Local
Saturday, July 11, 7-9pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/222255972
Meeting ID: 222 255 972
How do protesters move from our downtown streets to force real change in Columbus police?
It is a daunting challenge when you consider over the previous decades all the promises Columbus police, the Mayor(s) and City Council members have made to end police brutality.
Promises they never or couldn’t keep – since 2013 Columbus police have killed 40 people, 27 of whom were black, but only one case of police misconduct over the previous 20 years (within the now-disbanded VICE unit) has resulted in any indictments.
Mayor Ginther, Chief Quinlan and his commanding officers have chosen to sit down three times over the previous weeks with one protest group in particular. But we refuse to name this group because there questions as to who they exactly are.
Saturday, July 11, 9am
Ohio Statehouse
Mi gente, don’t forget to save the date:
Defund I.C.E! No more separation, free our kids, unite families!
In a recent “Dilbert” cartoon, the hapless title employee talks about his hope of hooking up with a woman he’d met through virtual contract negotiations—even though, as it turns out, he’s seen only the part of her face that wasn’t hidden by a mask, a shower cap and an eye patch.
For those who lack a regular partner, a pandemic-induced quarantine is hardly the ideal environment for romance. And yet, people can’t turn off their libido simply because it’s not convenient. Recently, the New York City health department acknowledged this fact by releasing guidelines for how to deal with intimacy while minimizing the risk of contracting COVID-19.
One suggestion it missed: Have a romantic encounter while separated by a thick window several stories above the street. That’s the situation described in Squeegee, an 11-minute film written and directed by Morgan Krantz.
The 8th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival (CBTF) is this July 10th thru July 12th!
The festival will be presented as a free live streaming event this year due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions in Ohio. The CBTF theme is "INCLUSION" which is very appropriate at this time in our society.
The CBTF team received plays from playwrights across the states between November 2019 and February 2020, and through a “blind read process” selected the plays and monologues to be presented, and notified the playwrights on March 1, 2020 that their plays would be produced by Mine 4 God Productions, the producers of the CBTF, at the July festival.
On March 5, Ohio was informed that they would be on a mandate order to stay at home, close up shop, shut down the schools and go out only when necessary. COVID-19 had arrived and everyone, every business, every person had to make an adjustment to the current situation. The CBTF had to also make adjustments to how and if they would be able to present the theatre festival amongst the pandemic.
Thursday, July 9, 2020, 7:00 - 8:00 PM
This public session will introduce Central Ohioans to Jewish Voice for Peace, a dynamic international human rights organization with an active branch in Columbus. Prefacing their presentation with the group’s mission to achieve a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis based on equality, human rights, and freedom, local members Farrell Brody and Connie Hammond will provide background information on the Middle East conflict that led to its founding. The program will summarize the organization’s efforts, including the current "No Way to Treat a Child" campaign and a discussion of why Move To Amend, as a natural ally, is important to Jewish Voice for Peace’s humanitarian goals. A Q&A session will follow. All are welcome for a stimulating discussion on Palestine, Israel, and practical solutions for a just peace in the region.
Join us today! This is the second Defund the Police Phone Zap and we will be continuing them the next two weeks at the same time. Register for today's session Wednesday July 8th at 2 ET / 11 PT. bit.ly/DefundPhoneZapSURJ
On the night of July 2nd after protesters placed scores of balloons into a downtown street, Columbus Police on their public radio scanner talked about needing to arrest specific protesters, such as a young lady who has used a bullhorn to read from the book The End of Policing in front of police headquarters.
Here is the audio recording from that night.
The recording was posted by LGBQT and BLM activist Drew Michael Wunder, who is well-known by his “Bubble the Drag Queen” persona. The 26-year-old Wunder documents many protests on Facebook Live.
Activists have been reporting how Columbus police appear to be targeting specific protesters over the previous several weeks, utilizing unconstitutional tactics to ID, arrest and charge protesters. The police often fraudulently charge them with felony rioting, in some cases, when they are simply protesting peacefully.
But the scanner recording from the balloon protest offers actual smoking-gun proof.
This fall the citizens of Franklin County should vote in Nationwide Arena.
As we saw in the spring primaries, there is huge confusion about where our citizens can vote. The shabby, little-known, woefully inadequate voting center on Morse Road is a shameful disgrace to our democracy. With the Pandemic we will not have the ability to staff and maintain the usual wide range of neighborhood voting facilities that have been traditionally spread around the county.
Instead, as will be done in Atlanta, our largest indoor sports arena offers an ideal alternative. Should we opt for two locations, the Schottenstein Center on campus might also be used.
Nationwide Arena is owned by the public. The decision to use it for the fall election can be made by city council, in concert with the county election board.
Nationwide is secure, safe and centrally located. It has plenty of parking. Everybody knows where it is.
In response to sustained pressure from students, parents, alumni, teachers, employees, and community members, the Columbus City School Board opted to let their contract with the Columbus Police Department expire without the usual renewal. That contract expired on June 30, which has led to the recent announcement that CPD is “abolishing” 22 officers from Columbus Public Schools.