black…MYstory

Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet. She is also a proud child of Cincinnati, Ohio. So, it filled my heart to hear her be down for her people and let Ohio Secretary of State, gubernatorial candidate and Cincinnati Native, Kenneth Blackwell have it with both barrels.

In a re-dedication of the city’s downtown square over the weekend, she delivered a poem on what Cincinnati is to her and, in a couple of lines, referred to Kenneth Blackwell as a “son of a bitch” and a “political whore”.

I have reprinted to poem below:

I am Cincinnati
I ran from the whips and the dogs
Across the frozen pond
I made my home in the West End
When the Civil War came I dug the trenches
Showing the South
Free men live here
Who are unwilling to yield
I kept the city safe
I am the Seven Hills
I am the neighborhoods
Community Centers
Shopping malls
Churches
Libraries
I am the Bengals
The Reds
The incomparable Underground Railroad Museum
I am history
I am Findlay Street market
I am the best 3-way chili in the world
I am Montgomery ribs
I am the University of Cincinnati
I am Xavier
I am Sister Jean Patrice Harrington bringing Mount St. Joseph into the 21st century
I am Eden Park and the Conservatory of Music
I am Symphony Hall and the oldest Opera company and one of the world’s greatest teaching zoos
I am Spring Grove Cemetery
My dead rest in beauty and peace
I am Marian Spencer
I have watched segregation reign and have built a bridge between that island and the city
I have watched policemen
Shoot young black men in the back
And have watched my community respond, a people who once saved this city
…
I am the Cincinnati Western and Southern Tennis Championships though I am played in Mason
..
I am not a son of a bitch like Kenny Blackwell
…
I will not use the color of my skin to cover the hatred in my heart
I am not a political whore jumping from bed to bed to see who will stroke my knee
I am Mark Mallory
Talking to everyone
Walking with everyone
Listening to everyone
Leading by consensus not fear
I am Cincinnati
I slaughter hogs and make soap
I am the biggest Oktoberfest outside Munich Germany
Though I have been boycotted
I am not shirking my responsibilities to the next generation
I am finding a way to be great again
I am the lady in the fountain
Let my waters cleanse and refresh you
Let my waters heal
Together we can still save this city.

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