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Eugene Ellington, Cincinnati pastor, business leader and community activist, dies at 71

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Eugene Ellington, Cincinnati pastor, business leader and community activist, dies at 71

Cincinnati community leader the Rev. Eugene “Gene” Ellington died Saturday, according to his online obituary. He was 71.

Ellington was dedicated to helping the less fortunate, his obituary reads. He advocated for social change in his business career and personal life.

He died from cancer, his daughter Sherrie Chenault told The Enquirer.

From 1979 to 1998, Ellington served as president of the Walnut Hills Evanston Health Center, according to his LinkedIn. The organization is currently listed as a Federally Qualified Health Center, the goal of which is to enhance the opportunity for primary care services in medically underserved communities.

In 2002, he started his own diversity consulting firm in Lockland to increase opportunities for minority businesses to participate in economic growth.

Ellington Management Services served clients such as the city of Cincinnati, Mercy Health, Cincinnati Public Schools, the Cincinnati Zoo and Dayton Public Schools, according to The Voice of Black Cincinnati. The firm also worked on multi-million dollar projects such as the Cincinnati Convention Center expansion and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Ellington served as CEO of the Community Economic Advancement Initiative, which is dedicated to strategically revitalizing the city of Cincinnati’s predominantly African American communities.

Under his leadership, the organization developed the Bond Hill Market, a community grocery for Bond Hill residents.

Ellington is also a former board member of the African American Chamber of Commerce, his obituary reads.

‘A man of God’

According to his obituary, “Ellington simply wants to be known as a man of God who loves God’s People.”

Ellington was the pastor at Consolation Baptist Church in College Hill, where he preached his first sermon in 2006.

After then-University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Samuel DuBose, an unarmed Black man, during a traffic stop in 2015, Ellington was one of seven pastors who met with the University of Cincinnati to discuss making cultural and policy changes.

Ellington was also the president of the Collective Empowerment Group, an organization comprising roughly 20 Black churches in Cincinnati. The group’s ultimate goal was to create more favorable lending practices for Black churches and their members, WCPO reported in 2014.

A 2010 article published in The Enquirer recounts how Ellington helped a stranger pay off her court-ordered debt, as well as other good deeds he did, often anonymously.

The article describes how his advocacy helped create a law that banned landlords from evicting tenants without first going through the court process.

“It was at that point that I realized if change were to occur, it would have to happen for the masses and not just one person,” he previously told The Enquirer.

Ellington’s early life

Ellington was born in Birmingham, Alabama on Oct. 26, 1952. He was the second oldest of four children.

Growing up, Ellington enjoyed playing the saxophone. He dropped out of Hughes High School to join the Army, where he earned his GED and graduated second in his class at aviation school in Fort Rucker, Alabama, The Enquirer reported in 2010.

From 1970 to 1973, Ellington served in the United States Army. He was an aircraft crew chief responsible for maintaining a fleet of airplanes for the Military District of Washington.

Ellington held a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Public Administration from Xavier University.

According to his obituary, Ellington is survived by his sister Linda Ellington, brother Michael Ellington (Letitia), two adult sons − Courtney (Meredith) and Christopher (Zaafirah) − two adult daughters − Sherrie (Darryn) and Maria − and Uncle Daddy (Johnny Ellington). He is also survived by his eight grandchildren – Kennedy, Sydney, Mya, Claudia, Asante’, Mason, Empryss and Logan − a very special friend, Crystal Guyton-Grace; a host of nieces, nephews and cousins; and a bonus family, the Bristols.

A memorial service for Ellington will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 26, at Consolation Baptist Church in College Hill.

The visitation will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at Southern Baptist Church in Avondale. The funeral service will directly follow and start at 11 a.m.

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