"Lunch and Learn" Series celebrating Black History Month featuring Local Legend, Mrs. P. Jeane Goings, Wednesday, February 25, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Cincinnati City Hall, Room 115, First Floor

In honor of Black History Month, Councilmember Yvette Simpson and the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC) will feature Mrs. P. Jeane Goings, Wednesday, February 25, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, at Cincinnati City Hall, 801 Plum Street, Room 115, First Floor. Learn about the barriers this trailblazer has broken and discuss the work that remains to be done.  The community is invited to bring your lunch and converse with this Black living legend.

This event is FREE and OPEN to the public.

Immediately following the discussion, Mrs. Goings will be presented with a Resolution from the City in City Council Chambers. Join us for this remarkable occasion.

About Mrs. P. Jeane Goings

P. Jeane Goings was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of a former Kentucky state representative and a teacher. She moved to Cincinnati in 1954 after earning a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and fell in love with and married William Goings, a local pharmacist and World War II Army veteran. Ms. Goings and her husband moved to Kennedy Heights more than 50 years ago. They were among the first African-American families to venture into the neighborhood that actively courted integration amid the civil rights struggles of the late 1950s. They raised three children, all of whom are successful adults who followed the family’s lead of service to others, religion and education.

Ms. Goings encountered racism on her first job in Cincinnati in the 1950s when she discovered that the agency for which she worked was using inequitable pay scales that were based on both the race and gender of its employees. She fought to bring about change. After this job, she served as Director of Social Services for Children’s Home, Inc. of Cincinnati for more than 20 years and was instrumental in placing over 1,000 children in caring homes with an eye toward bridging racial constraints.

During the 1960’s, P. Jeane Goings, along with her husband, was instrumental in founding the Kennedy Heights Community Council, which is actively involved in Block Watch and zoning issues, advocating for good neighborhood schools, and bridging racial differences. She was among the core group who founded the Kennedy Heights Arts Center more than 10 years ago. This group raised $40,000 needed to match a $50,000 grant from the City of Cincinnati to secure the old Kennedy mansion on Montgomery Road and to ensure development of a future arts center that continues to thrive to this day. 

Ms. Goings, the only President of the YWCA Board of Directors to serve three terms, became involved in 1977 through her participation in the committee that established the first battered women shelter in our community and was instrumental in helping to launch and complete the YWCA’s capital campaign that made a new and expanded shelter for battered women and the renovation of the YWCA’s historic downtown headquarters possible.

Ms. Goings lives by the motto “To those whom much is given, much is expected.” For nearly 55 years, she has tirelessly given her time to dozens of Cincinnati boards and community organizations, including The Wellness Community of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, YWCA, League of Women Voters, NAACP, Charter Party, Mental Health Northwest, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Maple Knoll Village, Cincinnati Links, Hamilton County Children’s Service Commission, and the Caring Place, a Kennedy Heights church coalition helping people who need food, clothing, furniture, rent or utility assistance.

She has received numerous awards for her commitment to service, including the YWCA Racial Justice Award, the Urban League’s Glorifying the Lions Award, The Wellness Community Award, the Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s Kennedy Award, Cincinnati Enquirer “Woman of the Year” Award, the NAACP Black Family Award, and the inclusion of her name on the National Wall of Tolerance, which is part of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.

About the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission

CHRC was established in November of 1943 as The Mayor's Friendly Relations Committee. The goal was to appoint a committee that represented various racial, industrial and religious groups to make sure all groups felt a part of their communities and supported one another in the city of Cincinnati. As time passed the name was changed to CHRC and the mission grew to target a much larger issue, discrimination. Thus, the agency's mission is "to help our community to overcome prejudice and discrimination, build mutual respect and understanding, and to become more harmonious and cohesive."

The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is a non-profit organization. For additional information on how you can support CHRC and its programs, please contact Executive Director, Ericka King-Betts, PhD at 513-352-3237.