Contributed by All-In Cincinnati

Black History In The Making

Honoring an Impact Hero: Denisha PorterBlack history isn’t just about the past—it’s about the leaders shaping the future right now. That’s why we’re celebrating Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub’s inaugural Impact Hero—our Executive Director, Denisha Porter!

Denisha’s leadership in health, housing, education, economic mobility, and justice continues to drive transformation in our community. She was recently recognized as one of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Ohio for 2024 (for the second year in a row!).

Denisha’s work is more than impact—its legacy in motion. We honor her commitment to building a Hamilton County where everyone belongs, collaborates, and thrives.

🌍 All Means All: A Framework by PolicyLink
Keep the Momentum Going & Watch the CNDORH Recap!

At All-In Cincinnati, we know that when we uplift overlooked communities, the entire community thrives. This isn’t new work for us—it’s who we are. Since 2019, we’ve mirrored PolicyLink’s vision, knowing that true progress happens when systems work for everyone.

That’s why we’re spotlighting the All Means All framework—a bold strategy from PolicyLink, designed to create communities where everyone has access to opportunity, resources, and justice. This framework reinforces what we’ve long believed: when we center those most impacted, we build a stronger Hamilton County for all.

The Cincinnati 5th Annual National Day of Racial Healing was a powerful reminder of the work we continue to do—work that is more critical now than ever. Relive the impact. Watch the recap now! From powerful speakers to deeply moving Activation Rooms, we witnessed the community come together to heal, engage, and move forward.  ✨ Let’s carry this energy forward—all year long.

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcPJ5-v5XCI

#CNDORH | #RacialHealing | #HowWeHeal | #AllMeansAll | #AllInCincinnat

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Contributed by Cincinnati Regional Chamber

On February 27, at its Annual Dinner, the Cincinnati Regional Chamber recognized eight individuals as honorees of its We Are Making Black History campaign. Now in its 7th year, Making Black History highlights Black leaders living and working in our region creating legacies today. These leaders are from diverse backgrounds and professions, united by their commitment to excellence. We Are Making Black History is generously supported by BT Rise and Frost Brown Todd. 

“This year, we proudly celebrate eight remarkable Black leaders whose contributions are shaping the future of our region across the arts, nonprofit, and business sectors,” said Devona Stripling, Director of the Chamber’s WE Excel and Everyone Belongs Here initiatives. “These individuals are leveraging their skills, talents, and passions not only to uplift others but to redefine what an inclusive, thriving community should look like. Their impact is a testament to the power of perseverance, vision, and collection action – proof that when we growth together, we grow stronger.” 

These honorees are trailblazers who continue to break barriers and set new standards of excellence in their respective fields. Their dedication and leadership inspire progress, creating pathways for the next generation and strengthening the vibrancy of our community. 

This year’s We Are Making Black History are: 

• Damian Hoskins | Executive Director at Elementz Cincinnati 
• Kai Lewars | Principal and Founder Kaiker Development and Construction 
• Sheryl Long | City Manager at the City Of Cincinnati 
• Roddell McCullough | Chief Corporate Officer at First Financial Bank 
• David Minor | Director of Worship Arts & Media at Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church 
• Rickell Howard Smith | President & CEO of YWCA Greater Cincinnati 
• Robie K. Suggs | President and CEO of Warsaw Federal Savings and Loan 
• Siobhan Taylor | President & CEO at DePaul Cristo Rey High School

More information about the program and previous honorees can be found here.

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It’s time to honor the first African American who hand carved a working wooden clock.

Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland November 1731. He was a land-owning tobacco farmer of modest means.

In 1751 Banneker borrowed a pocket watch. He was fascinated by its mechanisms. Drawing each component and creating pieces out of wood. Circa 1753 he constructed the first wooden clock in the United States. It disappeared in a mysterious fire and has never been recovered.

Banneker published an almanac offering weather data, recipes, and medical remedies. As a noted astronomer and mathematician George Washington appointed Banneker to a surveyor team. The goal was to select sites for the White House and other federal buildings. In October 1806, Banneker died in his sleep.

Banneker’s Legacy continues to this day as Banneker, Inc. Founded in 2003. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado and black owned.

Personal interview with Banneker founder and CEO Derrick Holmes.

What timepiece collections have been the most popular?

“The most popular current watches have been the Baller collection, the Poise, and the Nice. In the past we had an extremely popular limited edition Black Eagle watch that sold out quickly. Three of our most popular original collections are the Power, the Imhotep, and the Me which we want to bring back at some point in 2025”.

What new products and designs are in store for 2025?

“In 2025 we are hoping to launch a new version of the Poise and a series of stainless-steel mesh bracelets. A new series in the Camelot family named “the Fire” promises to be exciting as well”.

Any new materials being used from the African Continent to produce timepieces?

“Currently, we source many of our exotic woods from the African Continent. Black sandalwood, red sandalwood, wenge wood, and ebony wood from Mozambique, and zebra wood from Congo. We are always looking for additional collaborations with African manufacturing partners”. 

That concludes the interview, enjoyable, insightful, and a pleasure.

As a young professional living in Cincinnati the 43mm Camelot Gold Watch is unique and of exceptional quality. It helps deliver my personal swagger.

Remember to change clocks and watches for daylight saving time on Sunday March 9^th.

Cartoon character Aljay is created by Sterling Haynes.

https://bannekerstore.com

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By Deborah W. Parker

“Just Because I am a Librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”

With this breezy pronouncement, Belle da Costa Greene handily differentiated herself from most librarians.

She stood out for other reasons, too.

In the early 20th century – a time when men held most positions of authority – Greene was a celebrated book agent, a curator and the first director of the Morgan Library. She also earned US$10,000 a year, about $280,000 today, while other librarians were making roughly $400.

She was also a Black woman who passed as white.

Born in 1879, Belle was the daughter of two light-skinned Black Americans, Genevieve Fleet and Richard T. Greener, the first Black man to graduate from Harvard. When the two separated in 1897, Fleet changed the family’s last name to Greene and, along with her five children, crossed the color line. Belle Marion Greener became Belle da Costa Greene – the “da Costa” a subtle claim to her Portuguese ancestry.

When banking magnate J.P. Morgan sought a librarian in 1905, his nephew Junius Morgan recommended Greene, who had been one of his co-workers at the Princeton Library.

Henceforth, Greene’s life didn’t just kick into a higher gear. It was supercharged. She became a lively fixture at social gatherings among America’s wealthiest families. Her world encompassed Gilded Age mansions, country retreats, rare book enclaves, auction houses, museums and art galleries. Bold, vivacious and glamorous, the keenly intelligent Greene attracted attention wherever she went.

I found myself drawn to the worlds Greene entered and the people she described in her lively letters to her lover, art scholar Bernard Berenson. In 2024, I published a book, “Becoming Belle Da Costa Greene,” which explores her voice, her self-invention, her love of art and literature, and her path-breaking work as a librarian.

Yet I’m often asked whether Greene mentions her passing as white in her writings. She did not. Greene was one of hundreds of thousands of light-skinned Black Americans who passed as white in the Jim Crow era. While speculation about Greene’s background circulated in her lifetime, nothing was confirmed until historian Jean Strouse revealed the identities of Greene’s parents in her 1999 biography, “Morgan: American Financier.” Until that point, only Greene’s mother and siblings knew the story of their Black heritage.

“Passing” can often raise more questions than answers. But Greene did not largely define herself through one category, such as her racial identity. Instead, she constructed a self through the things she loved.

‘I love this life – don’t you?’

In my view, any consideration of Greene’s attitudes toward her own race must remain an open question. And uncertainty can be acknowledged – even embraced – with judgments suspended.

The Morgan Library & Museum currently has an exhibition on Greene that will run until May 4, 2025 – one that’s already generated debates about Greene and the significance of her passing.

One section of the exhibition, “Questioning the Color Line,” includes novels on passing, paintings such as Archibald J. Motley Jr.’s “The Octoroon Girl,” photographs of Greene, and clips from Oscar Micheaux’s 1932 film “Veiled Aristocrats” and John M. Stahl’s 1934 film “Imitation of Life,” which portray painful scenes between white-passing characters and their family members.

None of these objects clarifies Greene’s particular relationship to passing. Instead, they place the librarian within melodramatic and conventional representations about passing that stress self-division and angst.

We don’t know – perhaps we will never know – whether Greene had similar moments of self-doubt.

Yet some critics have concluded as much. In his review of the exhibition for The New Yorker, critic Hilton Als laments what Greene’s passing had cost her. He describes her as a “girl who loved power,” a woman who “became a member of another race – not Black or white but alternately grandiose and self-despising.”

There’s a lot of certainty in such a pronouncement – and scant evidence furnished to support such declarations.

New York Times columnist John McWhorter takes issue with Als’s depiction of the librarian’s passing in a Jan. 23, 2025, article.

Citing passages from her letters in which Greene excitedly describes reading the Arabic folktales “The Thousand and One Nights” and seeing exhibitions of modern art, McWhorter asks readers to reconsider this “witty, puckish soul who savored books and art” and “had an active social life.”

What if Greene gave her race little thought, McWhorter wonders. What if she simply saw the notion of race and racial categorization as “a fiction” and instead lived her life to its fullest? Of course, her light skin afforded her the opportunity that other Black people of her era didn’t have. But does that necessarily mean that she was self-loathing or conflicted?

“[W]e are all wearing trousers and I love them,” Greene writes in one letter to Berenson, adding, “The Library grows more wonderful every day and I am terribly happy in my work here … I love this life – don’t you?”

Greene’s vitality captivated Berenson, who once described the librarian as “incredibly and miraculously responsive.”

The connoisseur was not the only contemporary who admired Greene’s effervescence. In “The Living Present,” an account of the activities of women before and after World War II, Greene’s friend Gertrude Atherton paid tribute to Greene, a “girl so fond of society, so fashionable in dress and appointments” that she could impress any stranger with her “overflowing joie de vivre.”

Crafting an aura

Viewed through a more expansive lens, Greene’s passing can be seen as part of an exercise in self-fashioning and self-invention.

Greene dressed to be noticed – and she was. Meta Harrsen, the librarian Greene hired in 1922, offers a rare eye-witness account. On the day Greene interviewed Harrsen, “she wore a dress of dark red Italian brocade shot with silver threads, a gold braided girdle, and an emerald necklace.”

Greene understood well the power of clothes to project a distinct identity – a highly crafted one in this case, and one befitting a connoisseur of rare books.

At that, she excelled. She became known for her stunning acquisition coups: her purchase of 16 rare editions of the works of English printer William Caxton at an auction; her procurement of the highly coveted Crusader’s Bible through a private negotiation; and her acquisition of the Spanish Apocalypse Commentary, a medieval text written by a Spanish monk that Greene was able to buy at a steep discount.

To me, a 1915 photo captures Greene’s confidence and aura more than any other image of the librarian.

She posed in her home and wasn’t shot in soft focus with a studio backdrop as other photographs tend to portray her. Sitting on the arm of a large chair upholstered in a tapestry weave, she wears an elaborate hat with a large ostrich plume, a high-necked blouse under a long, loosely belted jacket with a ruffled cuff over a long dark skirt. The decor is no less striking: Flemish tapestries decorate the walls behind her, and a liturgical vestment is draped over the bookcase. Looking directly at the viewer, Greene is assured and poised.

Greene’s stylish flair was not simply decorative. It was a testament to her vibrant personality and the joy she took in her work. Rather than judge her according to contemporary notions of racial identity, I prefer to marvel over her achievements and how she became a model for generations of future librarians.

Greene didn’t just pass. She surpassed – in spectacular ways.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Deborah W. Parker, University of Virginia

Read more:

• Gen Z and millennials have an unlikely love affair with their local libraries
• Sellout! How political corruption shaped an American insult
• The Gilded Age novel that helps explain our fascination with Luigi Mangione

Deborah W. Parker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Feature Image: A 1910 watercolor portrait of Belle da Costa Greene by Laura Coombs Hills. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, gift of the Estate of Belle da Costa Greene.

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After World War II morale across the country was depleted from the loss of manufacturing jobs. To spread hope and cheer Jackie Ormes pitched a comic about a spunky little girl and her silent sister to the Pittsburgh Courier.

Patty Jo ‘n’ Ginger debuted September 1^st, 1945. The comic ran in fourteen editions of the Courier touching more than a million people a week. Themes from the comic strip included African American life experiences, World War II, and social justice.

In 1947 Ormes contracted with the Terri Lee doll company of Lincoln, Nebraska to create a doll of her character Patty Jo. A mold was used to create the doll’s body. The faces were painted by hand. Patty Jo was the first African American doll to have an extensive upscale wardrobe.

Ormes was the first nationally syndicated African American woman cartoonist. Her strips and comics ran in black owned newspapers such as the Chicago defender. She retired in 1956 as her rheumatoid arthritis got the best of her.

She remained married to Earl Clark Ormes until his death in 1976. They had a daughter, but she passed away due to a brain tumor at the age of three.

Posthumously in 2014 Ormes was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. In 2018 she was selected for the Will Eisner Hall of Fame award. Regarded as the most prestigious and significant award in the comic industry.

She passed away on December 26, 1985.

Cartoon Characters Gregory and his biological daughter Key-Low-Low are created by Sterling Haynes.

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By Phil Paradis, Actors & Playwrights Collaborative

Paul Robeson & The Douglass-Lincoln Debates is a rare theatrical double bill of three performances that will feature Paul Robeson starring former Cincinnati City Councilman and police officer Wendell Young and The Douglass-Lincoln Debates by Douglas D. Miron. 

Performances will be Friday, February 28, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. at the Harriet Tubman Theater, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Cincinnati, 45202  

Playwright Phillip Hayes Dean’s Paul Robeson chronicles the life of Robeson from New Jersey childhood to international stardom as singer, actor, and modern hero of Civil Rights. Robeson’s musical and athletic talents lead him on a path to the concert stage and acting in Eugene O’Neill’s plays on Broadway. Robeson faced many struggles as he lived life on his own terms, being branded a communist for his politics and outspoken views. James Earl Jones originated the role in the play’s Broadway premiere. Wendell Young will portray Robeson and sing some of his standards including “Ol’ Man River” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and other folk and popular songs. Avery Hammonds directs.

When I asked Mr. Young if he would care to share some of his thoughts about portraying the great Paul Robeson in this one-man play, he kindly took time out of his busy rehearsal schedule to respond to my questions.

Paradis: How did you become involved with this one-man dramatic portrait of Paul Robeson?

Wendell Young: I was vaguely aware of Paul Robeson when I saw Avery Brooks portray him on stage. I then began to learn about Mr. Robeson and have been intrigued by his life ever since. I like having the opportunity to portray him and introduce him to young people who may never have heard of him. I hope to portray Mr. Robeson well enough to spark interest in his life and music and maybe inspire others to learn more about him.

This is a serious role and I haven’t performed a serious role before. This is also a solo performance. These are new experiences for me. I’m facing a huge challenge but I’m loving the opportunity to try something new  

The Douglass-Lincoln Debates by Douglas D. Miron is based on historical facts and three meetings of celebrated orator, author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln.      

Meticulously researched, the play explores the fascinating relationship of the two leaders and giants of oratory. North Carolina native and actor Steffon Sharpless plays Frederick Douglass and Virginia native and author Doug Miron plays President Abraham Lincoln. 

Paul Robeson & The Douglass-Lincoln Debates is a rare theatrical double bill of three performances Friday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m.  and at 7:30 p.m.. at the Harriet Tubman Theater, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Cincinnati.

Tickets are Adults $35  Seniors/Students $30  Group Discount Rate (10+) $25 each. Tickets are available here.

Individuals and Organizations wishing to be Event Sponsors should contact co-producers Don Sherman at (513) 236-5942 or Phil Paradis at (859) 653-6344.

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By Edward D. Melillo

On a crisp autumn morning in 1908, an elegantly dressed African American man strode back and forth among the pin oaks, magnolias and silver maples of O’Fallon Park in St. Louis, Missouri. After placing a dozen dishes filled with strawberry jam atop several picnic tables, biologist Charles Henry Turner retreated to a nearby bench, notebook and pencil at the ready.

Following a midmorning break for tea and toast (topped with strawberry jam, of course), Turner returned to his outdoor experiment. At noon and again at dusk, he placed jam-filled dishes on the park tables. As he discovered, honeybees (Apis mellifera) were reliable breakfast, lunch and dinner visitors to the sugary buffet. After a few days, Turner stopped offering jam at midday and sunset, and presented the treats only at dawn. Initially, the bees continued appearing at all three times. Soon, however, they changed their arrival patterns, visiting the picnic tables only in the mornings.

This simple but elegantly devised experiment led Turner to conclude that bees can perceive time and will rapidly develop new feeding habits in response to changing conditions. These results were among the first in a cascade of groundbreaking discoveries that Turner made about insect behavior.

Across his distinguished 33-year career, Turner authored 71 papers and was the first African American to have his research published in the prestigious journal Science. Although his name is barely known today, Charles Henry Turner was a pioneer in studying bees and should be considered among the great entomologists of the 19th and 20th centuries. While researching my book on human interactions with insects in world history, I became aware of Turner’s pioneering work on insect cognition, which constituted much of his groundbreaking research on animal behavior.

Humble beginnings

Turner was born in Cincinnati in 1867, a mere two years after the Civil War ended. The son of a church custodian and a nurse who was formerly enslaved, he grew up under the specter of Jim Crow – a set of formal laws and informal practices that relegated African Americans to second-class status.

The social environment of Turner’s childhood included school and housing segregation, frequent lynchings and the denial of basic democratic rights to the city’s nonwhite population. Despite immense obstacles to his educational goals and professional aspirations, Turner’s tenacious spirit carried him through.

As a young boy, he developed an abiding fascination with small creatures, capturing and cataloging thousands of ants, beetles and butterflies. An aptitude for science was just one of Turner’s many talents. At Gaines High School, he led his all-Black class, securing his place as valedictorian.

Turner went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati, and he became the first African American to receive a doctorate in zoology from the University of Chicago. Turner’s cutting-edge doctoral dissertation, “The Homing of Ants: An Experimental Study of Ant Behavior,” was later excerpted in the September 1907 issue of the Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology.

Despite his brilliance, Turner was unable to secure long-term employment in higher education. The University of Chicago refused to offer him a job, and Booker T. Washington was too cash-strapped to hire him at the all-Black Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama.

Following a brief stint at the University of Cincinnati and a temporary position at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), Turner spent the remainder of his career teaching at Sumner High School in St. Louis. As of 1908, his salary was a meager US$1,080 a year – around $34,300 in today’s dollars. At Sumner – without access to a fully equipped laboratory, a research library or graduate students – Turner made trailblazing discoveries about insect behavior.

Probing the minds of insects

Among Turner’s most significant findings was that wasps, bees, sawflies and ants – members of the Hymenoptera order – are not simply primitive automatons, as so many of his contemporaries thought. Instead, they are organisms with the capacities to remember, learn and feel.

During the early 1900s, biologists were aware that flowers attracted bee pollinators by producing certain scents. However, these researchers knew next to nothing about the visual aspects of such attractions, when bees were too far from the flowers to smell them.

To investigate, Turner pounded rows of wooden dowels into the O’Fallon Park lawn. Atop each rod, he affixed a red disk dipped in honey. Soon, bees began traveling from far away to his makeshift “flowers.”

Turner then added a series of “control” rods topped with blue disks that bore no honey. The bees paid little heed to the new “flowers,” demonstrating that visual signals provided guidance, when the bees were too distant to smell their targets. Although a honeybee’s ability to detect red remains controversial, scientists have determined that Turner’s bees were likely responding to something called achromatic stimuli, which allowed them to discern among various shades and tints.

Lasting legacies of an underappreciated pioneer

Turner’s astounding range of findings from three decades of experiments established his reputation as an authority on the behavioral patterns of bees, cockroaches, spiders and ants.

As a scientific researcher without a university position, he occupied an odd niche. In large part, his situation was the product of systemic racism. It was also a result of his commitment to training young Black students in science.

Alongside his scientific publications, Turner wrote extensively on African American education. In his 1902 essay “Will the Education of the Negro Solve the Race Problem?” Turner contended that trade schools were not the pathway to Black empowerment. Instead, he called for widespread public education of African Americans in all subjects: “if we cast aside our prejudices and try the highest education upon both white and Black, in a few decades there will be no Negro problem.”

Turner was only 56 when he died of acute myocarditis, an infectious heart inflammation. He was survived by two children and his second wife, Lillian Porter.

Turner’s scientific contributions endure. His articles continue to be widely cited, and entomologists have subsequently verified most of his conclusions.

Despite the colossal challenges he faced throughout his career, Charles Henry Turner was among the first scientists to shed light on the secret lives of bees, the winged pollinators that ensure the welfare of human food systems and the survival of Earth’s biosphere.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Edward D. Melillo, Amherst College

Read more:

• What everyone should know about Reconstruction 150 years after the 15th Amendment’s ratification
• Shining fluorescent light on bee sperm could help explain colony survival
• Some bees are born curious while others are more single-minded – new research hints at how the hive picks which flowers to feast on

Edward D. Melillo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Feature Image: Turner was the first scientist to prove certain insects could remember, learn and feel. Courtesy of Charles I. Abramson, CC BY-ND

The post Charles Henry Turner: The Black pioneer in studying bees and insect cognition appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Zelda Jackson “Jackie” Ormes was the first African American female syndicated cartoonist.

She was born August 1, 1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her father William Winfield Jackson who owned a printing company. Her mother Mary Brown Jackson was a seamstress.

Ormes was the arts editor for the Monongahela High School Yearbook. After high school Ormes began working at the Pittsburgh Courier as a sports reporter. When she pitched her comic strip, the Courier accepted her proposal. The Courier is a black owned newspaper founded in 1907 and still operates today.

Ormes’s first comic strip, Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, first appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier on May 1, 1937. The strip, starring Torchy Brown, was a humorous depiction of a Mississippi teen. Whom found fame, singing and dancing in the Cotton Club in New York city. Themes for the strip included social justice, pollution, and women’s independence.

Torchy was made into collection of fashionable paper dolls called Torchy Togs.

In 1942 Jackie moved to Bronzeville, Chicago with her husband Earl Clark Ormes. Home of the Chicago defender where Ormes expanded the reach of her comics.

Earl was the manager of the upscale Sutherland Hotel. Celebrities such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Sarah Vaughn frequented the hotel. A barbershop, beauty parlor, and jazz lounge were on premises.

Jackie Ormes career and adventures continue in part two.

Cartoon character Dreama is created by Sterling Haynes.

The post Jackie Ormes: The trailblazing African American cartoonist appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Mallory Feltz, Director of Exhbitions & Public Art  

For the fifth year, Juneteenth Cincinnati and Kennedy Heights Arts Center are teaming up to present Voices of Freedom, a visual and performing arts series examining Black history from a contemporary perspective, from February 15 to April 5.

The series includes an art exhibition and three performances, all taking place at Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s Lindner Annex, 6620 Montgomery Road.

“We are so excited to collaborate with Juneteenth Cincinnati and diverse artists in the region on this celebration of Black arts and expression,” said Kennedy Heights Arts Center executive director Ellen Muse.

The centerpiece of the project is a multi-disciplinary exhibition of new works by 10 local artists entitled Mother Earth: Let the Spirit Move. Curated by Cynthia Lockhart, this exhibit explores unconditional love through the symbolism of Mother Earth.

Mother Earth represents the strength and the power of unconditional Love, and she is a universal symbol for honor, integrity and fierce devotion. Mother Earth is a Black woman, and she is standing in Africa, the cradle of civilization amongst a blue twinkling sky with lush greenery, watching over all her descendants throughout the diaspora. 

Featured artists are Zuri Ali, Crystal Arnold, Larry Winston Collins, Cedric Cox, Carole Douglas, Jimi Jones, Ken Obasi Leslie, Tiffany McNeal, Ricci Michaels, and Randy Wilson.

 The public is invited to an Opening Reception on Saturday, February 15 from 6-8 p.m. with light refreshments and live music by The Last Boppers.

Voices of Freedom will also include a series of three performances on March 1, 15, and 29 featuring music, spoken word, and dance.

March 1: Rhythms of Resilience

Experience an evening where storytelling and music intertwine to explore the theme of hope in challenging times featuring the dynamic talents of MC/rapper Brandon Isaac, DJ Apryl Reign, and hip-hop violinist Preston Bell Charles. Curated by Alexander Stallings of WARMTH Culture, this performance blends soulful R&B, captivating beats, and personal journeys, delivering a message of resilience and unity.

March 15: Fusion of Hope

Immerse yourself in a bold expression of hope through the raw, experimental sounds of the inner city. This event brings together a stellar lineup of artists who blur genre boundaries: guitarist KAE Savage, poets Camille Jones and Kim “Duwaup” Bolden, multi-instrumentalist Jay Hill, and the soulful Zion band. From jazz fusion to hip-hop to spoken word, this dynamic performance curated by Alexander Stallings amplifies the pulse of the city in motion.

March 29: Vibrations of Joy

Celebrate the vibrancy of the African diaspora with Vibrations of Joy presented by Brazil Cincy Samba Dance. This dynamic performance showcases the rich cultural heritage of Brazilian dance, infused with the energy, color, and happiness of samba. Featuring dazzling choreography, cultural demonstrations, and opportunities for guest participation, this closing event of the Voices of Freedom series invites the audience to move, celebrate, and connect in a joyful expression.

All performances begin at 7:30 PM and will take place at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center Annex, 6620 Montgomery Road. Tickets are $15, with sliding-scale options available to ensure accessibility for all. For tickets and more information, visit kennedyarts.org or call 513-631-4278

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As a child, I was naturally curious, always asking, “Why?” and “How?” I think back to my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Gregory, at Winton Terrace, who taught me to seek answers through the five W’s and H: who, what, when, where, why and how. But my first real lesson in curiosity came from my mother, Alice, who often said, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” That lesson came after one of my famous foot stomps and whispered rebellions: “I can’t wait until I’m grown and move out.”

One day, a door-to-door salesman knocked on our door, selling encyclopedias. I begged my mother to buy a set. Eventually, after much pleading, she did. Those books became my first portal to the world. I spent hours flipping through pages, absorbing stories and histories — but even then, I knew there were gaps.

Fast forward to today, and my journey for knowledge continues — from encyclopedias to modern tools like Statista for data analysis and AI tools like ChatGPT. As technology evolves, I have grown increasingly curious about how AI handles historical information, especially Black cultural narratives, and what I have discovered is concerning.

There’s a problem with AI and history. Recently, I tested ChatGPT’s Consensus feature, which pulls from peer-reviewed studies. My question was historical rather than scientific: “In the 19th century, Samuel George Morton published Crania Americana, claiming that brain size determines intelligence. How did his work impact society?” Morton’s “findings” were used to justify slavery and racial hierarchies. His work was a lie, disguised as science, reinforcing systemic oppression.

What’s troubling is that AI tools are perpetuating these same biases.

As 2025 began, I realized we are at risk of losing more than we have gained in this digital age. If we do not take control of our stories now, algorithms will replicate the very biases that sought to silence us in the past reminiscent of the Reconstruction Era, Jim Crow laws and countless other moments of cultural erasure throughout U.S. history.

The danger lies in algorithmic bias. AI systems are trained on data riddled with historical gaps and prejudice. They absorb societal norms that elevate certain stories while erasing others. Black voices already marginalized in traditional archives face an even greater threat of digital invisibility. It is unsettling to think that as book bans spread across the country, AI could amplify this suppression. What happens when these systems recommend content? Whose stories get prioritized? Without active intervention, AI risks becoming a gatekeeper of knowledge, reinforcing exclusion instead of dismantling it.

Here’s a real example of digital erasure. I put my theory to the test with a simple question: “Who was the first all-Black high school boys’ basketball team to win a state championship?” Within seconds, ChatGPT responded: “Crispus Attucks High School in Indiana, 1955.”

It was not wrong, but it was not complete. The system omitted Lockland Wayne High School in Ohio, a significant piece of Black history that I personally helped document. In 2016, my close family friend Albert Seay, a proud graduate of Lockland Wayne High School, asked me to help document its basketball team’s story for Wikipedia. The research took 12 months of trial and error, persistence and countless edits. But the result was a Wikipedia entry that told the story of the first all-Black high school to win a state championship in 1952, three years before Crispus Attucks.

This achievement was monumental. It happened during segregation, at a time when Black athletes faced enormous barriers. A key figure in the story was Coach Joe Martin, whose leadership guided Lockland Wayne to historic victories. Coach Martin later became an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati, where he helped shape the city’s basketball legacy.

Yet when I asked ChatGPT, Lockland Wayne’s legacy and Coach Martin’s contributions were missing. It makes me wonder what else is missing. What other stories are being erased, distorted or overlooked?

AI Bias: A Digital Warning. When I pressed ChatGPT further, it apologized and confirmed that Lockland Wayne’s victories were historically accurate, but the damage was done. Imagine your child preparing a Black history presentation using AI as their primary source. What critical stories will be left out?

One of my mother’s greatest lessons was, “You can never go back.” The omission of Lockland Wayne shows what happens when we do not actively protect our stories. AI tools are only as good as the data they are fed, and right now, that data is incomplete and biased. When others control our narrative, they distort it.

Preserving our history is wealth building. Some might ask, “Why focus on history when we need to build wealth?” To that, I say: “We cannot build wealth if we do not own our stories.” Our history is part of our cultural capital. The stories we tell shape how we see ourselves, how others see us and how we move in the world. Preserving our history is preserving intellectual property, and ownership of that narrative is essential to building generational wealth.

Think about how other communities build wealth through media, education and culture. Hollywood, publishing, museums and universities all profit from storytelling. Who owns the archives? Who controls the images of our ancestors, our movements and our contributions? If we do not claim it, others will.

Wealth is not just about money. It is about power, influence and legacy. Protecting our history means ensuring future generations see themselves reflected with dignity and pride.

When we own our stories, we create industries, books, films, tech, education that keep wealth circulating within our communities. So yes, we must build wealth. But if we lose control of our history, we lose control of the narrative that underpins all wealth-building efforts.

Our 2025 Playbook: Reclaim, Protect, Pass Down. The 2025 playbook outlined in “The Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” is a 920-page agenda aimed at rolling back Civil Rights protections, suppressing Black history and silencing our contributions. It is not just about AI bias — it is about political forces actively working to dismantle our progress.

But we have our own playbook. We are the Griots, the keepers of stories. Like the Indigenous people of the Americas, we cannot rely on mainstream narratives or AI tools to tell our stories. We must do it ourselves. For centuries, Indigenous communities have preserved their histories through oral traditions, songs and art. We must do the same. Our stories are living archives of truth, resilience and identity. They endure — even when the world tries to erase them.

What we must do now to reclaim our stories is support Black museums and archives, donate to Black history initiatives, make Black history part of everyday life — not just a once-a-year celebration — teach our children to question AI outputs and dig deeper.

Because we are enough. Our stories are enough. We do not need validation from AI to know our worth, but we do have a responsibility to ensure our history is preserved, celebrated and passed down to future generations.

Together, we can say with pride: ‘We Are Enough,’ and build our wealth. In this digital age, storytelling is resistance. If we do not take control of our narratives now, future generations will inherit stories written by those who never lived our experiences. Let us ensure that does not happen. We are more than data points. We are living history. Let us write a 2025 Playbook that ensures our legacy endures.

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