All-In Cincinnati: Celebrating, Honoring & Uplifting Black Women in Cincinnati

All-In Cincinnati: Celebrating, Honoring & Uplifting Black Women in Cincinnati

Data demonstrates that Greater Cincinnati’s gross domesticproduct would be $9.9 billion higher if racial disparities were addressed. The unemployment rate for Black workers in Hamilton County is almost three times that for white workers. This is where the All-In Cincinnati Equity Coalition comes in.

Equity is all about working together. All-In Cincinnati celebrates this work by uplifting and advancing Black women in Hamilton County.

All-In Cincinnati was born out of a 2015 Policy Link Conference. It was formalized as a coalition in 2017 and released its first report in 2018. That report highlights some major areas where racial inequities exists in Hamilton County, Ohio: health, housing, education, economic mobility and justice.

Executive Director Denisha Porter was charged with moving the policy and advocacy agenda forward for All-In Cincinnati in 2019. Telling the truth about racial equity in Hamilton County from the perspective of Black women is a key initiative. All-In Cincinnati also promotes racial healing by bringing people together and having honest dialogue about systemic racism from a shared perspective. By embracing the lived experiences of Black women, critical conversations improve understanding and increase awareness of issues to a broader audience.

The organization promotes campaigns to honor, celebrate and love Black women. Storytelling through written and multimedia content communicates the stories of Black women in various settings where rampant discrimination exists.

“Listening to the stories may be uncomfortable to hear, but it’s important to know when your neighbor is experiencing incidents of discrimination and system racism,” Porter says.

To further highlight the stories of Black women, All-In Cincinnati collaborated with the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Ohio to create a two-part docuseries titled “Can You Hear Us?” The series premiered during Cincinnati’s 3rd Annual National Day of Racial Healing in January 2023. Over 700 people attended the hybrid event. While collective racial healing and appreciating the experiences of Black women is an integral step toward racial justice, it is just the first step.

All-In Cincinnati encourages allies to remain educated on the issues and step into advocacy work for Black women. It provides resources and information to equip its partners, members, civic organizations and business community to take action. All-In Cincinnati will release its first racial equity toolkit to advance policy and advocacy work this year.

Porter and her teammates at All-In are already making a difference. A Kroger partnership changed a federal law to help customers shop online for groceries using SNAP benefits or EBT cards. All-In Cincinnati also placed community health workers in nontraditional settings to immediately address the social determinants of health, and endorsed Cincinnati Preschool Promise and the Transportation levy. The coalition is championing practical policy transformation and focusing its legislative power to create opportunities for Black women to prosper. Future economic mobility goals include improving quality career pathways and increasing access to jobs for Black women facing obstacles to employment.

Through All-In Cincinnati and its partners, Black women’s voices are being lifted up and given the space to share their experiences and identify opportunities for improvement.

“There is strength in numbers,” Porter says. “All-In Cincinnati is creating a more equitable Hamilton County, where Black women are at the center of systems change and leadership. Our work would not be possible without our generous funders and the expertise from our Coalition.”

Want to get involved with All-In Cincinnati? Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 3 p.m. For more information, email denisha.porter@allincincnnati.org or visit gcfdn.org/allincincinnati.

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