Let's Talk Cincy: One-on-one conversation with former Cincinnati mayor Dwight Tillery

THIS IS LET'S TALK CINCY PRESENTED BY WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP, PUT OUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH BEHIND YOU. HELLO EVERYONE. I'M CURTIS FULLER AND WELCOME TO LET'S TALK CINCY. TODAY, A ONE ON ONE WITH FORMER CINCINNATI MAYOR DWIGHT TILLERY. BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO HIS RESUME THAN BEING THE MAYOR OF OUR CITY. HE IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CENTER FOR CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP. BORN AND RAISED RIGHT HERE IN CINCINNATI, ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL. HE IS A PRACTICING ATTORNEY AND ANYONE WHO KNOWS DWIGHT TILLERY WILL TELL YOU HE HAS BEEN A STRONG VOICE FOR THE CITY AND ESPECIALLY THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. AND SO IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE PROGRAM. WELL, THANK YOU, CURTIS, AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE. AND I WANT TO COMMEND YOU ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENT HERE. IT'S IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE THAT. SO I'M WITH THE GREAT AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD. WELL YOU'VE SEEN THE WHOLE JOURNEY FOR ME. YEAH. WELL LISTEN. AND YOU'VE BEEN PHENOMENAL. YEAH. WELL THAT'S AND YOU'VE BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT YOUR LOVE ACROSS THE CITY, RACIAL AND SOCIALLY, WHATEVER YOUR LOVE, BUT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY LOVE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHINE LIGHTS ON ISSUES OR SHINE THE LIGHT ON ISSUES THAT ARE OFTEN PRIOR TO YOUR COMING WASN'T ALL THAT CONSISTENT AND VAST. AND SO THAT'S BEEN IMPORTANT. AND YOU WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE LEARNED WHEN I WAS ON CITY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, THE MEDIA PERSON COULD MAKE YOU OR BREAK YOU, YOU KNOW, I WAS THERE FOR A WHILE AND I DIDN'T SEE ANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS COMING TO ME. THEY WOULD GO TO THE OTHER MEMBERS. YOU KNOW. AND THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN I GOT ELECTED MAYOR OF THE CITY THAT NIGHT AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THE NEXT MORNING, FRONT PAGE, IT WAS CURTIS COURTIS AND DWIGHT TILLERY AND I KNEW THEN THAT CURTIS MADE ME WELL, I DIDN'T MAKE YOU, UH, CLEARLY, WE'LL GO BACK TO THAT. AS I SAID, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO YOU. AND WE WILL ONLY SCRATCH THE SURFACE IN A SHORT TIME. WE HAVE. BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MAYOR. YOU YOU EVEN SAY THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A SURPRISE TO OTHERS, BUT I TOLD YOU THEN AND WILL TELL PEOPLE TODAY, HEY, IF YOU FOLLOW LEADING UP TO THAT RACE. YES, IT REALLY WASN'T A SURPRISE. YOU WERE THE HEAD OF THE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, AND THERE WERE SO MANY POLICE ISSUES TAKING PLACE THEN WE HAD A PERSON SHOT AND KILLED BY A POLICE OFFICER OVER IN CORALVILLE. IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. AND SO YOU WERE LEADING THAT CHARGE. IF YOU WILL, OF OVERSEEING THE THE POLICE? YES. AND ISSUES RELATED TO THAT. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, UH, BEING THE MAYOR OF CINCINNATI. WELL, IT WAS IT I ENJOYED IT, BUT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. AND, UH, I HAVE BEEN PULLING TOGETHER VARIOUS MEDIA COVERAGE BACK DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. AND INITIALLY THERE WAS SO MUCH, UM, DISCREDIT, IF YOU WILL. YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE, WELL, IT WAS THE SCHOOL LEVY OR IT WAS THIS, IT WAS THAT. AND NO ONE EVER WANTED TO LOOK AT THE FACT THAT I WAS OUT THERE. I WAS EVERYWHERE, I WAS ACROSS TOWN, AND I HAD THE SECOND HIGHEST, UH, FINANCIAL, UH, IN MY ACCOUNT OF ALL THE CANDIDATES, YOU KNOW, I HAD SUFFICIENTLY OVER $100,000, BUT I ALSO HAD MANY YEARS PRIOR TO THAT TIME, I WAS 43 YEARS OLD. UM, I HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN POLITICS. POLITICS IS I WAS 18 YEARS OLD. I USED TO, AS A STUDENT, WORK FOR A VICE MAYOR, BILL CHENAULT, WHO WAS REALLY A GREAT MAN. IT WAS UNFORTUNATE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM, BUT HE WAS HE WAS JUST GREAT. AND HE WAS VERY OPEN. AND HE HE GROOMED ME. HE TOOK ME TO PLACES. HE TOOK ME OVER TO PRICE HILL BACK IN THE 60S WHEN PEOPLE WEREN'T. WE CERTAINLY WEREN'T GOING OVER THE PRICE HILL IN TERMS OF BLACK FOLKS. SO I LEARNED A LOT. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS QUITE PREPARED. I HAD WORKED WITH LOCAL CANDIDATES. I HAD WORKED WITH STATEWIDE CANDIDATES. SO I, I KNEW THE CRAFT OF POLITICS. UM, BUT I THINK THAT, UM, IT WAS, IT WAS VERY CHALLENGING. AND, YOU KNOW, IMMEDIATELY THERE'S SOME PEOPLE STARTED RAISING THE QUESTION, UH, ARE YOU GOING TO BE THE MAYOR FOR FOR EVERYBODY? AND I THOUGHT, UM, NOW IS THAT QUESTION TO ASK OF A WHITE FOLKS WHO BECOME MAYOR ARE YOU GOING TO BE THE MAYOR OF EVERYBODY? AND I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT QUESTION. UM, I THINK I HAD SOME GREAT DIFFICULTY, UH, IN TERMS OF PEOPLE STILL NOT BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHO I AM AND WHAT AM I LIKELY TO DO? I WAS INITIALLY IN IMMENSE EARLY POPULAR. I REMEMBER CHARLIE LUCAS SHOWED UP EARLY IN MY FIRST YEAR AND HE SAID, YOUR NUMBERS ARE GREATER THAN MINE, YOU KNOW, SO BUT I ALSO HEARD OTHER PEOPLE SAY, LISTEN, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHER UP THE LADDER YOU GO, YOU COME DOWN BECAUSE THEY SAY THE MEDIA LIKES TO LIFT YOU UP AND THEY BRING YOU DOWN. AND WE SHOULD POINT OUT THAT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT NUMBERS, YOU WERE THE FIRST POPULARLY ELECTED. YES, MAYOR, BECAUSE PRIOR TO THAT, YES, IT WAS THE COUNCIL VOTE ON COUNCIL. AND THEN YOU GUYS WOULD PICK. YES, BUT YOU WERE THE TOP VOTE GETTER THAT YEAR. YEAH. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALWAYS HAD POWER HERE, I THINK THAT WAS A BIG QUESTION IMMEDIATELY. SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, UH, UH, STARTED RAISING THE QUESTION, UH, POWER. AND I THINK THAT AS I'VE, I'VE SPENT SOME, UH, 30 OR 40 YEARS NOW LOOKING BACK ON THAT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT I SEE IT AROUND THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF BLACK PEOPLE GETTING INTO POSITION OF POWER AND WHAT DISCOMFORT DOES THAT BRING TO THE WHITE ESTABLISHMENT? SO I THINK THERE WAS UH, UH, SOME, SOME CONCERN AND UNFORTUNATELY, UH, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO NEED, YOU KNOW, I WAS A VERY OPEN, VERY TRANSPARENT PERSON AND WORKED ACROSS THE CITY. I BELIEVED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO BE A A GOOD MAYOR IS TO BE A MAYOR FOR EVERYONE, ONE. AND THAT ALSO MEANS THAT I NEEDED TO BE A VOICE FOR A COMMUNITY THAT OFTEN DIDN'T HAVE A VOICE. I'M GOING TO WHEN WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A BREAK AND COME BACK BECAUSE I THOUGHT ABOUT SOME OF YOUR IDEAS AND POLICIES THAT YOU PUT IN PLACE AND HOW EFFECTIVE MANY OF THOSE WOULD BE TODAY. SO WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE FACING TODAY, SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A BREAK. WE'LL BE BACK WITH DWIGHT TILLER IN JUST A MOMENT. BACK NOW WITH THE WHITE BACK NOW WITH THE WHITE ARTILLERY, FORMER MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF CINCINNATI, I WAS TELLING YOU THAT I THINK OF MANY OF THE THINGS. THAT YOU IMPLEMENTED BACK IN THE 90S THAT WOULD BE SO EFFECTIVE OF TODAY. FIRST AND FOREMOST WAS THE GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD CINCINNATI LEADERSHIP WHERE THEY WERE MOSTLY MIDDLE CLASS AND UPPER, UH, PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, MANY OF THEM IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR, SOME, UM, BLACK FOLKS, BUT NOT A WHOLE HOST. AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LEADERSHIP, YOU KNOW, AT AT THE TOP, WE NEED TO HAVE LEADERSHIP AT THE BOTTOM, WE NEED TO HELP ENGAGE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY IF WE WANT THE COMMUNITIES TO BE THE WAY WE WANT, WE HAVE TO GET THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITIES TO BE TRAINED AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO BE LEADERS AND HOW TO SPEAK, UH, FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES. UH, THAT I OFTEN, UH, SAW IT LACKING. IT WAS VERY, VERY TROUBLING TO ME. SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS WAS, UH, UH, UH, MARK PASTOR, WHO WHO CAME DOWN BY HIMSELF BEFORE THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND HE WAS ASKING ME ABOUT MONEY. AND I SAID, YOU NEED TO GET INCORPORATED AND THEN COME BACK BECAUSE WE'RE GIVING THE CINCINNATI BUSINESS, UH, GREATER CINCINNATI CHAMBER. $300,000 A YEAR. I DIDN'T KNOW WHY WE WERE DOING THAT, BUT WE WERE DOING THAT. AND SO EVENTUALLY HE DID THAT. HE AND JIM KLIEMAN CAME DOWN AND WE PUT THE FIRST AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO THE THEIR COFFERS, WHICH HAS HELPED TO PERPETUATE IT, UH, TO WHERE IT IS TODAY. WE, UM, WE PUT MONEY. I LED PUT $650,000 INTO URBAN LEAGUE, UH, WHEN IT WAS GOING TO BUILD ITS NEW BUILDING. BUT I LED AND PUT THAT MONEY IN AND, UM, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER, UH, PROJECTS THAT I GOT INVOLVED IN. ONE OF THE THINGS I TRIED TO GET GOING WAS, UH, A PROGRAM OF ANTI-VIOLENCE. I HAD TEENAGERS DOWN IN, UH, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, UH, YOUNG PEOPLE, AND TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT THE VIOLENCE. WE HAD A PROGRAM CALLED RESHAPING YOUTH PRIORITY. AND WE HAD IT IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UM, THAT CAME FROM KEVIN COOPER, WHO WAS THE SURGEON GENERAL, WHO SAID VIOLENCE WAS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. UH, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN I NO LONGER WAS MAYOR, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY WAS, WASN'T THERE ANYMORE. I HAD THE COMMISSION ON CHILDREN, WHICH WAS PHENOMENAL AND WAS VERY, VERY WIDELY, UH, RECEIVED AND ENJOYED. UH, FORMER BISHOP HERBERT THOMPSON, WHO WAS THE FIRST TO BE HERE IN THE CITY AND DONE, UH, JUST A PHENOMENAL JOB. BUT A LOT OF THAT CHANGE IN THAT SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I HAD A NEW PERSON WHO TOOK OVER AND THEY WANTED TO DO WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO, AND THAT'S FINE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE WAY, WAY IT GOES. BUT THE OTHER THING I DID AND PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T RECOGNIZE THIS, I RAISED WITH DWIGHT HIBBERT, WHO WAS A REPUBLICAN WHO WAS ALSO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF CINCINNATI BELL AND HEAD OF THE CBC. AND WE WOULD GO ONCE A MONTH TO THE CINCINNATI CLUB AND HAVE LUNCH AND HE WAS A WONDERFUL PERSON. I MISS HIM. HE WAS JUST GREAT. WE GOT TOGETHER AND I TOLD HIM, I SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THIS GROUP THAT WANT TO DO VENTURE CAPITAL, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT BLACK FOLKS GET A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE. SO I REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM AND WE WERE ABLE TO, BETWEEN THE TWO, RAISE ABOUT $12 MILLION VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR BLACK BUSINESSES AND AND WE INITIALLY HAD A CAP OF 250,000. AND SO THOSE THOSE WERE THE TYPE OF DISCUSSIONS THAT MADE HER JACKSON FORMER MAYOR OF ATLANTA. YES, GREAT MAYOR OF ATLANTA. WOOD DO YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THE THE AIRPORT IS THE BEST EXAMPLE. ABSOLUTELY. OF HE SAID, WE'LL GET THIS BUILT, BUT YOU HAVE TO, UH, DEDICATE A CERTAIN PORTION OF THIS. AND WHAT WAS IMPORTANT WAS ULTIMATELY CAME OUT OF THAT. WE DID MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR RALPH LOVE, WHO APPARENTLY COULD NOT EVEN GET A COMMERCIAL LOAN TO BUY THE OLD WHI'S STATION OUT OF CHICAGO. AND SO WE LOANED HIM. WHEN I SAY WE THE THE GROUP THAT I PUT TOGETHER THAT OVERSAW IT, UH. A MILLION AND A HALF, WHICH DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH MONEY NOW, BUT FROM THAT HE WENT ON AND BUILT A FINANCIAL EMPIRE. BUT WE GAVE HIM THAT MONEY, GAVE HIM THAT START. AND SO THERE WERE OTHER BUSINESSES THAT WE WORK WITH, BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT BLACK BUSINESSES AND I WOULD TALK TO THE CORPORATE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, LET'S MENTOR SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES. LET'S BRING THEM IN. AND WE HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER FOLKS WHO BENEFITED FROM THAT PROGRAM. SO IT WAS A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT I DID THAT I FELT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WAS HELPING THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS ALSO HELPING OUR CITY. ABSOLUTELY. AND WE AND WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT I WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER BREAK AND THEN WE'LL WE'LL TALK ABOUT CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP AND HOW, UM, AHEAD OF THE TIME, UM, YOU WERE WHEN YOU STARTED THIS IN THE EARLY 2000 AND, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE WE GO FROM HERE. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. BACK IN A MOMENT. WELCOME BACK EVERYONE. WELCOME BACK EVERYONE. I'VE KNOWN DWIGHT TILLERY FOR OVER 30 YEARS. UM, BUT EVEN AS I LISTEN TO YOU RIGHT NOW, WE'VE TALKED MANY TIMES AND I KNOW MANY OF THE STORIES, BUT AS I LISTEN TO YOU, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TODAY AND HOW YOUR BEHIND THE SCENES YOU WERE WORKING TO TO MAKE CHANGES ONCE YOU LEFT CITY HALL, I REMEMBER OUR CONVERSATION ABOUT CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP. YOU HAD THIS VISION OF THIS HEALTH PROGRAM, AND AT THE TIME, MOST OF US COULDN'T SEE IT. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, WE LISTENED, BUT WE COULDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND IT. TALK A LITTLE BIT. WELL, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, AS THEY TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT BLACK MEN WOULD GO INTO THE EMERGENCY AND THEY WOULD GET KIND OF PAT ON THE BACK AND GIVE THEM AN ASPIRIN AND TELL THEM, HAVE A GOOD DAY. BUT WHEN WHITE MEN CAME IN, THEY WOULD RUN ALL THE DIFFERENT TESTS AND SO FORTH. AND I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY SO MUCH A QUESTION ABOUT INSURANCE, BUT IT WAS ABOUT THE SENSITIVITY AND IT WAS ABOUT RACE. SO IT WAS A SENSITIVE KIND OF ISSUE. SO I HAD ALREADY SERVED ON THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND BECAME VICE CHAIR IN THE 70S. AND SO I'D BEEN AROUND A WHILE, UH, MY FATHER DIED EARLY FROM PROSTATE CANCER AT THE AGE 60, VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT THE HEALTH. AND WHAT I SAW WAS THE WHOLE ISSUE OF HEALTH DISPARITIES WAS THE LAST LEG OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. WE HAD LOOKED AT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT. WE LOOKED AT HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT AND SO FORTH. BUT HEALTH WAS THE LAST ONE, AND THERE WAS A LADY NAMED SECRETARY, HECKLER, HECKLER, UM, SAID THAT WE HAD FOR OVER A CENTURY WE HAVE COLLECTED DATA ON THE HEALTH OF OUR CITIZENS AND WE HAVE KNOWN FOR OVER A CENTURY THAT BLACK PEOPLE GOT SICKER AND DIED MUCH FASTER THAN WHITE PEOPLE. AND SHE SAID IT WAS TIME TO DO SOMETHING. AND SO JUST READING ABOUT THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING, AND IT GOT ME VERY MUCH MOTIVATED. AND SO I WAS DOING SOME CONSULTING WORK. WITH THE HEALTH ALLIANCE AT THAT TIME, AND I MADE A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS BECAUSE I FELT THAT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, UH, UC HEALTH WEREN'T REALLY CONNECTED WITH THE VERY PEOPLE THAT THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY EXISTED IN. UM, AND HOW DO WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT THIS IN IT? IT WENT WELL ON ONE HAND, BUT IT DIDN'T GO WELL ON THE OTHER HAND. AND AS I'VE, I'VE SET BACK BECAUSE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT STARTED RUMORING WAS THAT I HAD CONCOCTED THIS TO MAKE MONEY, YOU KNOW, UH, WHICH WAS JUST FAR FROM THE TRUTH. I MEAN, I HAD NO IDEA. I GAVE THAT IDEA ALONG WITH SEVERAL, TO A GUY NAMED JONATHAN LIPPINCOTT, WHO WAS THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR UC AND AND SO THERE WAS A LAWSUIT THAT THEY WANTED TO SETTLE WITH THE CITY. AND SO HE PUT THAT PROPOSAL ALL IN AS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT. AND THEN ULTIMATELY, THEY ASKED ME TO RUN IT. UM, THE HEALTH COMMISSIONER AT THAT TIME, UM, SAID, YOU'RE THE BEST PERSON TO CREATE THIS BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN A POLITICIAN. AND THIS. IS NOT ABOUT ADMINISTERING HEALTH CARE, BUT IT'S ABOUT ENGAGING PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. SO AS WE MOVE FURTHER ALONG, WE SEE A REAL EXPANSION OF WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HEALTH, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT IS MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE. YOU KNOW, EVEN THE THE SO-CALLED INVESTIGATORS FROM THE VARIOUS MEDIA DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS MUCH MORE THAN THAT. AND I HAD THE CHANCE TO SERVE ON ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON'S COMMITTEE TO HELP, TO REDEFINE, SO TO SPEAK, WHAT HEALTH IS ABOUT. SO IT'S ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE, WHERE YOU WORK AND WHERE YOU PLAY. AND SO WHEN YOU BEGIN TO LOOK AT ALL THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS, WHICH WAS NOT REALLY BEING DONE, THEN, UH, YOU CAN ALL THESE FACTORS PLAY ON TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE LENGTH OF LIFE. AND SO, UM, IT WAS HARD TO GET THAT THROUGH AND GET PEOPLE TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, OUR CONSULTANTS TOLD US TO FOCUS ON OBESITY. SO I WOULD SEE SOME WHITE PHYSICIANS AND SO FORTH. THEY WOULD SAY TO ME, WELL, HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID THEY LOSE? SO IT WAS LIKE, UH, NO, THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. YOU KNOW, THIS IS A HOLISTIC PROGRAM WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO HAVE HEALTHY FOODS TO EAT. AND YOU WERE TALKING TO YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT NOT GETTING OBESE. YES. EARLY. YES. YES. THE THE DUDE. RIGHT. KIDS WAS RIGHT. YEAH. WAS THE PROGRAM THAT STILL EXISTS. AND IT'S IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, AND YOU KNOW, 78% OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN WERE CONSIDERED TO BE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S A REAL CRISIS BECAUSE OBESITY AFFECTS YOUR HEART. DIABETES, BLOOD PRESSURE, ETC. YOU KNOW, IT WAS A MAJOR CRISIS. BUT WHAT HAS REALLY HELPED TO SHINE A GREATER LIGHT ON ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN, UNFORTUNATELY, COVID, YOU KNOW. THE QUESTION THAT WAS BEGAN TO ASK NATIONALLY WHY ARE BLACK PEOPLE DYING SO MUCH FASTER THROUGH COVID? AND IT WAS THE UNDERLYING DISEASES, THE UNDERLYING ILLNESSES THAT HAVE PERSISTED. AND WHY DID THEY PERSIST? BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT THEIR EDUCATION FOR MANY BLACK PEOPLE, YOU LOOK AT. SO IT'S NOT JUST THE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. YOU LOOK AT GROCERY STORES AND EXERCISE PLACES, AND YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, THE HOUSING, AND IN SOME CASES, THE LACK OF GROCERY STORES OR LACK OF EXERCISE FACILITIES. ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'RE STILL FACING THAT. YOU CAN LOOK AT IF YOU TOOK INDIAN HILL AND YOU GO DOWN TO SOCIAL DETERMINANTS, YOU KNOW, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT, UM, SOME OF THE POOR AREAS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF SOCIAL DETERMINANTS WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY. YOU YOU WILL SEE THE DISPARITY BETWEEN YOU KNOW, SO IT'S IT'S A HOLISTIC IT IS NOT JUST WHETHER OR NOT A BLACK PERSON HAS ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND UNFORTUNATELY, HOW IT'S DISTORTED OUT. IT WAS VERY NARROW. IT WAS NOT JUST SO WE WERE A COMMUNITY BASED INDIAN PENDANT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE IDEA WAS IF THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES DEVELOPED THE PROGRAMS, THEY WERE LIKELY TO, UH, PARTICIPATE. HOLD YOUR THOUGHT. WE GOT ONE MORE SEGMENT. I NEED FIVE MORE. YEAH, WE'LL BE BACK IN A MOMENT. ALWAYS FASCINATING TO TALK TO, ALWAYS FASCINATING TO TALK TO, DWIGHT TILLERY. WE HAVE ABOUT THREE MINUTES LEFT. NOT ENOUGH TIME. UM, AS YOU LOOK OVER THE CITY. NOW, WHAT? WHAT'S YOUR FORECAST INTO BETTER DAYS TOMORROW? WELL, THE ONLY WAY IT'S GOING TO GET BETTER, CURTIS, IS THAT THIS CITY HAS FINALLY HAVE TO COME TO GRIPS WITH SEGREGATION AND RACISM IN THIS COMMUNITY. UM, THERE WAS A REPORT AT ALL IN CINCINNATI 2019, RIGHT? IN THE BEGINNING, THESE RESEARCHERS THAT CAME, I BELIEVE, FROM POLICYLINK, WHO DID THE STUDY, TALKED ABOUT TO CINCINNATI'S WHY DOES IT EXIST? WHY DON'T WE HAVE SO MUCH SEGREGATION? YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH RACISM IN THIS COMMUNITY? YOU KNOW, NOW, I REMEMBER JESSE JACKSON COMING HERE TO VISIT A WHILE BACK ABOUT KROGER'S AND NO GROCERY STORES. AND HE SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE RIGHT ON THE MASON-DIXON LINE. YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEM. BUT THIS IS THIS IS THE DEAL. AND I WATCHED HARRY BELAFONTE, WHO THERE'S A SERIES CALLED, UH, KING IN THE WILDERNESS TALKING ABOUT DOCTOR KING. AND HE SAID, EVERYBODY IN THE NORTH THOUGHT THEY WERE THEY WEREN'T THE ONES THAT WERE LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH. BUT HARRY SAID THEY WERE WORSE THAN THE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH BECAUSE THE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH TOLD YOU WHERE THEY STOOD. BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH, THE LIBERAL WHITES, YOU KNOW, THEY SMOOTHED IT OVER. THEY MADE IT SEEM LIKE THEY WEREN'T BEING DISCRIMINATORY. BUT INDEED VERY MUCH SO. AND KING WOULD OFTEN TALK ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE IN ILLINOIS AND HOW THOSE WHITE FOLKS CAME OUT. AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ON VIDEO. I MEAN, THE ANGER AND THE DISREGARD EFFECT THAT WAS RECEIVED. SO I'M SAYING THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY RECOGNIZE THAT CINCINNATI HAS A A RACIAL PROBLEM, AND IT HAS ALWAYS HAD IT. IT IS NOT A NEW THING, BUT IT HAS ALWAYS MANAGED TO GLOSS OVER IT, TO PRETEND TO DO SMOKE AND MIRRORS, YOU KNOW, TO DO PROGRAMS AND SO FORTH. THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING. SO I GOT TO ASK A QUICK QUESTION. HAVE YOU EVER RUN FOR PUBLIC SIX AGAIN? NO, NO NO NO. UM, I, I WE YOU NEED TO HAVE ME BACK TO TALK ABOUT HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND WHAT'S GOING ON. I WILL WELL, AND OUR NEXT CONVERSATION WILL BE ALL POLITICS BECAUSE WE'RE IN A ELECTION YEAR, SO WE'D LOVE TO DO IT. YEAH, WELL, THANK YOU. THIS HAS BEEN A PLEASURE. WELL, I LOVE DOING IT. AND I HOPE I'LL GET A CHANCE TO COME BACK. YEAH. YOU WILL. OKAY. THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I'M CURTIS FULLER. I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF LET'S TALK CINCY.