Cincinnati NAACP rises again to host convention

But these days, unified and revived, the branch is set to host the national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's from July 12 to 17.

Presumptive presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are expected to address more than 8,000 delegates from the nation's oldest civil rights organization.

Since Christopher Smitherman took over leadership of the chapter last year, membership has nearly tripled, from about 750 members to about 2,000.

The 40-year-old has pushed for the appointment of blacks to a steering committee for riverfront development and joined an unlikely coalition of anti-taxers, environmentalists and the Libertarian Party to defeat a proposal to build a new jail.

This year, he's heading a petition drive fighting deployment of red-light cameras and a movement to create proportional representation on the City Council.

Smitherman was elected to one term in 2003, two years after riots prompted by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer. Days before Smitherman was sworn in, a black man died in police custody in a fast-food restaurant's parking lot.

Smitherman took the police and the chief to task and was turned out after one term. He believes he was falsely labeled and maligned because police officials were not used to having their account of events questioned.

"I thought my questioning was very appropriate," Smitherman said. "The subject matter, oftentimes, made people in Cincinnati uncomfortable."

Mike Allen, the Hamilton County prosecutor at the time and a former police officer, once called Smitherman a "smart-mouthed little punk."