Protest Reports

Demonstrators showed their solidarity with the people of Palestine at the Ohio Statehouse on Saturday, October 24.

Photos by Connie Gadell Newton

Beneath the Christopher Columbus statue in the square on Columbus State Community College campus, there was a die-in to call attention to the fact that celebrating Columbus Day is glorifying Christopher Columbus as a hero -- when in fact he was a conqueror responsible for the deaths of many indigenous people. Christopher Columbus was a slave trader and in reality is a symbol of colonialism, repression and genocide in our country. The die-in was staged so that Columbus State students would think about the real Columbus legacy and what it means to have such a statue as a icon on their campus. This was the first of three events happening today, October 12, 2015, to demonstrate against Columbus Day in Columbus, Ohio, so-named after the murderous conquistador. At 5:30pm, activists will gather for a protest by the Columbus statue outside the south side of Columbus City Hall, then march for a vigil on OSU campus at 7pm.

“I really appreciate what you all are doing,” said death row inmate Keith LaMar on Saturday morning from the Ohio State Penitentiary, the supermax prison in Youngstown. “Keep pushing for it!”

LaMar was speaking on the phone to more than 80 death penalty opponents gathered outside Southwood Elementary School as they prepared to walk the final two miles of the Walk to Stop Executions.

A dozen of the protesters completed the entire week-long, 83-mile trek, sponsored by Ohioans to Stop Executions. They started at the death house at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville, and stopped overnight at Catholic, Protestant, and evangelical churches along the way.

“What do we want? Abolition! When do we want it? Now!” chanted the walkers as they proceeded up South High Street to the Ohio Statehouse. They gathered on the west side of the Statehouse and took turns tolling a bell to call for an end to the death penalty in Ohio. From there they walked to the Trinity Episcopal Church on the east side of the Statehouse for a rally.

In the fight for fair labor practices in the U.S. food industry, grass-roots organizing by conscientious consumers has been taking an increasing role. A case in point is Friday afternoon, when a dozen members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) gathered at Mirror Lake on the OSU campus and marched to the Wendy’s restaurant in the Wexner Medical Center as part of the “Schooling Wendy’s” national week of action.

“Our march to Wendy’s today is one of over 20 marches, letter deliveries, and demonstrations at campuses across the country — campuses with Wendy’s on campus and near campus — to tell Wendy’s to listen to what students and farmworkers are asking them to do: join the Fair Food Program,” said SFA member Ben Wibking.  “Until then, students across the country will be boycotting Wendy’s and getting our universities to cut ties with Wendy's until they do the right thing by farmworkers.”

Citizens concerned with corruption and accountability in the City of Columbusheld a non-partisan rally to peacefully protest the corruption at Columbus City Hall on Wednesday, September 9; 5:00pmwhere a fundraiser for Andy Ginther was happening at Strongwater Food & Spirits, 401 W Town St. in Franklinton.

Some of Columbus’s most wealthy elite came face to face with 35-40 concerned citizens outside Mayor Coleman’s Fundraiser for his anointed mayoral Candidate Andrew Ginther.In the wake of the scandal in which former Redflex CEO pleaded guilty to bribing Columbus elected officials to the tune of $20,000 and the recent dropping out of Columbus City Council Pro Tem Michelle Mills, the City of Columbus has become synonymous with the word corruption. 

Columbus Metropolitan Club public forum luncheons are usually interesting and informative, if a little sedate. But the atmosphere was lively on Wednesday. As they arrived, attendees were greeted by demonstrators from the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN).

Ohio Secretary of State John Husted was there to speak about Ohio Ballot Issues 1, 2, and 3. The protesters came from across Ohio to denounce Husted's decision to remove three county charter initiatives from the November ballot.

The initiatives include home rule provisions to restrict or ban fracking wastewater injection wells and pipelines in Fulton, Medina, and Athens Counties. "The Secretary of State claimed he was 'unmoved' by the people’s argument defending their right to petition," said Kathie Jones of Medina County. "He claimed that the content of the initiatives are illegal, and therefore cannot be on the ballot. Yet he does not hesitate to place Issues 2 and 3 on the ballot — initiatives to legalize marijuana, which violate federal law.

On Monday morning the protesters outside the the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio were fewer in number than in June, but no less determined to prevent a consumer bailout of FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse nuclear plant and Sammis coal-fired plant. After three postponements, the PUCO was holding the first evidentiary hearing on FirstEnergy's request for a rate hike to support the aging power plants.

"We are on the brink of a major breakthrough," said Harvey Wasserman, editor of nukefree.org and history instructor at Capital University. "We have a nuclear plant and a coal-fired plant that this utility is begging, tin cup in hand, to keep operating. About a decade ago, we heard FirstEnergy and others say that they wanted competition in the electric power business. Now they are begging for more money to keep these reactors open, because they can't compete in the market.

More than a hundred people gathered outside the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) headquarters today, June 15, trying to stop the bailouts of dirty coal plants and the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio. The rally was tightly controlled by the Ohio Sierra Club, who sent five members inside to deliver letters to the PUCO meeting. The outcome of the decision is not yet known. For more information on the issue, please see: No bailouts for First Energy’s Davis-Besse nuclear reactor by Pat Marida, chair, Ohio Sierra Club Nuclear Issues Committee.

Photos by Tekla Lewin

Hundreds of Columbus citizens marched in solidarity with the demonstrators in Baltimore asking for justice for Freddie Gray, who was killed while in police custody. The protestors started at the OSU Student Union and marcheddown High Street through the Short North on Saturday, May 2 during Gallery Hop. They gathered on the cap north of downtown to talk about their request to meet with Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs and discuss an initiative for a Civilian Review Board of the Columbus Police.