Ground Zero: Midwest Black Family Reunion, Davon Mullins, and Black people in Cincinnati

Cincinnati is no stranger to Black violence

Cincinnati. A town where extremely high rates of Black violence enables the medical college there to train emergency medical squadrons on how to evacuate wounded personnel from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan (by treating the Black people shot by other Black people). Sadly, this story was removed from the archives of the Cincinnati Enquirer, but it is available here:

The violence is so traumatic that University Hospital, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the U.S. Air Force train emergency medical teams in how to evacuate wounded personnel from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan by treating the city’s gunshot victims.

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Killings rip apart city’s fabric
Cincinnati leaders say they don’t have to go to Iraq to see the impact of war. They see it in their own city.

That carnage was highlighted Christmas week.

More than six people were shot in the city, said Dr. Jay Johannigman, a University Hospital trauma surgeon.

“We are dying out here for nothing,” says Mitch Morris, 53, who lives in Avondale, site of three of the city’s most dangerous spots.

“You don’t have to go to Iraq for that. We have a war right here in the city.”

It’s a sentiment shared by those who witness the ravages of such violence on a regular basis.

“We are in a state of emergency,” said Dr. Victor Garcia of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “For not only the city, but also for our race, because crime is the leading cause of death for young black men.”

Guns don't kill or injure people without someone pulling the trigger; in Cincinnati, it is primarily Black people pulling the trigger. Cities are safe that lack a large percentage of Black people, who harbor a significant portion of individuals incapable of living within societies established rules and norms governing proper behavior.

Since the Black riots of 2001, Cincinnati has been home to Black exclusivity on homicides and murder. That pattern isn't unique to the city, as many major American cities are plagued by similar patterns in criminality:

One of the most troubling developments over the last 10 years may be black-on-black violent crime.

In the five years prior to the riots, the homicide rate in Cincinnati never rose higher than 40 percent. After the riots, that number increased to a high of 88, and has never returned to the lower levels we saw prior to the riots. The statistics also show that black males are  killed far more often than any other group.

"The vast majority of people being murdered are African American in the City of Cincinnati," said Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joe Deters. "The vast majority. Well outside the 40 percent of the population it should be. In 2009, the City of Cincinnati did not have a single white victim of a homicide. (That) tells me that we have a subset in the underclass of Cincinnati which is committing a lot of violent crime and they tend to be black. And the reality is, you almost always commit murder within your racial classifications. So when we've got a young black man up in the coroners office, it's almost always a result of another young black man shooting him."

That same year, 2009, no white men were killed but 44 black men were victims of homicide in Cincinnati as well as 11 black women. Prosecutor Deters says he doesn't know why there are so many homicides in the African American community in Cincinnati, but he can speculate.

Remember that it was a Black gangbanger - who fired at police officers in Tottenham - that was gunned down by police that started the recent conflagration in England. Cincinnati has a history of Black people (who also happen to be criminals) having a cause of death similar to what recently transpired in England.

With many American cities enacting curfews - because Black youths participate in crime, mayhem, Mahogany Mobs at rates that overwhelm the police - that are normally reserved for times of war or natural disasters, it's time we admit a chilling fact: the Black Underclass, with the majority of the youths lacking parental guidance, are in a state of war and lawlessness across the nation.

It was stated here that one bullet, fired from a police officer's gun, could cause Black people in the city where the aforementioned event unfolded to riot. Cincinnati, with a history of Black people rioting over just such a scenario, is that city:

A fatal shooting in Fountain Square by Cincinnati police Saturday evening started at the Black Family Reunion where unknown people tossed guns to teenagers inside the venue to circumvent security, Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig said during a Sunday evening press conference.

An off-duty officer spotted the weapons being thrown and alerted dispatch, who in turn sent on-duty officers in search of the armed teenagers who were headed downtown, Craig said.

Officer Oscar Cyranek, a five-year veteran of the force, spotted the group of teens and tracked the 16-year-old until he caught up to him on Fountain Square.


Update 3:50 p.m. Cincinnati police have identified the 16-year-old as Davon Mullins.

Police and city officials have scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. at District 1 headquarters Downtown.

Mayor Mark Mallory insisted that the shooting of Mullins on Fountain Square should not cast a pall on what has become one of the city’s most vibrant entertainment venues.

“A shooting incident can happen anywhere,’’ Mallory told the Enquirer. “You know that these kind of things don’t happen in downtown Cincinnati very often. This was an isolated incident.”

A Black Family Reunion. Family values much? Davon Mullins will be lauded by the Black media and Black people in Cincinnati - and throughout the Internet - will rally around this youth as yet another victim of police brutality.

And to think this all started at the Midwest Black Family Reunion:

A 16-year-old has died at the hospital after being shot by officers on Fountain Square Saturday night.

Police say Devon Mullins was shot shortly after 7:00  p.m. at the busy downtown landmark after he pulled out a gun.

Craig told FOX19 the original call came in that a group of individuals were throwing guns over a fence into the celebration are at the Midwest Black Family reunion. Officers were dispatched to search for the group, and Craig said those officers followed suspects who resembled suspect descriptions to Fountain Square.

The officer approached Mullins, and after a brief discussion, searched him.  The searched happened outside the 5/3 Bank at Fountain Square, and was captured on surveillance video by eight cameras in the area.

The search continued until the officer felt something hard under the suspect's clothes. Police say Mullins then turned very aggressive and a struggle ensued. 

Chief Craig says the officer saw a handgun on Mullins' body and backed away from him. The suspect then aimed the gun in the direction of the officer and that's when the officer fired, striking Mullins.

"No officer comes to work looking to engage in any kind of force, particularly when you are talking about a loss of life," says Craig.

We'd love to see one of the reunion shirts that Black people will proudly wear from this Midwest Black Family Reunion, the origins of Davon Mullins mischief. Remember that cops shooting Black criminals was the catalyst for the 2001 Cincinnati Black riots.

Cities can be safe; property value can be high in major cities; neighborhoods don't have to avoided because of "bad" - Black people are found in overwhelming numbers in these areas - parts; however, none of this can transpire as long as we refuse to admit that significant segments of the Black community lack the ability to live in civilized society.

Cincinnati and many other major cities would be virtually free of murderers and gang violence if we would admit this fact.

Instead many cities in America will continue to see white people leave for safer towns. Businesses and the economy that they are able to sustain will close up shop and ultimately collapse, respectively. We call this Climate Change.

Could Cincinnati be ground zero to Black riots - similar to what transpired in England - in 2011? We aren't talking about Mahogany Mobs - what the Mainstream Media (MSM) still calls "Flash Mobs" - but the type of violence not seen since 1992.

All because some Black kid at the Midwest Black Family Reunion had to bring a gun(s) to a family picnic.

Worse, this shooting marks the first such violence at Fountain Square since 2003. In the heart of the city, Fountain Square went through a $50 rehabilitation in an attempt to rejuvenate the squares image.

Sadly, the Midwest Black Family Reunion is no stranger to violence. In 2002, Black people attending this event - 2,000+ to be exact - decide to rampage in the city:

Ten people were injured and eight people were arrested late Saturday when more than 2,000 youths attending a downtown festival began fighting and damaging property.

The violence came after the Midwest Black Family Reunion let out for the evening at about 9 p.m., WLWT Eyewitness News 5 reported.

Several large crowds started roaming downtown streets, knocking over newspaper stands, banging on cars and fighting.Part of one crowd boarded a Metro bus, prompting the driver to type "Call 911" into the electronic destination sign on the front of the bus, WLWT reported.Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. None of the injuries appeared to be serious. Cincinnati Police Lt. Kurt Byrd said that the combination of hot, humid weather and large numbers of unsupervised youths caused the violence."We held over our second shift personnel to make sure we could handle anything that occurred down here," Byrd said. 

"We brought in any additional officers from all the districts, what we call stand-by cars, so we could quell some of the disorder."The police also received several reports of gunshots, WLWT reported."It's a little unnerving for them, I'm sure, but most of the officers are here now were here last year when we had riots in Over-the-Rhine and a couple of other things," Byrd said. "So even though it's unnerving, it's not unusual to them."The Black Family Reunion -- which about 70,000 people attended on a Saturday last year -- features events and presentations designed to focus positive attention on black families.

That was the first night of the Midwest Black Family Reunion in 2002. This is what happened on the second night:

Cincinnati police said a crowd turned unruly for the second straight night Sunday following the Midwest Black Family Reunion but the incidents weren't as severe as Saturday night.

A police dispatcher said people began throwing rocks and being unruly about 9:30 p.m. 

Numerous officers and a SWAT team responded.Police said the tensions between Cincinnati neighborhoods may have contributed to the incidents.Police Capt. Greg Snider said a group of about 150 youths yelled obscenities and threw chairs during a hip-hop concert at the festival Saturday night.He said young people from one neighborhood taunted youth from other neighborhoods.Fights escalated as smaller groups spilled into downtown Cincinnati, dumping trash cans and tipping newspaper boxes. 

Police said that at least eight people were arrested for disorderly conduct. About 10 people were treated for minor injuries.Organizers were hoping that Sunday's program, with a line-up of gospel groups, would cut down on problems, WLWT Eyewitness News 5 reported."We're looking at an older crowd and hopefully a little more spiritual," event promoter Gerald Glaspie said.

Violence and the Midwest Black Family Reunion seem to just together. Why can't Cincinnati's elected officials and business community (most notably the Chamber of Commerce) just cancel the event? For the same reason that Indianapolis won't cancel the Indiana Black Expo in Indianapolis.