Just home from a truly diverse and delightful event! Over-the-Rhine Community Housing held its fourth annual Celebrating Our Beloved Community at Music Hall’s Ballroom.
Franciscan priest Fr. Greg Friedman, on the Board of OTRCH, emceed the event – and the first group he introduced was performers from Elementz, a hip-hop organization in OTR/West End. Diversity right there – and then it turned out that two of the Elementz performers, one a singer/guitar player and the other a hip-hop artist, were Caucasian youth. Very good at it, too. The guitarist teamed with a wonderful singer and her 5-year-old daughter, who is already an incredible dancer. Then the dance troupe performed – and brought us all to our feet, applauding in appreciation.
The speaker for the event, ibrahim abdul-matin, from Brooklyn, has written Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. An excellent energy-filled speaker. A number of members of Cincinnati’s Muslim community were present, as were members of every facet of the community development industry in the region, lots of neighborhood folk, plenty of bankers, folk of every shade, persuasion and belief system.
The energy was great, the food good, love and positive energy filled the air. A great evening!