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Three months after an April 2001 police shooting of a fleeing black man triggered three nights of rioting in Cincinnati, a handful of African-American groups called for a boycott of all shops, restaurants, businesses and conventions from the river to Central Parkway, from Interstate 75 to I-71. The purpose: Call attention to issues of economic inequality and force improvements in police-community relations. The downtown boycott plodded along with little impact until February 2002, when actor-comedian Bill Cosby canceled a downtown show. Other celebrities and musicians followed, including R&B bands the Temptations and the O'Jays, Motown legend Smokey Robinson, actress Whoopi Goldberg, jazz-trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and film director Spike Lee. The boycott - amid a sluggish economy - hurt the city's $3.4 billion-a-year travel and tourism industry. Three years after a boycott of downtown restaurants, hotels and events was announced, business is as brisk as ever. No one is saying the boycott is over, but it has clearly lost its clout. Top performers like Usher and Prince regularly draw thousands of fans downtown. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a new riverfront stop. Convention bookings this year are on pace to finish well ahead of last year's. No major convention has honored the boycott since the Urban League pulled out in July 2002. [more

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