Local

Julie Whitney-Scott is the founder/Artistic Director for Mine 4 God Productions (M.4.G.P.) www.mine4godproductions.com and the Columbus Black Theatre Festival that will celebrate its 10th year July 8th – 10th, 2022 at the Columbus Performing Arts Center and July 16th – 17th, 2022 at The Abbey Theater of Dublin

Let’s Talk Theatre: Why did you start the Columbus Black Theatre Festival (CBTF) in Columbus, Ohio?
Julie: I started the CBTF because I wanted to see the stories of Black/Brown people on the stage. As a Black female playwright, myself, I found that there was no place for my work to be produced by the, what seemed to be, traditional theatre companies in Central Ohio. As I began to produce my own plays, I wondered how I could make a difference in my theatre community that would provide a place for other Black/Brown artists work to be seen, heard, and produced so that others could see themselves and the people that they lived with in society on the stage. The goal was to share their stories.

Older adults are experiencing more mental health issues like health-related anxiety and depression amid another wave of the coronavirus pandemic. With getting active being one great way to boost mood, the upcoming winter season can make things much more difficult.

For safety reasons, the names of the sources in this article are aliases.

This past Monday morning, students were shocked to find white supremacist propaganda spread around Ohio State University’s campus. Flyers saying “HAVE A WHITE CHRISTMAS” were pasted over mask mandate signs.

An OSU spokesperson told the Free Press the University “emphatically rejects racism and religious intolerance of any kind.” They said, “in accordance with the university’s policy on signage, the flyers were removed.”

This isn’t the first time white supremacist propaganda has been posted on OSU campus this school year. Flyers with lengthy and incoherent statements about immigrants and quotes from Hitler were found in September and students say this is a consistent occurrence. The constant presence of white supremacist hate groups on campus has many students worried for their safety.

The Biden administration is blocking transfers from the roughly $9.5 billion in Afghanistan Central Bank accounts in the U.S. This is to punish and put pressure on the Taliban. But many independent analysts are doubtful that withholding aid and funds can significantly change the Taliban's calculations. The Taliban is a brutal and oppressive movement but destroying the entire nation's economy is not the best way to address that. Meanwhile, there is growing and vivid evidence of the human pain this policy is causing in the hospitals of Kandahar and around the country. At the very least, the U.S. must follow the recommendations of many aid and human rights groups and disseminate Afghan assets parked in the U.S.

Thursday, December 2, 7-8:30pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

This fall, the Tilted Scales Legal Collective (a group of dedicated anarchist legal support workers who have spent years supporting and fighting for political prisoners, prisoner of war, and politicized prisoners), published Representing Radicals with the goal of demystifying common political defense strategies and equipping criminal defense attorneys with the tools to better understand and support their radical clients’ legal, personal, and political goals.

Join members of the Tilted Scales Legal Collective as they share their work in conversation with two movement defense attorneys: Lauren Regan (founder, executive director, and senior staff attorney at the Civil Liberties Defense Center); and Joshua Raisler Cohn (public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services and Mass Defense Co-Chair at National Lawyers Guild Massachusetts).

This event is sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild’s National Office, the National Lawyers Guild Harvard Law School Chapter, and the Institute to End Mass Incarceration.

No longer a leader, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s failures are clear. (For background see my Dispatch guest opinion piece Opinion: DeWine’s blundered coronavirus response. Vax-A-Million didn't help and Governor Mike DeWine’s continuing Covid failures: The .Ohio tragedy. Despite national attention for early actions and his $5 million vaccination lottery, DeWine is committed to public relations not policy. 

DeWine began spring 2020 strongly. His daily press conferences were memorable because of state Department of Health director Dr. Amy Acton’s knowledge and articulateness. Acton ran the show with her popular appearances and mandates to limit the “first wave” from March into June. Science ruled as Ohio was briefly a national leader in partial lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings, and mask mandates. Despite right-wing condemnation, these measures were largely successful. 

Five members of the World BEYOND War Youth Network (WBWYN) from five continents have contributed, together with WBW’s Education Director, to a chapter in a new book (available free in full as PDF) called Problems, Threats and Challenges for Peace and Conflict Resolution, edited by Joanna Marszałek-Kawa Maria Ochwat.

The book provides a highly informative survey of how people in numerous parts of the world view working for peace, primarily meaning the ending of violent conflict within, rather than between, nations.

The first chapter was put together by Phill Gittins, World BEYOND War’s Education Director, together with young peace activists Sayako Aizeki-Nevins, Christine Odera, Alejandra Rodriguez, Daria Pakhomova, and Laiba Khan.

Sayako Aizeki-Nevins is a high school student from New York who has found her way from climate and racial-justice activism to activism for peace. “Today,” she writes, “my main interests revolve around the intersections between climate change, militarism, and war. I pursue these interests through my work with the WBWYN.”

Some are calling it the beginning of a “Gen Z uprising” while others are even suggesting American unions could rise out of the ashes as leverage for service sector workers continues to grow.

Starbucks baristas are beginning to organize in two cities and a representative from Workers United – an arm of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – told the Free Press Starbucks workers in Columbus have reached out to them.

“Absolutely some have, we are getting calls from every major urban center in the Midwest,” said Pete DeMay, organizing director for Workers United in the Midwest. “I can’t confirm or deny that there are active campaigns in Columbus, because if I say there is there will be a management onslaught. But if and when we go public, I will let you know.”

Wednesday, December 1, 11:30am-8pm, this event will be live-streamed on “Facebook Live”

This World AIDS Day, join us as we bring together LGBTQ+ communities around the world to rewrite the narrative to end the HIV epidemic. We’re tacking the fight to end stigma, embrace our sexuality and our identities.

We’re hosting events all day, so feel free to pick and choose what works for you or attend them all.

• Session 1: Transgender Justice, 11:30am

• Session 2: Global perspectives on HIV/AIDS, 1:30pm

• Session 3: Rewriting the Narrative: Our Stories Are Our Future, 4pm

• Session 4: Being Balenciaga: A Journey As House in The Fight to End HIV, 7pm

This event will be live-streamed on “Facebook Live.”

Hosted by Human Rights Campaign.

Tuesday, November 30, 7pm, this event will be live-streamed on “Facebook Live”

Join Equality Ohio and our partners to learn more about two bills in the Ohio Legislature targeting LGBTQ+, especially transgender, youth.

This panel will feature “subject matter” experts on two types of bills being introduced in the Ohio legislature, both targeting transgender youth.

One of the bills attempts to limit access to healthcare for trans youth; the other bill attempts to keep trans youth from playing sports with their peers.

“Subject matter” experts will include medical care providers, athletes, and attorneys with experience specializing in this topic.

We look forward to seeing you there!

This event will be live-streamed on “Facebook Live.”

Hosted by Equality Ohio.