The Rev. Raymond Jones was an early supporter of the Cincinnati boycott. But he's having second thoughts now.

        Not about whether a boycott is a valid, nonviolent tool for social change. It is probably the only way, the Rev. Mr. Jones says, to get Cincinnati's leaders past their empty promises and pleas for patience.

        He still believes in the boycott's ultimate goals: better and more just dealings between police and residents; more equitable economic and educational opportunities for African-Americans; and fuller, more respectful communications with Cincinnati's power elite.

        I, too, share his belief.

        But the Rev. Mr. Jones' second thoughts — and mine — have to do with one of the boycotters' key demands: amnesty for all those arrested during the April unrest.

        The Rev. Mr. Jones, a Westwood minister who doesn't lead a church, said he questions how a devout Christian pastor like the Rev. Damon Lynch III, head of the Black United Front, could push for amnesty for all rioters.

        Clearly, some of those arrested did break the law, especially those convicted of arson, burglary and assault, the reverend reasons. How can a pastor urging everyone to “do the right thing” ask for allowances for those who didn't last April?
       

"Sanctions Summit'

        It's a good question, only partially answered Thursday night during a communitywide “Sanctions Summit” held at the Rev. Mr. Lynch's New Prospect Baptist Church in Over-the-Rhine. After a rousing speech to the packed-to-the-rafters crowd, the Rev. Mr. Lynch stepped back to let Black United Front chief of staff Juleana Frierson defend the front's position on amnesty.

        She said the demand means the front is keeping a promise to stick by the young protesters.

        But that's not good enough, say some African-Americans, mostly behind closed doors. Very few dissenters like the Rev. Mr. Jones publicly admit to their conflict — the need to support the boycott versus the need to stand for justice under the law.

        The Rev. Mr. Jones' credibility on the street has been established.

        Look at some of the news photos of the April protests. That's the Rev. Mr. Jones marching alongside the Rev. Mr. Lynch and the Rev. J.W. Jones (no relation), leader of another boycott group, the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati.

        It was the Rev. Raymond Jones who, with a multiracial group of demonstrators, erected a cross on Fountain Square to counter the slur and sacrilege of the Ku Klux Klan's cross.

        Now he's executive director of the Vision is Now, a Norwood-based nonprofit working for interracial harmony while helping the poor.
       

Civil rights a struggle

        The Rev. Mr. Jones says his civil rights record isn't spotless. He is ashamed — but he tells the story anyway — that when he was a young man, he was asked to be among those meeting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s body at the airport in Atlanta. He was scared and turned down the assignment.

        But he relented and drove out to the tarmac before the plane landed. A security worker, he sat guard in his car, gun ready, tears streaming down his eyes, as the Rev. Dr. King's body headed to its final place.

        That's why, the Rev. Mr. Jones says, he can't throw stones at the Rev. Mr. Lynch or the boycott's other leaders. They've been relentless in the face of powerful opposition.

        Yet, he wonders if there shouldn't be a better goal for a boycott than amnesty.

        So do I.

        Denise Smith Amos can be reached at 768-8395. Fax 768-8340 or e-mail damos@ enquirer.com.
       

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