Covington author and activist Kareem Simpson has a new book out titled “Hidden History of Black Cincinnati.” Published by The History Press, the stories in the slim volume jump back and forth across the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Though some in Northern Kentucky might disagree, Simpson said, “We’re all Cincinnati, right?” He quickly clarified things by explaining that making Cincinnati the focus would broaden the book’s appeal.
“If the book was just going to be local, it would definitely be Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati,” Simpson said.
“Hidden History of Black Cincinnati” is more of a personal journal documenting Simpson’s journey through the region’s Black history than a history text.
“I am not a historian,” Simpson explained. “But I do work in Black history and I’ve always done that. So, I wanted to write this book, is to get those stories about the great spaces of Cincinnati and the Black faces and the stories behind them that not always brought to the forefront.”
Simpson grew up in Covington. He’s a former military translator and worked in the Kenton County Public Library’s Covington Branch. Simpson is in the final year of a four-term on the Covington Independent Schools Board of Education. In 2025, Covington Mayor Ron Washington appointed Simpson to a housing development task force.
Simpson’s earlier books include novels, a collection of stories, and a motivational book. In 2023, he was an artist in residence for the Kenton County Public Library’s “Crafting Stories, Making History: the African American Experience in Covington, KY” project.
All of those experiences, plus growing up a queer Black man in a historically conservative region, inform the stories Simpson tells in the book.
“Growing up, my mother would talk about — we would drive around town and she would just kind of blurt out little stories that happened in certain spaces,” Simpson said. “I was just fascinated with them.”
What makes the stories hidden, as the title says?
“They’re [stories] that no one really knows about,” Simpson replied. “I talk about the connection between Devou Park in Northern Kentucky and the West End.”
The story behind the park’s connection to one of Cincinnati’s most storied Black neighborhoods is fascinating and we’re not going to spoil it here. Let’s just say that there are parts of the Covington park’s history that beg for closer scrutiny by historians.
There are some things missing from Simpson’s latest book, notably the deep history tied to the region’s Black racketeers who ran gambling rings and who competed with white mobsters. “That’s the next book because I do have family members that were very involved in that scene,” Simpson confessed.
Simpson will be talking about the book and signing copies Wednesday Feb. 25 at the Kenton County Public Library’s Covington Branch. The free event begins at 3 p.m. and is open to the public.