is Cincinnati more progressive than people realize? (Cleveland, Lakewood: apartments, hotels)

[Dayton Sux]

The Mapplethorp controversy was 20 years ago and was part of a national crusade to defund the NEA, part of the religous right/cultural conservative culture wars. The same exhibit was censored at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, too.

That Cincinnati even has a contemporary art center ...which is also a signifigant modern work of architecture....is testament to the cities support for the arts and to its relative progressivity in the arts and culture.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Another thing I noticed, a couple of threads on this site, and confirmed on wikipedia, is that the areas of the Cincinnati metro where the largest Jewish communities are, seem to be the most diverse...Growing up around Jewish people, I have learned that they are often socially progressive, and can be very welcoming to people of all backgrounds, possibly because they identify discrimination of one group, as being a part of their historic experience?

It's a curious thing about Jewish population centers, because historically the Reading Road corridor in Cincinnati was the hub of Jewish life in the city. Avondale with its numerous synagogues, delis, pharmacies, and funeral home anchored that community for many years. Jewish Hospital (where Yours Truly debuted in this lifetime) was there. Moving northward, Bond Hill was surprisingly ecumenical for some time, and solidly middle- to upper-middle-class Roselawn along with its more blue-collar neighbor Golf Manor rounded out the scene. Amberley Village and Wyoming were the most sought-after areas to aspire to live in, for their lack of housing "covenants" and their upscale atmospheres.
My personal memories, experienced secondhand as a goy guy, only go back as far as the late '60s - at which time urban unrest brought about acceleration of the suburban exodus from southern Avondale. Impressive Jewish houses of worship were either deeded to AA churches or abandoned. Places of business such as the still-missed Loretta's restaurant started to close. By 1975 pretty much everything was gone except for the institutions representing the start and end of life. At the same time, panic selling and "blockbusting" brought on by the troubles not far away caused rapid demographic turnover in Bond Hill. Transition in Golf Manor and Roselawn was smoother and more gradual, but today those areas are also White-minority enclaves with businesses serving Jews long gone.
During this era, and probably through no coincidence, the last large undeveloped tracts in Wyoming gave way to subdivisions. My home 'burb became the new dwelling place for hundreds of families bailing out of the Reading Rd corridor. A popular topic of conversation among WASP homeowners at the time was the big influx of Jewish people, for "When the Jews move out, the Blacks move in - look at what happened in Avondale." (Not PC to admit - I know - but there it is.) Notable numbers of new classmates reported having last lived in one of the Reading Rd neighborhoods. But all the racist paranoia went for naught. Today Wyoming still clings to its high-class WASP preppie pretensions, though about 1/3 of the populace is Jewish. And the proportion of AA's and "other minorities" has only slowly climbed to perhaps 15%. Last time I checked, folks of all cultures were still scrambling to grab a stake in this peaceful town with its stratospherically-ranked school system.
All of which is to say, while communities with a large Jewish presence tend to lean toward the progressive end of the political spectrum, that doesn't necessarily signal an acceptance of diversity. If that were so, Roselawn's mega-deli called Bilker's would still be operating - in its longtime location - and have plenty of walk-in clientele. And the Jewish Community Center, Weil Funeral Home, etc etc wouldn't have pulled up stakes for greener pastures. For a lot of folks it's much easier, indeed only possible, to be liberal when the groups you may feel solidarity with aren't represented on your street. Writing a check to the SPLC* or Urban League is one thing, having some of "them" in the house next door is another.
I don't know how the percentages of persons of color in Amberley Village, or of Jews in Glendale, were arrived at. Those numbers definitely aren't borne out by reality. Glendale has had a race-segregated pocket for as long as it's existed, and a few wealthy AA and Asian families are starting to call Amberley home. But 8-15% doesn't ring true.
One final (at long last) thought: Within the city limits, the most "mixed" sections in 2011 don't count many Jews among their paler residents. The areas of College Hill, Westwood, Kennedy Hts, etc which have a stable and varied population never were preferred dwelling destinations for Jewish families and still aren't. In suburbia, the same holds true in areas like Springdale and Colerain Township.

*SPLC = Southern Poverty Law Center, Student Press Law Center

[CINCINNATI91]

I would have to say yes and no, Cincinnati is in major debut and is laying off a lot Police and Firefighters to level out the budget for 2011. I think the city has a long was to go, in terms of progressing in the right direction. The progressive region in the area has to be Florence, in my opinion.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by CINCINNATI91

I would have to say yes and no, Cincinnati is in major debut and is laying off a lot Police and Firefighters to level out the budget for 2011. I think the city has a long was to go, in terms of progressing in the right direction. The progressive region in the area has to be Florence, in my opinion.

NKY wouldn't be anywhere where it is today if it wasn't for Cincinnati being across the river. NKY is easily probaly one of the most progressive thinking areas in Kentucky, if not the most. Cincinnati is a far more attractive area than NKY. You have the history, culture, and ammenties in Cincy.

Cincinnati might be laying off a lot of police and firefighters, but that is happening in a lot of cities across the country. It is not limited to Cincinnati. Cincinnati currently has one of the highest amounts of development going on in the country right now. Lots of new developments and regentrification going on. Cincinnati has a pretty progressive urban mindset.

[Wilson513]

I don't really think that the reason Bond Hill, Roselawn, etc. are no longer Jewish neighborhoods is racism as asserted above. Actually, the migration of Jews in Cincinnati is an illustration of the American Dream. Many of the Jews located in those areas as recent immigrants coming to Cincinnati because of its large German Jewish population as flight from a anti-semitic Europe prior to WW2. My contemporaries were the children of those migrated Jews. Many of the high school age Jews I knew had parents and certainly grandparent for whom English was not spoken at home. These folks valued education, innovation, hard work, etc. And the results? Move to Blue Ash, Montgomery, Hyde Park, etc.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by CINCINNATI91

I would have to say yes and no, Cincinnati is in major debut and is laying off a lot Police and Firefighters to level out the budget for 2011. I think the city has a long was to go, in terms of progressing in the right direction. The progressive region in the area has to be Florence, in my opinion.

God almighty!

1. Florence??? Lol
2. The city isn't laying off firefighters nor police.

Do yourself a favor and stop listening to 700wlw.

[jjakucyk]

I would say that Cincinnati may in fact have a lot more progressives than otherwise expected, but at the same time they're also counterbalanced by a high number of ultraconservatives too. So instead of a homogeneous political/social spectrum, it's highly polarized but still averages out to fairly moderate. Even if there are a lot more progressive folks in the city itself (the metro area is another matter entirely) there's no doubt that most of the power still lies in the old money conservative crowd, though I suspect their days are numbered.

[Wilson513]

Progressives? When you say progressives, what is that you mean? Political progressives? In other words, "statists?"

Or are you referring to social progressives? Supporting social movements like gay marriage, public financed abortion, etc?

Cincinnati has had a DEmocrat (or Charter= Democrat) political control for as long as I can recall.

Is that what you are talking about?

If you mean a government and population ready at the drop of the hat to jump into some new, untried urban planning fad, then Cincinnati is one of the most "progressive " cities there is having destroyed its urban core in the interest of urban redevelopment, destroyed its retail core with "skywalks" so people could bypass all of the street level store in their comings and goings. Etc.

What the heck do you people referring to "progressive" mean by this?

[Traveler87]

And how Cincinnati continues to sprawl and not invest in the city itself. Now that there are huge oppurtunities to put money into the city limits, people just turn their backs on doing so.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

And how Cincinnati continues to sprawl and not invest in the city itself. Now that there are huge oppurtunities to put money into the city limits, people just turn their backs on doing so.

Correction:

Cincinnati has probably more investment going on in the city than any other city in the Midwest outside Chicago.