NORWOOD, Ohio — Guests crowded the dining hall inside the Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church in Norwood.
Sunday evening marked a time for the community to bring their concerns, fears, hopes, and worries directly to local leaders.
Guests included members of Cincinnati and Norwood's City Councils, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich, David Whitehead from the Cincinnati NAACP, and other elected and religious leaders.
Bishop Sonny James and Pastor Peterson Mingo led the evening. Bishop James had the crowd commit to change by raising their right hand and repeating a short phrase.
"If it’s going to be, it’s up to me," the crowd repeated.
Those words echoed all night, as Bishop James continued to shout his message of unity and growth.
"Change is sometimes painful, but pain is also good," Pastor Mingo said.
"Yes we have differences and that's why I told everybody this meeting was not about Republicans, it wasn't about Democrats or Independents, it was about people," James told WCPO 9.
Several residents addressed long-standing issues like access to affordable housing and violence among young people in the area.
“We’re suffering and you wonder why there’s so much crime," one woman said.
“If you know your kids are having problems, send them to counseling," another woman said.
Much of the conversation centered around the appearance of white supremacist groups in parts of Hamilton County, specifically Lincoln Heights and Evendale.
Hamilton County's Sheriff and the Hamilton County Prosecutor addressed these issues and how their office has responded.
"We are doing our own investigation to see what legal paths we can go forward that we believe we can win," said the County Prosecutor.
Sheriff McGuffey informed the crowd of an incident that occurred early Sunday morning, where officers cited a man for littering after he was accused of spreading flyers involving the KKK.
The passionate and intense conversation about how to move towards unity and growth, to strengthen local neighborhoods, lasted for more than two hours.
Bishop James said he hopes that young people will see the conversations and inspire them to continue the work.
“It’s about the youth, it’s about setting a precedence that they may feel free, that they may feel there’s a change at tomorrow," said Bishop James
