Members of a predominantly-Black community outside of Cincinnati are carrying guns and patrolling their neighborhoods after they chased out a group of neo-Nazis a few days ago. 

Since the Friday incident, which made national news, residents of the Lincoln Heights community have been meeting to figure out next steps because, they say, law enforcement did not respond as assertively as they would have liked. They also say they continue to see the neo-Nazis around and have experienced vandalism, like smashed car windows.

The county sheriff’s office and local police did not respond to emails about the incident. 

For Jeff Smith, a retiree who lives in West Chester, Ohio, the incident unfolded when a typically leisurely Friday afternoon ended up being far from that. That’s because a member of Smith’s text group shared disturbing photos of rifle-toting neo-Nazis waving swastika-emblazoned flags along a highway overpass between suburban Evendale, Ohio, and Lincoln Heights, a historic Black town 12 miles north of Cincinnati.

About a dozen white supremacists dressed in black with red face masks pinned red swastika banners on the fence of the overpass along with a sign that said “America for the White Man.” The scene drew a predominantly Black crowd that approached as police stood in between the two groups. Someone from the residents’ group grabbed one of the flags and set it on fire. Shortly after, the neo-Nazis backed off and jumped into a U-Haul box truck and sped away.

“[The Nazis] may have miscalculated where they were, because [the residents] aren’t scared,” said Dwayne Hunter, 55, who grew up in Lincoln Heights. “I’m not surprised by the [community’s] reaction at all.”

Deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, which serves the Evendale and Lincoln Heights communities, were present to de-escalate the situation. 

“The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office will continue to collaborate with surrounding agencies and the residents of Lincoln Heights,” the agency said in a statement.

Smith, 60, is not a resident of Lincoln Heights, but he was moved by the push back from the community.

“I was inspired because of the injustice and the lack of police protection,” Smith said. “I was motivated because of the unfairness this world still possesses … I wanted to get out and do something.”

History runs rich through predominantly Black Lincoln Heights, Ohio

Lincoln Heights, a village of about 3,000, produced R&B legends The Isley Brothers, poet Nikki Giovanni and Carl Westmoreland, who helped run the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. When Lincoln Heights incorporated in 1947, it was the first primarily Black self-governing community north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

In those early years, many of the residents worked at a plant that produced B-29 bombers. According to the book “Lincoln Heights,” by Carolyn F. Smith, the village thrived so well during that time that the New York governor invited officials to New York City for a ticker-tape parade to honor the village as one of the only self-governing Black communities in the country.

In the spirit of the village’s history, Jeff Smith joined several hundred residents and concerned citizens last Sunday with a gathering on the same overpass where the incident took place. The Rev. Julian Armand Cook of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church led a march toward the center of the overpass accompanied by armed men with rifles. Local police and sheriff’s deputies were nearby. The gathering involved prayer, speakers and singing.

Many in the crowd shared strategies on how to confront any future white supremacist demonstrations, and how to develop a united front, Smith said.

“When I first arrived, I saw a massive amount of Black and brown individuals and some white people, and we all came together in a peaceful setting,” Smith said. “We talked about what we’re up against, and to figure out how we can stop something like this from happening again, here in Cincinnati or anywhere in the United States.”

Unfortunately, the rise of white supremacist groups has been on the increase in the Cincinnati region. Back in November, a group wearing all black and carrying red swastika banners demonstrated in Columbus. The city of Springfield, Ohio, filed a lawsuit last week against a neo-Nazi group that it alleges harassed and attempted to intimidate people who support the city’s Haitian community.

Nationally, hate crimes continue to increase, according to the Department of Justice.

The increase in hate, as shown at last week’s demonstration, increasingly bothers Smith, especially for the school children who were in the area during the neo-Nazis’ appearance, which included the brandishing of weapons about 700 yards from a school.

“I can’t help but to think about those kids who were getting off the bus and seeing all of this happen,” Smith said. “I imagine that they’ll carry this for a long time.”

Residents, feeling unsupported by law enforcement, plan next steps

On Monday, Smith joined more than 150 people at a community town hall in Lincoln Heights to discuss and ask questions related to the white supremacist demonstration.

Residents wanted to know why members of the neo-Nazi group were not arrested since they brandished AR-15-style rifles near a school. Residents also voiced concern about continued sightings of the group, and about smashed car windows over the weekend that has not led to any arrests.

Members of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office told the crowd no law was violated by the group and that’s why no arrests were made, Smith said. There are reports from various news outlets that the sheriff’s department is working with the FBI to try to identify the neo-Nazis.

Meanwhile, many residents of Lincoln Heights have armed themselves while patrolling their neighborhoods.

Smith left the town hall meeting disappointed because of so many  unanswered questions.

“There’s no sense of urgency to get a resolution,” Smith said. “It was like, ‘If we get to it, we’ll get to it.'”