraying the cost of mounting their legal defense.

Please send donations to the

Cincinnati People’s Law Collective:
528 E. 13th street
Cincinnati, OH 45210.

Checks can be made out to N16legal.

Thank you for your support,

Molly Lyons
Cincinnati People’s Law Collective