EASTERN HILLS JOURNAL Your Community Press newspaper serving Columbia Tusculum, Hyde Park, Mariemont, Mount Lookout, Oakley and other Northeast Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 | BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
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Eli’s BBQ gets large response to off er for free meal Expands off er to ‘anyone fi ghting the good fi ght’ Briana Rice Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Paddock Hills mother and son Andi Johnson and Owen Smith, 17. “To have him learn that being a young black man could be detrimental to his life,” she says, “that’s a hard conversation. But it has to happen.” KAREEM ELGAZZAR/THE ENQUIRER
What some parents tell their children to keep them alive Terry DeMio Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Fires will die out. Flash-bangs will stop. Stinging eyes and throats and the compulsion to gag and cough from pepper spray or tear gas will subside. The protests following the death of a 46-year-old African American man in the hands of Minneapolis police will end. The fear among parents for their African American children’s lives will not. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe that George Floyd will be the last one,” said Andi Johnson of Paddock Hills, the mother of a 17-year-old boy. And so the lessons that parents of African American children teach their kids about how to stay safe in America when they leave home will remain. Some Cincinnati-area parents recently talked to The Enquirer about what those potentially life-saving lessons look like in their homes. Their kids, ages 9 to 22, talked about what they’ve learned. “They might think you’re a criminal because you wear a hoodie,” said Caiden Stenson, 9, of Colerain Township. “I don’t get that.” “If you get pulled over, make sure you’re showing your hands,” said Johnson’s son, Owen Smith.
Caiden Stenson, 9, with mom Tracey Stenson of Colerain Township. PROVIDED
From when he was younger: “Don’t play with stuff that could look like a weapon.” Owen, who graduated this week from Roger Bacon High School, spoke matterof-factly about the parent-imparted rules he’s heard repeatedly about staying out of danger while being African American.
“I think it’s important, because they want to make sure kids know how to keep themselves safe from an early age,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking,” his mother said. “And it’s a fact of life.” “To have him learn that being a young black man could be detrimental to his life,” she said, “that’s a hard conversation. “But it has to happen.” “The talk,” as several parents here referred to it, is actually a lot of conversations these Cincinnati parents have with their kids, all starting when their children were little. “We started talking to the boys about race when my oldest son was in kindergarten,” said Robyn Mahaff ey, who with her husband, Jamie Mahaffey, of Colerain Township, is a teacher in Cincinnati Public Schools. That’s when their son Evan came home and asked if it was all right for a “brown person” to love a white person, she said. Since then, Robyn Mahaff ey said, “It has been kind of embedded in daily life.” They have two boys, Eric, 13, and Evan, 16, and a daughter, Danielle, 19. The parents invariably said the disSee PARENTS, Page 2A
Tony Woldson had never been to Eli’s BBQ before, but decided that a 40-minute wait would be worth it. Woldson, 61, was one many that came out to eat at Eli’s BBQ on June 3 after the restaurant announced in a Facebook post that it would be off ering free meals to black people. “We’ve bought many lunches for Veterans, fi rst responders, and many others in our community. ... Tomorrow we would just like to do a very direct give back,” the post had said. The response to the off er was quick, with thousands of people liking, sharing and commenting on the Facebook post. And people showed up, too. Around noon, there were over 40 people waiting outside the Findlay Market location for their free meal. The crowd at Findlay varied in age, but most of the people were black. “When I fi rst saw what they were doing, I felt great about it,” said Peachy Jackson, 23. “But then I thought about it. What’s their intentions, do they not want their business broken into? Is this white guilt?” See ELI’S BBQ, Page 2A
People line up outside of Eli’s BBQ in the East End on Wednesday. Eli's BBQ offered free meals to black people in the community following days of protests. CARA OWSLEY/THE ENQUIRER
Indian Hill student’s 16th birthday wish? Protect others Sierra Newton Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Sophia Zou donated over 100 masks to Cincinnati Area Senior Services as a way to celebrate her Sweet 16. AMANDA ZOU/PROVIDED
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Sophia Zou spent her 16th birthday making masks for senior citizens. When the pandemic fi rst started Zou looked for a way to help and took to YouTube to learn how to make masks. For her birthday, which was May 18, she asked her parents to buy fabric and elastic. “I felt so bad for the people that were aff ected and could be aff ected,” Zou said. “I thought two months ago, If I could do anything to help these people, I would rather take that time to help other people be protected from COVID-19. That would be my birthday wish.”
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The days leading up to her big day were spent completing schoolwork, studying for AP exams and making masks. The Indian High School sophomore fi nished her masks and donated them to Cincinnati Area Senior Services (CASS) May 27. Zou made more than 100 masks for the facility. “These masks will be very helpful,” said Linda Bertaso, development manager at CASS. “We will give them to our seniors when they ride the bus with us to their medical appointments.” Zou felt if there’s anything people can do to help, a little goes a long way. This was her way of staying productive and also making an eff ort to help out.
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