black
Does Ohio’s Black legislative caucus have room for Republicans?
On Saturday, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus held a meet-the-candidates event in Toledo, featuring three Democrats running for seats in the Ohio House. Missing from the program was Joshua Williams, a Black Republican who’s running in the district and says he has been wholly “slighted” by the OLBC. He said the organization never contacted his […]
State regulators to question AEP over Columbus blackouts today
State regulators will meet Wednesday to review American Electric Power’s decision to cut off electric service to 230,000 customers during a June heat wave to prevent a larger-scale blackout. A June 13 storm damaged three transmission lines — high voltage wires bringing energy from generating plants to transformers before it reaches customers — according to the […]
Senate passes bill making new penalties for crimes against police
The Ohio Senate unanimously passed legislation Wednesday that would increase penalties on protesters and others for alleged offenses against police. Senate Bill 16 would create a new criminal offense: “unlawfully impeding public passage of an Emergency Service Responder (ESR).” It prohibits people from “recklessly obstructing” a highway, street, or sidewalk in such a manner as […]
Ohio Gun Owners’ postpone rally to honor officer who killed teenager
Organizers announced plans to delay a rally planned for Saturday to give a special honor to a police officer who recently shot and killed a Black 16-year-old girl. Chris Dorr, executive director of Ohio Gun Owners, obtained a permit for a “Back the Blue Rally” at the state Capitol on Saturday, claiming 400 people would […]
Black Ohioans are 13% of state population, but 5.6% of the vaccine recipients
Of more than 1.8 million Ohioans who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose, only 5.6% went to Black Ohioans, who comprise about 13% of the population. The inequity is the latest example of disparate health outcomes in the state and nation along racial lines. The math is slightly worse among the nearly 1 […]
The last Statehouse protests ended in fistfights. Now officials worry for inauguration violence.
It was a peaceful protest outside the Ohio Statehouse. Then it was a crowd of Proud Boys wailing on Dejuan Sharp. The brawl came a few hours later. Sharp, a Black man, attended the Jan. 6 protest along with other Black Lives Matter activists when, by his account, a Proud Boy in a baseball helmet […]
Despite brawls, no OSHP arrests at clashing protests at Ohio Statehouse
A pugilistic day of political demonstrations that included two brawls between far-right demonstrators insisting the presidential election was stolen and Black Lives Matter activists ended with no arrests Wednesday. At least two rounds of fisticuffed rumbles with an array of participants broke out at different points through the afternoon along with some more minor spats. […]
COVID-19 hospitalizations are hitting record highs. Black Ohioans are carrying the heavy load
Though Black Ohioans comprise 14% of the state’s population, they make up 27% of the COVID-19 hospitalization load, state data shows. The community is similarly, though less drastically, overrepresented in Ohio’s coronavirus case load (18%) and death count (17%). Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson, a social epidemiologist at Ohio State University, is hardly surprised. “The root cause of […]