This is a flavor of how Jeff attacts controversy:
March 16, 2002 Saturday Finl Edition
SECTION: NEW; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 646 words
HEADLINE: Boycotters, diners pass downtown
BYLINE: Kevin Aldridge and Jane Prendergast, The Cincinnati Enquirer
BODY:
E-mail draws hundreds to eat, drink
By Kevin Aldridge and Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Downtown Cincinnati on Friday night drew hundreds of Tristaters to support businesses in the wake of the boycott, as well as protesters urging diners to think about justice, not food.
The show of support was partially the result of an e-mail campaign that urged people to spend money downtown on Friday.
Restaurants near the Aronoff Center for the Arts were packed. Reservations were hard to come by at eateries such as Jeff Ruby’s Steak House, Nicola’s Ristorante and the Maisonette. Nicholson’s Tavern & Pub, a popular Friday happy-hour spot, was booked through 8:30 p.m.
“This is my city,” said Patty Grose of Kenwood, one of six people who walked into Ruby’s carrying a “Bust The Boycott” sign. “I usually come downtown and I’m going to continue to come downtown.”
At the same time, the Rev. Damon Lynch III led about 45 boycott supporters on a walk from Ruby’s to other restaurants about 8 p.m. The leader of the Cincinnati Black United Front told his followers they were on “the right side of history” and said no day should be about “wine and dance and fun” until justice comes to the Queen City.
As the protesters, both white and black, marched outside Ruby’s at Seventh and Walnut streets, they chanted about justice and peace and carried signs with slogans such as, “Eat, Drink and Be Racist.” Some people walking by, all of them white, shouted back profanities and insults. A few people threw trash down on the protestors from the windows above Ruby’s.
Both sides pegged their actions to Friday, the date of Bill Cosby’s scheduled appearance at the Aronoff Center. He canceled in support of the boycott against Cincinnati businesses.
Mr. Ruby placed a full-page ad in last Sunday’s Enquirer asking people to come downtown and see his “star-studded cast” of employees which would still be performing, unlike Mr. Cosby.
“The one good thing Cincinnati has going for it is the people who live here,” Mr. Ruby said. “Whoever’s idea the e-mail campaign was, it was a nice one.”
Jamie Ramsey, of Fort Wright, celebrated his 28th birthday Friday night at Nicholson’s. He agreed Cincinnati has some problems, but said the boycott is only creating more.
“I fully support trying to get out and help defeat the boycott,” said Tom Roose, 29, one of Mr. Ramsey’s friends. “I think it’s 100 percent not helping. It’s hurting everyone — black, white, Hispanic, you name it.”
The turnout on Friday was important for businesses near the Aronoff that were depending on the clientele that would have been generated from Mr. Cosby’s performances.
“We definitely would have taken a hit losing Bill Cosby,” said Kevin Fryman, general manager of Nicholson’s.
“What bothers me about this boycott is that it’s a minority of the minority that is affecting minorities in a negative way,” Mr. Ruby said.
Councilman John Cranley, who made stops at Nicholson’s and Ruby’s, said it was important to show support for downtown businesses. Other council members and Mayor Charlie Luken could be found at Ruby’s and other establishments.
“It shows an indomitable spirit and pride that this is still our city,” Mr. Cranley said.
Boycotter Linda Thomas of the West End said she understands people have the right to spend their money where they want. But she marched Friday night hoping that “the nation can really see the truth about Cincinnati.”
“But it’s their money they’re spending,” she said. “I’m not spending one dime downtown until this gets straightened out.”
Robert Anglen contributed to this report. E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com and jprendergast@enquirer.com
Boycott supporter Michele Taylor-Mitchell’s sign asks a question of patrons entering Jeff Ruby’s restaurant Friday.
David Pogue of Over-the-Rhine serenades some of the hundreds who came downtown Friday.
CINCINNATI, Ohio [Sep 27, 2004] -- Three years after black groups angered by the shooting of a black man by a Cincinnati police officer began a boycott of downtown restaurants, hotels and events, business is brisk.
No one is saying the boycott is over, but it has clearly lost its clout.
Top performers like Usher and Prince regularly draw thousands of fans downtown. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a new riverfront stop. Convention bookings this year are on pace to finish well ahead of last year's.
No major convention has honored the boycott since the Urban League pulled out in July 2002. Author Barbara Ehrenreich was the last celebrity to cite the boycott when nixing her appearance, in March 2003.
"I haven't seen much evidence of [a boycott] for a long time," Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken says.
Pickets still appear occasionally. Boycott leaders say the boycott -- designed to call attention to economic inequality and improvements in police-community relations -- won't be over until they say it's over, and that won't happen until long-standing racial problems are resolved.
But even they acknowledge that they're working less on a boycott and more on other ways to effect change. The Rev. Damon Lynch III, who led the boycott at its height, is involved in programs to help the homeless and poor and plans to run for City Council next year.
"The boycott as an ongoing tactic needs to be looked at," Lynch says. "While it has provided us with tremendous victories and successes, eventually you can get to a point of diminishing return."
Cincinnati's image took a beating after the April 2001 riots, which lasted for three nights. The downtown boycott, announced three months after the riots, plodded along until February 2002, when actor- comedian Bill Cosby canceled a downtown show. Other celebrities and musicians followed, including the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Whoopi Goldberg and Spike Lee.
The boycott -- and a sluggish economy -- hurt the city's $3.4 billion-a-year tourism industry.
Nine conventions canceled because of the boycott or the city's image in the wake of the 2001 riots, according to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Lynch says the boycott "helped bring about a change in direction."
"Cincinnati is not just a good-old-boys club anymore," he says.
But so far this year, 106 conventions have signed contracts to come downtown. And musicians such as Prince, who canceled in 2002, have since returned.
Gannett News Service
Copyright The Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.