People

Bruce Thomas Duncanson “General Bruce” born December 20, 1958, passed on to peace and glory April 15, 2018. He was a passionate peace and environmental activist, loving son, brother and friend to all. He was a familiar face at the Free Press Second Saturday Salons and at Comfest each year. 

Bruce first got started with peace activism while living in Minnesota. He was a part of the anti-nuclear movement that was working to prevent nuclear war and eliminate the threat of nuclear bombs. It was here that he also came up with the idea for a Peace Army. Bruce had struggled with mental health and he realized the value that people who had mental health problems could contribute to society rather than being marginalized. His idea the Peace Army for Mental Health was one of the many inspirational ideas he came up with over his lifetime of activism. His work as an advocate for the peace army is how he became known as General Bruce to many in the anti-war movement. See Bruce describe it himself on YouTube at – https://youtu.be/kLL2_IOjdBs

Armed and dangerous: He’s the plainclothes “jump out boy” who shot up a Linden neighborhood in the summer of 2016 killing a young black resident, Henry Green. He’s the uniformed officer seen on tape stomping on a black man’s head as he lay cuffed on the ground in 2017. He is Zachary Rosen, and he was fired. But the Fraternal Order of Police threw such a fit and their weight around the city of Columbus that Rosen was reinstated last month. At first he was assigned back to his old beat in Linden until posters appeared warning the community that he was back on the streets: “Be on the lookout for this officer,” it read with Rosen’s scowling photo, “and record any suspicious behavior.” Later the Dispatch noted the CPD may assign him to a different area of the city. Pity them.

Barbara Freeman, a survivor of human trafficking and the first graduate of Franklin County’s CATCH Court, will celebrate the opening of a sober living home for survivors of human trafficking with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Those who were instrumental in making the home a reality joined in the celebration Saturday, March 10, at 4 p.m., 1191 Whittier Street.

Did you know that in the first year of the Trump regime “anti-Semitic incidents” surged 57 percent, according the Anti-Defamation’s League (ADL) annual report. No Trump hyperbole, this was the single largest increase ever recorded by the ADL. Also on the rise are xenophobia, nativism, white supremacy, and neo-Nazism. In the most recent Associated Press poll, 57 percent of adults believe Trump’s a racist.

No one was incredibly surprised that Trump’s fan club, the neo-Nazi Patriot Front, was busy flyering down Indianola Avenue in Clintonville Monday, February 26 in broad daylight. Whenever local residents removed them, the flyers would soon reappear. The neo-Nazis have now flyered Clintonville four times in the last few months in addition to Hilliard, Worthington, Westerville, and Dublin. Clintonville activists and their allies made their values known with a large anti-racist demonstration Saturday, March 3, that drew about 60 people at the corner of North Broadway and High.

The Free Press is proud of our friend Malcom J who stepped in to help a bartender deal with an unrule customer, and got whacked in the eye with a broken beer bottle for his trouble. As of this printing, Malcolm is in the hospital and the condition of his eye is yet to be determined. Malcolm is a familiar face at our Free Press Second Saturday Salons and our facility is filled with his artwork. We wish Malcolm a speedy and full recovery. Here’s how you can help. There’s a GoFundMe site set up for Malcolm’s medical expenses. 

I am an attorney and guardian ad litem (GAL) in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. An important part of my job is protecting the rights of adults and minors who live in Ohio, and in my city.  Every day I strive to advocate for the best interest of children, and protect the Constitutional rights of parents and children in Ohio.  

My work is not easy and it does not pay well. I do not have benefits, and for many years I could not even get health coverage. I am not really complaining; I love my work as well as my freedom and independence. I love representing everyday people from my city. As a GAL and defense attorney I see people on the worst days of their lives and try to give them hope that things are going to get better. They often do. I visit my clients in prison, jail, mental institutions, and in their homes. My clients are babies, school aged kids, teenagers, trafficking victims, parents, adults with misdemeanor and felony cases.

I am an attorney and guardian ad litem (GAL) in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. An important part of my job is protecting the rights of adults and minors who live in Ohio, and in my city.  Every day I strive to advocate for the best interest of children, and protect the Constitutional rights of parents and children in Ohio.  

My work is not easy and it does not pay well. I do not have benefits, and for many years I could not even get health coverage. I am not really complaining; I love my work as well as my freedom and independence. I love representing everyday people from my city. As a GAL and defense attorney I see people on the worst days of their lives and try to give them hope that things are going to get better. They often do. I visit my clients in prison, jail, mental institutions, and in their homes. My clients are babies, school aged kids, teenagers, trafficking victims, parents, adults with misdemeanor and felony cases.

Constance Gadell-Newton, Esq., is a social justice activist, Attorney at Law and Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children in Columbus, Ohio.  She graduated from Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, has a B.A. from the Ohio State University in Philosophy and Women’s Studies, and a J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where she studied International, Criminal, and Public Interest Law.     

Constance is committed to promoting the wellbeing of all Ohioans- no matter what happens in Washington, D.C.  Constance will stand up to keep families together in the face of recent changes in U.S. Immigration Policy. Constance wants to make sure that all Ohioans have their needs met for health care and education. She supports universal health care for all Ohioans and free public education from pre-school to college. Constance stands with workers in the fight for a living wage and wage equality for women and minorities.  

Everything above my shoulders is in agony. I’ve spent an entire week rolling my eyes, shaking my head, and gritting my teeth. I actually rolled my eyes so viciously my wife started calling me Liz Lemon. This week regrettably has been one which left my respect for American liberals hanging by a thread.  Liberals and devotees of the elected left reminded me how extraordinarily hypocritical they are and how dangerously short their memories are.