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The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mediation process seeks assistance
from citizens
By Kristina Goetz, June 25, 2001
The mediator shaping the settlement of a federal racial profiling
lawsuit is asking thousands of Cincinnatians to help.
His innovative approach has the blessing of a federal judge and
the cooperation of everyone involved in the class-action lawsuit
accusing Cincinnati police of decades of discrimination against
blacks.
Three months after the lawsuit was filed against the city by black
activists and the American Civil Liberties Union, both sides have
begun a mediation process that some hope will become a national
model for other cities with racial problems. |
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Take part in Cincinnati's
racial profiling mediation
process by filling out the
questionnaire at
www.ariagroup.com.
You must provide your name,
address and telephone
number, though it will
remain confidential.
The questionnaire also asks if
you'd be willing to attend a
four-hour feedback session.
The ARIA Group will choose
about 800 people from the
questionnaires to participate. |
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Organizers of the Cincinnati
process hope to get 8,000 people in a city of 331,285 to fill out
questionnaires. Most will do it online, but some will be reached
by street canvasses. All will be asked how citizens and police can
get along better.
A fraction of the people who answer the questionnaires will be asked
to join focus groups that brainstorm and set goals for change -
ranging from reforms in police division hiring to smaller efforts
that citizens can take on themselves.
It's all part of a process that is nearly two months under way and
that parties to the lawsuit hope will culminate in December in a
written settlement.
"We're not coming down to Cincinnati
and saying, "Here's a magic wand. Follow these steps and everything
will be better,'" said Jay Rothman, president of the Aria Group,
a conflict resolution firm with international experience that's
heading the process.
"(But) people sense that there is
truly a possibility of refocusing the hurt, the anger and the pain
and frustration," he added.
Mr. Rothman's efforts run parallel to other efforts to engage Cincinnatians
in conversations about race and community building. Their efforts
likely will dovetail in the months ahead.
Group
leaders trained
Aria Group members have trained about 70 Cincinnatians to lead hundreds
of participants in sharing their hurts and hopes, as well as brainstorming
solutions.
Some of those group leaders are professional mediators and others
psychologists, social workers or educators.
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott sat in on a training session last
week at which facilitators took part in the kind of feedback session
that hundreds of citizens eventually will be asked to participate
in. The judge appointed Mr. Rothman the court's "special master"
in this case and she must approve any settlement agreement.
Judge Dlott listened as those involved in the lawsuit - attorneys
and representatives of Cincinnati Black United Front - shared their
own stories and why they hope the process works.
This case is one of the biggest the judge has overseen since she
was appointed to the bench in 1995 by President Clinton.
"I'm
vitally interested in the mediation," Judge Dlott said, "and I hope
it works."
The first feedback session, which will serve as a pilot, consists
of religious and social service leaders. They have filled out questionnaires
and will meet today at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. The public
is invited to watch and listen.
"I have hopes or I wouldn't
be working on it," said the Rev. Duane Holm, director of the Metropolitan
Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, who will be at today's feedback
session.
Lawsuit claims bias
The federal lawsuit filed in March is one of more than a dozen involving
the ACLU nationally, though the one in Cincinnati promises to delve
deeper into the operations of police division than others have.
The original plaintiff was businessman Bomani Tyehimba, but the
lawsuit was broadened to a class-action with the addition of 28
other complainants who say Cincinnati police discriminated against
them during traffic stops and other incidents.
The class action proposed the mediation process and hiring Mr. Rothman's
firm. After the city agreed to participate, Judge Dlott told everyone
to try it.
Concurrent efforts include:
o Cincinnati Community Action Now, a privately-funded task force
on race, which was formed by Mayor Charlie Luken in response to
the rioting and protests that followed the April 7 shooting death
of an unarmed black teen-ager by a white Cincinnati officer.
o Study Circles, a nationally recognized program that brings diverse
groups together to talk about issues and develop grassroots solutions.
The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is sponsoring this program.
The mediation process for the class action starts by asking Cincinnatians
to fill out a questionnaire that asks:
o What are your goals for future police-community relations in Cincinnati?
o Why are these goals important to you? o How do you think your
goals could be best achieved?
The Aria group hopes to get 8,000 responses, 1,000 each from eight
"identity" groups Aria has established, such as African-Americans,
religious leaders and police officers and their families, among
others. Such a response would mean that 2.4 percent of the city's
residents would be participating in the settlement.
Questions
forward-looking
"The "why' question is available
for people to tell their stories," Mr. Rothman said. "Who are you
that makes this matter a lot? (And) given that story, how do you
think we can make things better? It's designed to be forward looking."
After questionnaires are complete, 100 people from each "identity"
group will be asked to participate in focus groups to articulate
specific solutions and goals.
Later, 10 people from each of those groups will meet to hone the
lists of goals.
Lastly, Aria Group will merge all of the goals and present them
to members of the settlement group, who must draft the agreement
for Judge Dlott's approval.
Bill Brown, president of the Leadership Council of Human Services
Executives, said he hopes to hear new ideas for solutions. "This
is not a problem that is going to be solved overnight," he said.
"It's going to take some time."
The council is a group of executives who head agencies that receive
funding from the United Way. Because many of those agencies reach
some of the same people involved in April's rioting, Mr. Brown and
others wanted to participate in Mr. Rothman's project.
"My hope is that the collaborative sentiment will somewhat
sustain itself," into negotiations, Mr. Rothman said.
In the weeks ahead, Mr. Rothman's representatives will interview
Cincinnatians ages 14 to 32 at three social service agencies. They
are another of the "identity" groups he believes are vital to the
healing process.
They will fill out the same questionnaire available online to everyone
else.
"We're going to have to go to the streets, clubs,
neighborhoods," Mr. Rothman said. "We need to enroll them in the
idea that this is ... an opportunity to envision a future."
The feedback session for this "identity" group is scheduled for
July.
In the meantime, Aria Group will seek $200,000 to complete the $400,000
budget for the project. It has $100,000 from the city and $100,000
from a foundation.
All sides optimistic
Those involved in the lawsuit have expressed optimism about Aria's
approach to mediation.
"We picked the process after a
lot of work, after a lot of negotiation," said Scott Greenwood,
an ACLU attorney who is part of the group that filed the lawsuit.
"I think everybody is committed to the process. We're at the very
beginning of it and I think we're all looking forward to it. That's
all the way around."
Mike Harmon, chief counsel in the city solicitor's office, echoed
those sentiments.
"I feel very positive about the process,"
he said. "I don't think litigation warfare would solve the problem.
It's the most important thing I've ever done as a lawyer."
Mr. Rothman hopes to keep that momentum going.
"Everybody
likes to quote Mark Twain saying, "Cincinnati is 10 years behind,'"
he said. "Well, maybe Cincinnati is 10 years ahead."
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