George Floyd
House lawmakers leave racism resolution on the table
A resolution declaring racism a public health crisis did not receive a hearing before the Ohio House of Representatives left for their summer break. The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus announced the measure at the beginning of the month, and it was referred to the House’s State and Local Government Committee on June 3. The bill […]
Ohio faces second year with no executions
When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week delayed three more executions into 2022 and 2023, it meant that 2020 would be the second consecutive year in which the Buckeye State had engaged in no judicial killings. The delays raise the question: Will the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility ever be used again […]
George Floyd’s brother: ‘Make sure that he is more than another face on a t-shirt’
WASHINGTON — George Floyd’s younger brother, Philonise Floyd, pleaded with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday to ensure that his brother didn’t die in vain. “I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you looked up to your whole entire life […]
House considers ‘stand your ground’ bill; critics call it a racist legal concept
Legalized lynching. Citizens’ license to kill. Codification of black men’s deaths. These were just a few of the characterizations people offered to the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee of a “stand your ground” proposal that lawmakers reviewed Tuesday. Starting in the afternoon and continuing well into the evening, a steady stream of citizens implored lawmakers […]
Race is a big factor in Ohio police killings
According to CNN, police shot and killed about 1,000 people in the United States in 2018. Compare this to Germany, where police shot and killed 11 people, Sweden, where police shot and killed six people, the U.K., where police shot and killed three people, and New Zealand, where police shot and killed a whopping one […]
Sen. Portman heard from ‘dozens’ of black leaders. Here’s what they said.
Note: This story has been updated to include information provided by the senator’s office. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman recently participated in a conference call with “dozens” of black leaders discussing how COVID-19 and racial injustice has impacted their communities. What those leaders discussed and who was involved in the call was not initially disclosed. Portman’s […]
Ohio Public Defenders call for systemic change in criminal justice system to address racism
About 50 lawyers, administrators and investigators from the Office of the Ohio Public Defender (OPD) circled Franklin Park on Monday afternoon, honoring the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police, and protesting police violence and racial injustice in the courts. The demonstration in Columbus was one of several across the country organized […]
2020 uprisings, unprecedented in scope, join a long river of struggle in America
The river was the metaphor that best captured “the long, continuous movement” of the black freedom struggle for theologian, historian and civil rights activist Vincent Harding. Harding, who had served as a speechwriter for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in his groundbreaking 1981 study of African-American history, “There is a River: The Black Struggle […]
Congressional Dems lay out expansive police reform plans
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats outlined their vision for sweeping police reforms on Capitol Hill Monday, following weeks of nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. “Never again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets of Minneapolis: the slow murder of an individual by a uniformed […]
DeWine won’t ‘critique’ handling of D.C. protests, but has sent Ohio National Guardsmen there
Ohio earlier this week sent 100 members of the National Guard to serve under President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., where they’re likely to play a role in policing protests. But Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday said he “didn’t know all the facts” about a federal law-enforcement action there on Monday that has drawn international […]
Senators urge support of racism public health crisis resolution
Three Ohio senators took time in between bill consideration to speak on the weekend’s protests and push forward consideration of a bill to make racism a public health crisis. One of the sponsors of a senate concurrent resolution to declare the public health crisis stood up to ask for help from her fellow senators. “We […]
Police are hurting protesters with little accountability
Social media is inundated with videos that show police attacking people in broad daylight with apparently little recompense. Videos that once would “go viral” of a police officer unduly macing someone, are now grimly ubiquitous. People protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis live-stream being shot at close range with huge rubber or wooden […]