George Floyd
Giving thanks for vaccines, investments in American people, and those fighting gerrymandering
“Unfurrow your brow.” My mom’s frequent admonition to her easily impassioned daughter. I need a lot of reminding. I feel like I’ve been furrowing my forehead nonstop for almost two years straight. But on Turkey Day, I will take a moment, if not the whole day, to unknit that brow and give thanks for small […]
Committee passes GOP bill boosting penalties for protests that become ‘riots’
An Ohio House committee passed legislation Wednesday that would amplify criminal penalties against people who attend protests that devolve into what the law considers a “riot.” House Bill 109 is one of several pieces of legislation written in response to protests that formed in the summer of 2020. They occurred after footage captured a Minneapolis […]
More than a year later, no discipline for cop who pepper-sprayed journalists
More than a year later, no discipline for cop who pepper-sprayed journalists. Columbus police union said to be blocking investigation.
Biden urges Congress to act on policing reform after meeting with George Floyd family
WASHINGTON — A year after George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, his family returned Tuesday to Washington, D.C., where lawmakers have been attempting to craft a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation’s policing laws. Congress failed to act by the anniversary of Floyd’s death — the deadline that President Joe Biden had urged lawmakers […]
Dem bill prohibits strangulation by police
A new bill introduced in the Ohio legislature targets strangulation by law enforcement, opening officers up to felony charges. The bill comes as police actions in Ohio and elsewhere are being analyzed. “If we remember the actual history of policing, we haven’t really come to terms with how it needs to change and how you […]
Chauvin trial begins with opening statements focused on cause of death, police training
By Max Nesterak, States Newsroom Attorneys in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin laid out their case on Monday before 14 jurors who will decide if Chauvin is guilty of murder or manslaughter in the death of George Floyd on May 25. The opening statements from the prosecution and defense indicate […]
Protect and serve and live next door
It was a tiny detail in another devastating story of police use of force. Seeking comment from the Columbus police officer involved in the most recent killing of a civilian, the Columbus Dispatch described the “No Trespassing” sign tacked to the front door of the officer’s house in Union County. There is a crisis in […]
The top 10 unforgettable moments of a tumultuous year in D.C.
WASHINGTON — To say that 2020 has been an eventful year in the nation’s capital is an understatement. Amid a global pandemic, a bitter race for the presidency and protests over police brutality, news in Washington never let up. As the year winds to an end, let’s take a look back at the moments of […]
Columbus statues are coming down – why he is so offensive to Native Americans
Over the summer, statues of Christopher Columbus have been beheaded, covered with red paint, lassoed around the head and pulled down, set on fire and thrown into a lake. Many of these protests have been led by Native American activists. But other statues have been defended by people with guns. A statue of Columbus in […]
Calls for social and racial justice are reaching every part of our lives. It’s time to act.
Six years ago this week I made a drive I will never forget from Missouri to Ohio. It was mostly memorable because of my beginning and end points. I was driving from Ferguson, MO; where I had been organizing for a few weeks in response to the murder of Mike Brown by the hands of […]
‘You just have to act’: Thousands outraged by police brutality rally at March on Washington
WASHINGTON – On the 57th anniversary of the original March on Washington and in the throes of a pandemic, thousands of demonstrators on Friday joined Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand Congress act on police brutality and voter suppression. The event, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, […]
After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?
The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, had the support of less than half of white Americans. Given that Americans tend to have a very narrow definition of racism, many at that time were likely confused by the juxtaposition of Black-led […]