Local

Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 7:00 PM
On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before he was murdered, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave an historic sermon at New York’s Riverside Church on the profound connection between US militarism abroad with violence, racial repression, and widespread deprivation on the home front.  

Over 50 years later, from Ukraine to Uvalde, the crises of militarism, materialism, racism and the prospect of spiritual death that Dr. King warned us about are still very much with us. Not only does this militarism abroad continue to seed violence and poverty at home, it now aggravates the climate crisis and consumes vital resources that could alleviate climate-related suffering.

The New Democracy Coalition (NDC), Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA), and cosponsors will present a public reading of “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, May 2, with 100 readers, on Boston City Hall Plaza, to bring community focus to the issues of war, militarism and racism.  

The Central Ohio Workers Center is currently circulating an on-line petition and providing a suggested letter for those wishing to physically mail a show of support for this program. Implementing this program in Columbus will provide necessary identification for tens of thousands of residents, especially those in vulnerable populations who have trouble obtaining traditional forms of ID such as victims of domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness, immigrants, and those re-entering society from prison/jail​. This would represent a significant step in addressing a critical city‐wide problem since lack of acceptable identification keeps these populations isolated and susceptible to exploitation. This municipal ID card will be helpful for proving identity and could connect residents to services, programs, and benefits.  Click here to sign onto the letter of support. 

In the aftermath of the February 3rd train derailment in East Palestine, questions continue to swirl. While media coverage has largely shifted to spotlight transportation company Norfolk Southern’s ongoing legal woes, little attention has been paid to area citizen sentiment. As local and national debates play out over air and water safety, comparatively little focus has been given to the lifestyle changes made by East Palestine residents.

A recent poll from WaterFilterGuru highlights the drastic changes in behavior and beliefs among Ohio residents. The study, which centers on citizen sentiment amidst the fallout of the hazardous chemical spill, makes clear that the incident’s impact reaches far beyond Columbiana County. In fact, the data suggest that Americans across the country have rethought daily routines ranging from tap water use to acid rain.

Sunday, April 2, 2023 from 11 to 3pm
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The film is inspired by a group of kids living in a suburb of Paris who are cross-bituming and called themselves “Dirty Riderz Crew.” The engines are very strong and what they do quite brutal. They cross each other on lines that are narrow two-way roads. We've to understand the environment, its rules, and its philosophy.

What's this practice? Why do they do it? Who are these young people? That's where we meet the character of Julia (Julie Ledru), who responded to a rather intimate desire to see this dream of joining a community come true. The character of Julia is a perfect example. It surprises us because it escapes the fixity of a single, uniform representation. Her face changes all the time, her outfits, her traits. She performs multiple figures, navigates between genres, codes, social environments.

I take the unprecedented step in the history of the City of Columbus to voice a demand publicly for an apology and reparations for neighborhood destruction by the City in collusion with large corporate property owners and developers, and in the case of the University District (UD) and Weinland Park, The Ohio State University and its purposely misleadingly named Campus Partners for Urban Community Development.

This is one critical chapter in the long and continuing tragedy of the Columbus Way: private over public, for-profit developers and corporation over publics, and disregard and disrespect for residents’ legal rights including homeowners, taxpayers, and voters. It is no wonder that Columbus cannot define or delineate actual “neighborhoods.”

I am concerned specifically with the University District. But I urge residents of Weinland Park, Franklinton, Linden, and The Hilltop, at least, to follow suit (pun intended).

Earlier this week 23-year-old Tabias Cunningham was shot and killed on an indoor basketball court on the Far West side. Recent events on this gym’s court strongly suggest Cunningham was killed over a meaningless game.

Another terrible reality is a 10-month-old child will be raised without their father and a mother will spend the rest of her life wondering why this happened to her son. Also soul-numbing is the fact the gym – Esporta Fitness, a lower-cost membership brand of LA Fitness – re-opened the very next day. They did close the court, as were the rest of their courts across Central Ohio.

Re-opening of the gym hours after a human being was murdered within its walls tells us how desensitized and apathetic we’ve become to gun violence.

Just a week prior, a friend of the Free Press had broken up a fight on that very basketball court. The source said they “yelled and begged for peace.” An hour later this same group of players were amicable and still playing basketball. The source’s effort to de-escalate worked on this night.

Friday, March 31, 2023, 5:00 PM
Location:  Goodale Park, West Goodale St., Columbus.  
For more information, email to coyl614@gmail.com or DM on Instagram.
https://queeryouthassemble.org/march-for-queer-trans-youth-autonomy/

Partners working at the 1085 West 5th Avenue Starbucks had worked side-by-side in cramped quarters through the entire COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet the day before their scheduled in-person unionization vote earlier this month, Starbucks corporate leadership suddenly felt it was unsafe for workers to be together in the same building.

Starbucks’ corporate offices filed an emergency motion with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asking the election be rescheduled due to safety concerns. A Starbucks partner – what Starbucks calls their employees – at the West 5th location had tested positive for coronavirus, and the unionization vote was temporarily suspended.

However, concerns for safety subsided immediately following the NLRB ruling. All partners were back at work the next day. It was immediately clear to all that the motion to delay the vote was an intentional effort by management to derail unionization efforts. The vote has been rescheduled as a mail-in.

“We would have crushed it, easily,” recalled one union organizer.