Business CourierLawsuit opens up dialogueEditorial, May 18, 2001Nothing like starting a critical, tricky project only to see events magnify its visibility tenfold.But that's exactly where Jay Rothman, president of the ARIA Group, finds himself. Three weeks before urban Cincinnati exploded in riots, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott appointed Rothman as a special master of the court. His goal was to spearhead a collaborative effort to resolve the racial profiling lawsuit brought against the Cincinnati Police Department by the Black United Front and American Civil Liberties Union. Rothman's goal remains unchanged. But following the chaos that erupted after the shooting death of Timothy Thomas by Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach, finding collaborative solutions to Cincinnati's police and racial problems has taken on added urgency. The collaborative plan Rothman and his Yellow Springs-based consulting firm created will combine grass-roots input from citizens with expert analysis. He calls it ARIA, which comes from the musical term for harmonious song, but is here used as an acronym for surfacing Antagonism safely, finding shared Resonance, Inventing options, and planning Actions. Using a three-question survey, ARIA will first seek input from thousands of local citizens. Individual names will be protected, but responses will be organized by stakeholder groups, including the business community. Then the groups will meet, with one of 28 facilitators hired by ARIA leading discussions aimed at formulating goals Rothman says are "big enough to matter and small enough to accomplish." It is a massive undertaking that could easily dissolve into talk-show platitudes. But Rothman has honed his skills in, among other places, the Middle East. He promises to keep the process open and is encouraging the media to keep a sharp eye on ARIA'S progress. He's also promised to try to overcome Cincinnati's notorious lethargy when it comes to making actual change. That alone would be worth our support, but especially when it comes to this most crucial issue. Half of the initial $200,000 funding for the project came from the New York-based Andrus Family Foundation and half from the city. ARIA is seeking another $200,000 in private donations. But Rothman said that could be reduced with in-kind donations from local businesses and institutions. Christ Church Cathedral on East Fourth Street has already donated office space for ARIA, and Vernon Manor Hotel in Avondale is providing Rothman's lodging at $15 per night. Rothman sees input from businesses as vital to the project's success. "Goal-setting is second nature to the business community," he said. "We're now trying to do that with the whole city." For more information about the ARIA project, call (513) 842-2078. top Back next |