Local
A few tears before the pandemic struck, the Free Press covered the small group of local Walmart workers who were fed up with making $9-an-hour and forced to work on Thanksgiving night and well into Black Friday.
Aligning themselves with the national movement OUR Walmart or the Organization United for Respect, which was funded by the United Food Commercial Workers union (UFCW), this small bunch protested on Black Friday at their East Main and Bethel stores.
OUR Walmart has gone away unfortunately, and the drive unionize to Walmart has stalled.
Nevertheless, Walmart has decided to close this Thanksgiving, but they are opening their doors at 5am on Black Friday. When an avalanche of deal seekers will pour through, a nightmare working-at-home community members never have to deal with.
But this bad dream continues for hundreds-of-thousands of retail workers. It couldn’t possibly get any worse for them, or could it?
UPDATE DEC. 6: The Columbus City Council hearing on this issue has moved to December 14th, so letters are still needed!
The award-winning neighborhood institution, Kossuth Street Garden (KSG), is in grave danger.
A developer wants us to go away so he can build 10 expensive homes on 641 E Kossuth Street. But to succeed at this point, he needs changes approved by the City of Columbus for zoning and variances, based on advice of our South Side Area Commission.
The site of our majestic and beloved 12-year-old award-winning community garden was sold and the new developer now wants us out, as he will build 10 new "affordable homes" at $250,000 to $350,000 each and likely ask for tax abatements next spring. The land is zoned "commercial" and the developer needs a "residential" zoning change in order to build.
New owner Tracy Cohen, the Carroll, Ohio developer, offered to sell us the section where the garden/green space is on October 23 this year.
But then on November 10, he went back on his promise, as that would impact his bottom line and decrease his profits.
Last year, I had a conversation about forgiveness with a friend who grew up in Jim Crow Nashville. He opined that black people forgive white people too much and too soon. (I rather doubt he’s forgiven racist whites or their repressive Jim Crow system.) As is often seen after an unspeakable tragedy afflicted on African Americans by whites, the former has routinely been quick to step forward and absolve the white community and the perpetrator with the healing balm of forgiveness. We should stop doing that, he said, because time and time again they have shown us that they are not deserving of it.
I grew up in the Black church–as did my friend–and I know that Black Christianity sees forgiveness as a commandment and something that helps bring us closer to salvation. It also seeks to ensure that blacks are not captives of or wiped out by white supremacy and terrorism; that we not only survive, but thrive in this racist country; that we are not defeated by anything whites inflict on us. Martin Luther King, Jr., frequently reminded us that suffering is redemptive.
Columbus Tenants' Union is gathering information about rental properties in Central Ohio to help tenants organize. If you are a renter, please fill it out, and whether you are or not, please pass this along to other renters you know in the area! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckAyA5W-w0MzMDadH412BZKiNvwwkYQKsyuzEj0bPGsZ_-RQ/viewform. Contact Becca Pollard if you have questions or would like more information: becca.pollard@sierraclub.org.
Sign + Share - #ReuniteUS!
Issa Sao turned 40 last week. It was a sad day, with his wife and kids back in Ohio. Issa was deported to Mauritania in 2018, and then fled to Senegal to find safety again. But with the incoming Biden-Harris administration, Issa hopes his family will be able to reunite one day soon.
Join us in petitioning the Biden-Harris government to reunite Issa's family and so many others! Sign the petition here, and share it with your networks.
Another friend whose husband was deported to Mexico said: "I got my new President and new Administration. Let's get ready to rumble!" She's ready, and so are we! #ReuniteUS
Saturday, November 21, 2020, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Be COVID-safe and arrive/participate in by car — lineup around Mayme Moore Park, 240 MLK Jr Blvd.
We will have invited speakers open the event, more info to come on how their speeches will be broadcast. After we read the names of the Black trans people we have lost this year, the caravan will start and we’ll drive around Columbus making noise! Route TBA very soon.
A terrible anti-protest bill was introduced in Ohio. Text is here: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-documents?id=GA133-HB-784
Among other things, HB 784:
· Creates steep new penalties for interfering with or blocking traffic during an unpermitted protest.
Friday, November 20, 7-9pm, this on-line event requires advance registration
Columbus Community Bill of Rights presents “Hard Road of Hope,” a documentary about the people of West Virginia’s journey through the fossil-fuels industry, as a one-time showing. Film producer Eleanor Goldfield will be available after the showing for discussion and a question-and-answer period.
“‘Hard Road of Hope’ explains the peoples’ history of the region through the voices of people who still remember. The stories in this documentary are many; watching it unravels what should be in front of all of our eyes in all of our struggles. Goldfield pries the viewer’s eyes open to see how the use of radical history is a tool we need in order to see where we come from, so we can clearly see the now and build a just future.”
— Orin Langelle, co-founder, Global Justice Ecology Project
Thursday, November 19, 7-8pm, this event will be occurring via Zoom
Why and to whom are tax incentives given and who is benefiting from them? This month’s Move to Amend Central Ohio virtual presentation will explore the quid pro quo of campaign contributions from developers, the Columbus Partnership, and other corporations in Columbus that in return receive tax abatements and city income tax exemptions. This presentation will also consider the adverse impacts of such agreements on affordable housing, educational opportunities, and efforts to fight poverty. Our guest presenter will be Joe Motil, a longtime Columbus resident and activist who is a leading expert on tax abatements in Columbus.
Join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.