Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I am married to Lauren Shockley-Smith and we have two wonderful teenage girls who we are super proud of! We spend every minute we can outside camping, hiking, chillin on the beach.
Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
As a former professor of Black Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, I found the need to take my learnings beyond the classroom in an effort to build stronger, more equitable relationships that will benefit the greater community. It has become a wonderful combination of teaching and learning from each other.
I am currently directing the Queens Village work at Cradle Cincinnati, where we focus on lowering the infant mortality rate and boost maternal health in Cincinnati. Even though we are here to educate and help resolve real issues, we are dedicated to listening as well. By building trust, we also build relationships that strengthen this community.
What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Darou Salam, Katch the Kitchen, Melt Revival, and The Littlefield… Northside represent!
How long have you lived or worked in our community?
Close to 15 years.
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Ryan Adcock (Executive Director at Cradle Cincinnati). I mean really find me another white man who hires a Black woman and gives her complete autonomy to work on racism in Cincinnati in settings he never enters. I had been told ‘no’ and been turned away – undervalued, until he hired me. And beyond interesting anomaly, he is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Shout out to the man (no pun intended).
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Tanzania! I haven’t been to the continent of Africa and I really want to see Killamanjaro National Park, Serengeti National Park, and the beach. So many bio regions to explore. And I really have a pull to start exploring that continent and learn more about my ancestors.
What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I love documentaries. I am all about education so if I have to sit still, which is not my strong suit I might as well be learning. The first one that comes to mind is 13th.
What advice would you give to people?
Dream big. Take risks.
What is something on your bucket list?
So many places to visit and so many people to meet on my bucket list. I really want to see equity change.
What is your go to music when you cant decide what to listen to?
India Arie is my go to every time. She has been the soundtrack and to my life. Her music is everything!
What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
The old gay bars. But happy to see Good Judy’s here in Northside!
If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you meet for this lunch?
Monica Raye Simpson. She is powerhouse in the work reproductive justice. She is also a talented artist with an energy I can just bask in. I want to study at her feet and amplify the work we are both passionate about. We would eat at Conscious Kitchen. Good food that accounts for vegetarians and vegans and doesn’t lose the soul. That’s a Black owned restaurant for ya, love my people!
What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?*
I love how we come together for others.
There is a great example of this captured in a short film by Jarrod Cann called “GOOD WHITE PEOPLE.” The film focuses on a man named “Brother Teacher”, aka, Reginald Stroud who operated a kung-fu school and a convenience store in Over-the-Rhine called “Anybody’s Dream.” Ultimately Reginald and his family were forced out of the area to make way for the new version of OTR. The story goes like this . . .
In the Spring of 2001, the African-American community of Over-the-Rhine in downtown Cincinnati arose in protest after unarmed 19-year-old, Timothy Thomas, was killed by a white officer named Steven Roach. In the years following, in order to allure prospective residents, Over-the-Rhine was swept into a new narrative of safety and whiteness by the creation of an arts and brewery district for the creative class.
While it’s “dangerous and inconvenient” Black history is revitalized from existence, property values rise with presence of police, tax abatements, and zoning amendments to serve and protect those properties. Filmed during the peak of Over-the-Rhine’s urban renewal, GOOD WHITE PEOPLE follows the story of Reginald Stroud who runs a karate school and candy store in the storefronts beneath the apartment he and his family have called home for over 10 years. When a for-profit developer purchases the building they rent, Reginald and his family are told they must vacate the building and are given only 45 days to find a new home and relocate their businesses while their neighborhood makes way for start-up incubators, yoga studios, and luxury condominiums. Formerly a target of the policies created by the War On Drugs, Cincinnati’s inner-city is now the target of urban development corporations as its black population declines. GOOD WHITE PEOPLE hopes to start a conversation about the use of coded terminology like urban renewal, revitalization, and urban renaissance, and explore how these words help to trivialize and disguise the commercial practice of white supremacy, neocolonialism, and the economic othering of low-income residents.
Here are some links on Reginald and his family getting pushed out:
GOOD WHITE PEOPLE
Reginald Stroud’s corner store & kung-fu school (go fund me page)
A short article about Reginald’s displacement (citybeat)
A follow up film a couple years later (Jinen-Do)
Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?*
In 5-10 years I hope to be spreading the Queens Village model that centers the people who will benefit from the work being done in other fields.
What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I played the xylophone in Red Square in Russia.
What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
Culebra Puerto, Rico
What is your favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
April because it reminds me that the torture of winter will eventually end.
Pride! It is a comforting and joyous thing to be celebrating the LGBTQ community with my family and a community of allies. It isn’t always easy to be a queer Black women in Cincinnati but on that day it sure is.
What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
The park systems. I love to explore and run in the parks. They have been a true gift during quarantine.
Who inspires you to be better?
The community inspires me. The work I do for and with Black women drives me to be my best self. I continually reflect on my mistakes so I can strive to support changes that are sustainable in our community.
What is one or two of your favorite smells?
Coffee, bourbon and my mama’s cookin’!=
Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Loving on family and friends (which often overlap), Restful and Re-powering
Meredith received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati in Educational Studies. As the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Strategies at Cradle Cincinnati and Queens Village, she seeks to work with Black women to co-create sustainable communities that help to reduce stress and in turn lower infant mortality in Cincinnati communities. She is also back in academia with an Assistant Field Professor appointment at the University of Cincinnati Medical School.
