Six Days in Cincinnati: A Graphic Account of the Riots That Shook the Nation a Decade Before Black Lives Matter

by Dan P. Moore

This is the graphic history of the 2001 Cincinnati riots, told for the first time from the perspective of the participants. When Timothy Thomas, a 19 year old black man, was fatally shot by police, the city broke out into nonviolent civil disobedience that was met with further police violence. This was the first major uprising of the 21st Century, matched only the LA riots a decade before and the protests in Ferguson over a decade later. Author and illustrator Dan Mendez Moore was 17 at the time and participated in the six days of protests that shook the city between Thomas's death and his funeral. Mendez Moore's comics journalism account sensitively captures a fiery moment in U.S. history through interviews with protestors, community leaders, bystanders, and a frustrated looter. He portrays the tension of a city boiling over, political leaders taking advantage, and an inner-city community coming together. Six Days in Cincinnati is an all-American story of systemic racism and the power of popular movements, more relevant today than ever before.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, History, Comics, Race, Politics, Memoir

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you don’t know how big a deal an event will be in the shaping of history when you are going through it. I’m thinking of battles in Vietnam that were important to the outcome of the war, such as the battle of Hamburger Hill, which was just one battle, but turned out to be something we look back on as a turning point. Such is sort of the case with the 2001 riots in Cincinnati, which Dan Moore lived through; in this slim graphic history of a city among many living through daily racial violence Moore tells his own experience of six key days of unrest in his city. He also conducts oral history interviews with a small number of people who also lived through those days, then creating graphic history of that time from his perspective. He even talks to one of the looters in the process.

The “civil disorder” happened in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of downtown Cincinnati. The single event that finally caused it to erupt was the police shooting of Timothy Thomas, but there had been several police shootings of civilians before this in Cincy. And all over this country, happening all the time. And killing OF police, too. If you want to/have the time look into it the Cincy situation a bit more, here’s a Wikipedia article about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinn...

Moore’s book reminds me of the politically invested journalism of Joe Sacco (Palestine, Footnotes in Gaza) in its focus on a smaller aspect of a larger struggle that would emerge in the Black Lives Matter political activism. It’s comics-as-reportage, and seems honest in its exploration of mistakes made that he and his interviewees wrestle with here. It’s a story of systemic racism and what one city did about it, with some success, before Ferguson. It’s the story of the first major uprising of this century, reminding one of LA a decade before and Ferguson a decade after.

I liked it and learned a lot. I think there should be hundreds of such books documenting the history of a place and time, so we can remember and change the way we do things. It’s that history-repeating-itself point, you know. And it will anyway, but maybe will happen a little less if we actually study the past to prepare for the future.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was originally published as Mark Twain Was Right: The 2001 Cincinnati Riots by Dan P. Moore. The "P." apparently stands for "Méndez". And this isn't a reprint. They literally took existing copies of Mark Twain Was Right and slapped new covers on them. The first page inside the front cover of Six Days is the original front cover of Twain. The first page inside the new back cover is the original back cover, complete with original ISBN (a different one, I might add, from the Six Days version.) It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen. There's probably an interesting story behind that ...

The subtitle sums it up. Timothy Thomas, a young black man living in Cincinnati was shot and killed by the police, the fifteenth consecutive such shooting in a short span of time. His death sparked protests and riots as people clamored for answers and justice. Moore was attending high school at the time, and provides an eyewitness account, as well as interviewing others for their perspective. The result is a lovely graphic novel very much in the vein of artists like Seth Tobocman and Spain Rodriguez, among others. If his drawing style is somewhat crude, the story is powerful enough to carry things along.

One striking technique used is a nine panel grid telling Thomas' life that begins each day. We begin with eight black panels and Thomas' bleeding body in the last. Each day repeats this page, with some of the black panels filled in with scenes of his life, until the entire grid is filled by the end of the book. It's a nice technique that I don't recall seeing before. Recommended!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Days In Cincinnati (originally titled Mark Twain Was Right: The 2001 Cincinnati Riots) tells the story of the 2001 Cincinnati Riots following the death of Timothy Thomas at the hands of police.

As a piece of comics journalism, this is incredibly effective. Dan Moore tells the story as a person who was there, but also interviewed many of those involved from a wide variety of perspectives. The story is well told, and well put together. I knew basically nothing about this before reading this other than that it happened, and I feel like I learned a lot. It's a quick and easy read, which makes it easy to learn from. The day by day break down of events made it much easier to absorb. I wasn't overly keen on the art style, which was just not to my taste, but it was serviceable.

Overall this was an excellent read, and I felt like I learned a lot from it. If Moore releases anything else, I would read it. It also has me interested in other work released by Microcosm Publishing. I definitely recommend it for anyone teen and up, particularly for those interested in this particular event, for those who enjoy nonfiction comics, and those thirsting for more information about the history of police brutality against POC in the US.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a full review, please see my review of Six Days in Cincinnati by Dan Méndez Moore.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great win from FirstReads. I was pretty clueless about this at the time it happened. I wish there events had made Black Lives Matter unnecessary, that we had learned the right lessons over a decade ago. Sadly, the same issues still exist. These was an interesting look at the events of 2001. I look forward to more non-fiction graphic novels like this one.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book. I feel like I've learned a lot about Cincinnati in general.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick comic book from the perspective of a teenager who attended Walnut Hills High School at the time of the 2001 Cincinnati riots. Some of the story is based on personal involvement in protests and interviews with other participants. Not too in depth, so I'll need to read Behind The Lines: The Untold Story of the Cincinnati Riots too.

The title of this book comes from a rather apocryphal quote attributed to Mark Twain: "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always 10 [sometimes 20] years behind the times." The author Dan Moore was using this comparing Cincinnati's 2001 riots as lagging behind the upheaval in Los Angeles a decade prior. However, in many ways, Cincinnati is actually ahead of the curve. 15 men, some unarmed, some armed, died from police action in the years leading up to 2001 riots. In the United States, unfortunately, these events are not rare, and often have only been deemed worthy of reporting if civil unrest or violence result afterwards.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't love the art and narration, but I have to admire the interviews and the treatment of something that mattered so much and is so easily forgotten. It is horrifying that there could have been protest and riots over the police killing Black men in 2001, and that it could still seem like a (relatively) new issue in 2017. Even knowing that a few months later something was going to happen that was going to capture everyone's attention and override other discussions, it still feels like we have gotten something horribly wrong. I guess that's more than a feelings. So if the conclusion to the comic is unsatisfactory, how could it be otherwise?

[Mike Dennisuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel account of the 2001 riots and unrest in Cincinnati. It is easily read in one sitting and offers a slice of the history of the Over-the-Rhine section of the city. Troubled times are graphically brought to life. Well done!

[Katrine Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This caught my eye as an alternate view of the Cincinnati race riots years ago, from the perspective of those closest to the riots, not the media and not the police. Was thoughtful. The artistry was only ok for a graphic novel, but it got the point across.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Police violence and race relations are important topics, and the passion and energy of the creator help this example of street journalism rise above his unpolished art and writing. I do wish he hadn't inserted himself into the narrative quite so much, as he was mostly a bystander who watched the action on the news. I would rather that space had been devoted to more details about the riots and their aftermath.

I find it odd that this book seems to consist of a brand new cover literally glued over the cover of some publisher overstock from an edition released five years ago. The book was originally called Mark Twain Was Right: The 2001 Cincinnatti Riots, and the author previously presented himself as Dan P. Moore. The old ISBN printed on the old back cover is 978-1-934620-21-2. I can see the publisher's desire to revive interest in the book by tying it into the Black Lives Matter movement, but the slipshod nature of the reissue comes off as a bit cynical and cheap.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later." (Mark Twain)

Ignited by the police killing of Timothy Thomas, the Cincinnati riots broke out ten years after the 1991 police beating of Rodney King and the L.A. riots.

Dan P. Moore's graphic novel reports some of the story from his direct observation, and the rest through a series of flashback interviews with others who were directly involved. Read more

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic telling of popular uprisings in Cincinnati in 2001 in the wake of the police murder of a young black man that followed several police shootings. There are some nice graphic elements: the particulars of Timothy Thomas' story are captured in a nine frame motif that is revealed out of order over the course of the week that is depicted in the book; Moore places himself as the narrator while also giving voice to several others who were there by devoting several frames or even pages to their first person stories - he captures a range of perspectives this way.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also published under the title “Mark Twain Was Right: The 2001 Cincinnati Riots,” this short comic was informative and personal, with lots of eyewitness accounts. It reminded me of Joe Sacco’s Palestine, looking at a situation through individual stories of those who were there. I’d like to see this as part of a larger collection documenting other incidents, but ad a stand alone piece of comics journalism, it’s good.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very personal, and at the same time pretty good reportage and, to me, totally new info about a place I have spent plenty of time. I realize there was an agenda in it, but I could have used even more, just to guide the narrative to a satisfying end. Of course, the ending of the story isn't satisfying, so trying to get that out of it might have rung false.

[Suzanne Dix · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really liked this slim recount of the 2001 Cincinnati riots, I felt that so much more needed to be explained. For someone not alive at that time, too young to remember or a recent transplant to Cincinnati, there is too much insider information and not enough explanation but I do understand the mission was to write a memoir, not a nonfiction text.

Grade 8 and up.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting way to portray this event in history. Certainly much of what happened lends itself to the format of graphic novel. I don't think it is a completely unbiased version of what happened but most history is written from the author's perspective.

I received this book as part of a good reads giveaway but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book three stars for it's intention was good. And having experienced the curfew and having witnessed some of the rioting, this story is close to home. Mr. Moore's drawing skills are not that strong, but I feel he did a terrific job within his means.

[Sheralee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting telling of the protest in Cincinnati. If you don't know what happened then I highly advice looking it up. If not, it's hard to make sense of the book. Confusing without prior knowledge, I googled the riots.

[Laura Beam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative! I didn't know anything about the police shooting of Timothy Thomas and the protests that took place in Cincinnati in the early 2000s. Though I didn't love the illustration style, I found this book engaging and enlightening about the histories that we sometimes do not talk about.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really dug this -- important, effective storytelling from a compelling perspective.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the stuff I look for when I select materials.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak narration. less than mediocre art. Interesting topic!

[David Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent graphic novel about rioting after cops shot a fleeing unarmed black man. The art is passable, but the substance of the events is pretty relevant.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first-hand account in graphic-novel format of the March 2001 nonviolent protests of a young Black man’s death at the hands of Cincinnati police, that were met with police violence. The story is told by a white young man, aged 17, who is an anti-corporate activist in the "Over The Rhine" neighborhood. He helps with food at homeless shelters and goes to protests against free trade business dialogues, etc. When police shoot and kill Timothy Thomas in a vacant lot, as he is running away from them because he has warrants for small inconsequential things, Dan gets involved in the marches started by local pastors, that end up in violence. There are quotes from several other protestors, pastors, and witnesses, Black and white, as well as what Moore saw, to fill out the narrative.

The illustrations are amateurish but work fine for the topic; they are black and white and the book is in a small comics format, so some of the illustrations are very tiny, that's my only complaint. I liked how the chapters were broken down by the days of the week following the murder--each had the same grid of 9 black squares, with the bottom corner square showing a drawing of the victim. The grid gets filled in with a new little drawing for each chapter, gradually filling in the "complete picture," literally and figuratively, of the incident. This was the first major civil uprising of the 21st century, a decade after the L.A. riots and a decade before Ferguson, MO.

[Colleen Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a choppy read and hard to follow at first, even for a graphic novel. However, for a non-Cincinnatian it was very informative. It was based on a neighborhood in Over-the-Rhine, and really took me back to my time spent there as a teacher.

Favorite Line: "In the history book of Over-the-Rhine, Timothy Thomas' chapter must be included."
*We cannot forget our past, no matter how painful or disasterous!

[Declan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting reflection and overview of the riots in Cincinnati in 2001. As someone from the UK this didn't really impact me at the time, but it is a very interesting way to display the story and the unfolding events from someone who was there.

Using interviews with key people behind the events (a precursor to the BLM movement), the comic also documents what was done wrong (both by Police and by the demonstrators) and is an interesting view on race relations within the US. A timely read.

[Tamela Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Graphic stories are a special art form. I read this one after reading the traditional account in Behind the Lines by Peter Bronson.

While I wasn't able to weave all the story lines together, I appreciate the author's first-person account. He depicts what led to the death of Timothy Thomas in an evolving nine-panel story at the beginning of each day in the uprising—effective storytelling. Bravo.

[Ondine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Columbus, OH and was about 20 years old during the Cincinnati riots. The news we were getting from the mainstream media at the time was biased in favor of the police and I never quite understood what was happening. This graphic novel is a great short read for anyone interested in understanding what happened back in 2001.

[Kate Mester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting first person account (the author was a teen at the time) of the uprisings in Cincinnati in 2001. The art was just ok but a repeating panel showing more squares of the story filled in each day was a standout. This would be a quick read to kick off discussions around protests against systemic police violence for 8th to HS.