A religious group has reversed an earlier decision and decided to join forces with the organizers of the boycott on Cincinnati.
Member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention announced Saturday that it would not bring it's 10,000 members to Cincinnati this summer.
The cancellation of the convention, scheduled for August, was announced at the birthday celebration for the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.
WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Anu Prakash reported that officials believe that Cincinnati is not a convention-friendly city, and that the climate has worsened in recent months. They also said that city leaders have not responded to their call for change.
"I am pained to report that none of those recommendations have been positively responded to," the Rev. Otis Moss said. "Because of that we cannot come to Cincinnati at this time."
The convention would have brought an estimated $7 million to the city.
Prakash reported that Progressive National Baptist Convention leaders said that the city has not made enough progress toward healing.
The Rev. Venchael Booth, who launched the convention in 1961, backs the boycott.
"It saddens me that the convention that started here cannot come back to Cincinnati at this time, but I recognize that the leadership of our convention has a charge to keep, and that charge is to live up to its reputation for integrity and human justice. Therefore, I have to be with them," Booth said.
Martin Luther King III said that the city must find a way to come together.
"Whatever it takes to create the condition where Cincinnati treats all of its citizens with dignity and respect, we are prepared to do," King said.
Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said that he wasn't surprised by the cancelation.
"Ever since we first met with them, I felt like this would happen," Luken said. "It's a loss to the businesses in town. I know a lot of people were trying to keep them here, but all I can say is we have to move on."
Prakash reported that it's unclear where the convention will be held.
Leaders said that they hope to hold the convention in Cincinnati again, but not until there's progress toward racial harmony, Prakash reported.
The Progressive National Baptist Convention has 2.5 million members and 1,100 churches throughout the world.
The group mentioned several specific reasons for pulling the convention including: "the killing of an unarmed African American young man, the random shooting in the crowd of unarmed people at a funeral by Cincinnati police officers, the lack of convictions or reprimands of those who committed these acts, the lack of the complete acceptance of the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Justice by the city, and the continued curfew in downtown Cincinnati."
Boycott organizers said that their efforts, which have already been successful in keeping Bill Cosby, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, The O'Jays and Wynton Marsalis away from the city, will also include this summer's jazz festival.