Interview with Joseph Wilmers, November 26, 2017

Interview Summary

Joe Wilmers shares his experience working as a social worker at the Washington Park School and the School of Creative and Performing Arts from the 1990s to 2004. He describes the respect and warmth he felt for the students and families he worked with who faced difficult circumstances in the neighborhood. He talks about the crime, public drug deals, lockdowns in schools, and what he views as the inadequate public safety protection provided to the mostly Black community and students in the 1990s. He touches on his efforts to cross divides by bringing in successful people to talk to and mentor Washington Park students, as well as the impact of the civil unrest of 2001 after Timothy Thomas was killed by Officer Stephan Roach. Joe considers it his mission to educate people about the loss of Washington Park School and good people who lived and worked and went to school in Over-the-Rhine during the years he was there. He also reflects on the reunion of the first teachers at Washington Park School when it opened in 1958 who talked about working with white Appalachian students who were new to the city.

Interview Keyword

civil unrest of 2001 in Over-the-Rhine gentrification in Over-the-Rhine social work in Over-the-Rhine drugs and crime in 1990s Over-the-Rhine Washington Park School School for Performing and Creative Arts

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