By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When Bono rolled into Cincinnati on Friday, he was well aware of the racial tensions that have plagued the city for the past two years.

In fact, that's why the Heart of America tour made a point of linking two of its events to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center: a press conference at center's downtown headquarters and a reception at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House.

Cincinnati's image "affected our decisions about where to be," Bono said. The Freedom Center "is a museum of tolerance as well as a place for the story it tells about this area."

Cincinnati's 2001 riot and the racial debates that have followed reflect "an ugly problem. But it's everywhere," Bono said.

Rather than criticize the city, however, Bono praised the efforts going on to improve race relations.

"It's a city that is throwing off a lot of energy from all quarters. That's what's important to the rest of the world about Cincinnati," Bono said.

Ed Rigaud, president of the Freedom Center, recognized Bono on Friday as a "modern day freedom conductor."

"We have some common interests. We are both fighting deadly viruses. His is a virus of the body, HIV. Ours is a virus of the mind, RIA, or Race in America," Mr. Rigaud said.

"We are both setting out to eradicate those viruses."

Bono has long made racial justice a theme in his songs, including "Pride (In the Name of Love)," a 1984 lament about the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Friday, Bono said his Heart of America tour is similar in some ways to the Underground Railroad movement.

"It's part of the journey toward equality," Bono said. "History has a way of making ideas that once were acceptable look ridiculous."