Cincinnati, OH - For years, teens and young adults from Over-the-Rhine and the West End have battled it out over turf lines, but one man’s dream of opening a neighborhood center where everyone could hang out together is helping blur the lines and bring some peace to the streets. The center is called “Elementz” and it sits at the corner of Central Avenue and Liberty Street in the West End.

21-year-old Frank Morris of Cumminsville is putting the finishing touches on his album. The rapper, who goes by “Young Nitty,” says Elementz is a place that’s taken him out of his element and taught him about respect, but not the kind you try to get on the street through violence.  

“How to treat people, how to talk. I was raised up down in the OTR, so we all know how it is down here and the way that people talk, so being raised up in that and coming out of that to being able to actually open up and speak without using that type of vocabulary has been a great for me,” he said.

In exchange for free studio time, Morris and the others must learn to change their ways. There are signs posted in the hallway about the rules, saying no drugs and no foul language, and there’s even free legal help for those who are trying to clean up their act.

The founder and director of Elementz, 34-year-old Islord Allah, said it was the riots that motivated him to put his dream into motion. “I mean, the riots were violent, but to be honest, so was the death of Timothy Thomas,” he said.

“I saw this movie when I was young called break into electric bugaloo,” he said. “And in the movie it was a center called Miracles. I always thought it would be neat to have something like that in my community when I was that age. When I got to an age to organize something and put that together, that’s how Elementz came to be brought about.”

Some may think Hyde Park teen Max goes there for graffiti art classes. “Like probably for the first day they looked at me kind of weird,” he said. “And then when they knew I was cool they were just like okay whatever. It’s not like I’m scared or something.”

Since signing up at Elementz, Max says he’s painted several murals around town. “Young Nitty” has performed in Memphis for a rally honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, and 16-year-old Mecca Freeman of Clifton is on her way to a second call back audition as a backup dancer for R&B singer Ciara.

“I promote a family environment,” said Allah. “And people you wouldn’t really see getting along with each other on the outside of Elementz, when they come here they learn how to realize that no matter what side of the map or what side of the neighborhood, we come here, we’re all the same black men and women and we come together it’s all about music. By me putting that out in the center, it transfers out in their daily lives.”

Elementz continues to open doors and allow people to realize their dream, if only for a few minutes. Elementz is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. The teens and young adults don’t have to pay to use the dance and recording studios, but the director says they need help keeping the doors open.

To learn more about Elementz or how to make a donation, click here. The director says the program is proving so successful, other cities want to copy the format.

Source:
WCPO