The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 22

B-6MetrO THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Sunday. August 5, 1990 MO CELEBRATING A 7Y7 YTH A I II I If II UlUVJ 1 ft C7 A parade kicked off activities Saturday at the Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion. From downtown to Sawyer Point, visitors enjoyed food, music and went to pavilions where issues concerning black families were discussed. Activities also included the signing of a Sister Cities agreement between Cincinnati and Harare, Zimbabwe. The reunion, expected to attract about 200,000 people, concludes today with activities running from 2 to 5 p.m.

ww 'if 1 i 1 i i iTT? ill i Mi Ji Austin Levy of New Orleans watches the downtown parade. -1-, Bobby Knight, a member of the Woodward High School marching band, keeps the beat on his bass drum during Saturday's parade celebrating the Black Family Reunion. Dancing to the beat of drummers behind them, students from Withrow High School take part in the opening parade. Donna Brayboy, right, unexpectedly meets her friend Alicia Thompson-Lynem and is introduced to 18-month-old Briana Lynem. Patricia Kitchen, 16, of College Hill braves the rain Saturday at the Black Family Reunion with her family under plastic and umbrellas.

fJ- Harare newest link Cincinnati adds sister city in Africa BY FAITH PENNTCK and JIM CALHOUN The Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati added a member to its international family Saturday when Harare, Zimbabwe, became a sister city. "We love you Cincinnati. We love your people. We love your state. We feel Cincinnati is our second home." said Simon Chikwavaire, lord mayor in the southern African city.

As a summer rain drenched Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point, dignitaries signed a Declaration of Friendship meant to foster cultural and economic ties. Signers included Chikwavaire, Cincinnati Mayor Charles J. Luken and Stanislaus Chigwedere, ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United States. Luken called for exchanges of business, cultural and educational representatives between the two cities. Harare is the Queen City's fifth sister city, and its first in Africa.

Other sister cities are Munich, Germany; Gifu, Japan; Kharkov, Soviet Union; and Liuzhou, China. Formerly known as Rhodesia, the predominantly black country of Zimbabwe did not gain full independence from its colonial ruler, Great Britain, until 1980. Before independence, there was constant fighting between the white minority and black Africans who wanted their share of the country's governance and economic opportunities. Now the capital city of Harare, population about 700,000, is widely known for its olive oil and machine tool industries, the latter of which Cincinnati is also famous for. The Cincinnati-Harare Sister City Committee is part of Africa Focus Project Cincinnati, which initiated the idea of an African sister city more than a year ago.

Corrine Kinebrew, an Africa Focus Project member, said the Cincinnati-Harare sisterhood will create a "mutual exchange of commerce, cultural and educational understanding." Shirley Murdoch, left, and Melba Moore were among the highlights at the Black Family Reunion, singing despite the threat of ram. PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY LANDERS, MARY ANNETTE PEMBER THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER The Cincinnati Enquire? Gary Landers Stanislaus Chigwedere, left, and E.C.M. Kanengoni present plaques..