CINCINNATI, Ohio — “I have a passion for what’s going on in society and bridging the gap—all the different gaps that exist and really helping to support and work with the African American community to make their community as a whole better,” said Phillip Holloman, the chair for Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio.
And this is exactly why Holloman and his wife Gail donated $1 million toward the Urban League’s newest project: The Center for Social Justice.
“We have an organization that will stay focused to make sure that we’re following up,” said Holloman. “To see that those follow-ups are being enacted, track data and provide a place for people that have complaints to be able to have an avenue to get some help.”
This is the largest private donation in the history of the Urban League. The center will be housed in the Urban League building. Holloman said a center like this is needed because of all of the lives lost to police brutality.
“It was important to us that we have a focus and continue to have a focus and a follow-up to make sure that the reforms are being promised,” he said.
And he said it’s also important that people know more about what’s going on with the 20 different police municipalities across the city.
“We want to make absolutely sure that we are in a position to really engage with these communities, the police departments, the politicians, where necessary — really engage with them to look at the different reforms,” he said.
And police reform is one of the first topics they plan to tackle.
“It’s not just here are the things that you want to change, but even if you change those things and say it, you have to have the procedures and the clout behind holding people accountable,” said Holloman.
And one of the ways they plan to make that happen is through partnerships, one of which is with The Cochran Firm.
“When you’re doing this work with the community you will inevitably going to find people who have been injured through the process and what is your mode for recourse for them so that it doesn’t take your eye off the work,” said Eddie Koen, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Southern Ohio. “We really just wanted to think in front of it as who is the legal partner that we can work with that we can refer those cases.”
Koen said he’s grateful for this donation and hopes to bring forth change through the center.
“With such an incredible gift like this this will allow us to not only proceed and get the proper staff that we need but to really push in partnership and by other means if we need to create the reforms that desperately need at this time,” he said.
The Urban League is currently looking to hire staff for the center and will announce the center’s director in the next couple of weeks. There is no blueprint for the center just yet.
