Letter to NAACP president re: Ohio prosecutor + racist/assassination jokes

Benjamin T. Jealous, President and CEO
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215

Dear Mr. Jealous:

We're writing to request your help regarding published claims that Joe Deters, the County Prosecutor here in Hamilton County, shared assassination and racist jokes about President Barack Obama.

Our region has the dubious distinction of being home to The Whistleblower, a daily internet publication which the Cincinnati Enquirer recently described as a "gossipy newsletter that ranges from politically incorrect to outright racist." Jim Schifrin, a local character who writes under the pen name "Charles Foster Kane" (photo), has been putting out The Whistleblower for almost two decades. It's littered with racial, anti-gay, and misogynistic slurs. For example, from Cincinnati CityBeat:

(Schifrin has) called Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory a "gay darkie" and called Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Rosa Blackwell "mammy" and "Mrs. Buckwheat." Presumably, "Buckwheat" refers to Mrs. Blackwell's  husband, Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State.

If Mr. Schifrin publishes garbage and others choose to read it, that's their business. But if elected officials are involved, the public has a right to know which is why we're writing you. For years, Schifrin has repeatedly published claims that he and Prosecutor Joe Deters are regular lunch partners. Those claims became considerably more serious last year during the national NAACP convention in Cincinnati when Schifrin wrote that he and Mr. Deters shared racist jokes about then-Senator Obama:

At the time, Deters was SW Ohio chairman for Sen. John McCain's campaign and we managed to catch up with him the next day at a McCain for President rally. As seen in this video, he refused to deny the claim, saying it was his "personal life" and ordered us "to get that camera out of my face":

Six months later, just a few days before President Obama's inauguration, Schifrin reported another lunch date with Deters at which they allegedly shared this string of assassination jokes:

We then wrote this public letter to Deters asking him to confirm or deny the report. We never received a reply. Since then, we've solicited and published statements from officials across the political spectrum who have unequivocally denounced the assassination jokes and/or other trash published in The Whistleblower, and have urged Deters to clear the air. These officals include former White House Budget Director Rob Portman (R); Hamilton County Commissioners Todd Portune (D), David Pepper (D), and Greg Hartmann (R); Cincinnati City Council members Greg Harris (D) and Roxanne Qualls (D); Hamilton County Republican/Democratic Party Chairmen Alex Triantafilou/Tim Burke and others. (Click their names to read what they had to say.)

We have a longstanding collegial relationship with Cincinnati NAACP chapter president Chris Smitherman and since last year we've repeatedly asked if he'd contact Deters and try to get some answers. Mr. Smitherman seemed like the logical person to ask, especially considering this August 25, 2008 NAACP press release:

Smitherman proposes that the Criminal Justice System in Hamilton County is not just broken, it is racist. The Cincinnati NAACP continues to illuminate why so many African Americans in Hamilton County have no confidence or trust in Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, or the criminal justice system. "The African American community is just tired of the double standards," Smitherman announced.

In contrast to other officials who promptly responded to our inquiries, Mr. Smitherman has failed to respond to numerous inquiries. In an attempt to give him every opportunity, a few days ago one of our writers even phoned his radio show and asked on-air if he would write to Deters. After having had months to review the issues, Smitherman replied, "I don't know. I have not decided whether I'm going to." Here's an audio clip.

Monday we sent Smitherman a last-attempt request, but haven't received an answer. Under the circumstances, we're bringing this to your attention in hopes that the NAACP will get involved and demand some answers from our county's chief legal representative.

Thanks very much for your time and consideration. We would gratefully appreciate some indication by next week whether or not the NAACP intends to get involved.

Sincerely,

Justin P. Jeffre and The Dean of Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Beacon
e-mail: [e-mail],
[e-mail]
vm/FAX: [phone]