While many march and celebrate a fictitious King today, his family, largely ignored, call on no one to celebrate the holiday till voting rights are protected, with the current reversal of laws by the Supreme Court, some things are worse than what they were in the late 60s when King and the movement were struggling to pass those very rights. I myself will not march to hypocrisy, while we lack democracy at home, a democracy that King gave his life for. What is often overlooked or whitewashed when it comes to the American (US) mythology of King, which has turned King into a fictional character, was King’s radical revolution of values.

Thursday, January 27, 2022, 5:30 PM
Our policy experts will present an analysis of the issues and bills we've been advocating for, and a preview of our work ahead.  You can expect to hear updates on bail reform, abolishing Ohio's death penalty, voting rights and redistricting work, attacks on abortion access, LGBTQ equality, protesters' rights, and more. Register here. 

Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime voice of everyday people states, “Our affordable housing crisis is worsening by the day. So why is the city and county still sitting on millions of taxpayer dollars of our American Recue Plan (ARP) money when it should be being utilized to  address this crisis?

A public hearing was held by the Franklin County Commissioners to hear comments on how the ARP funds should be spent clear back in July of 2021. I testified that the county and city of Columbus should allocate $60 million each of their ARP funds and that the Columbus Partnership should match it. And it was clear from the majority of those who testified at the county public hearing that ARP dollars should be allocated towards affordable housing.”

Motil points out that, “last month elected officials of St. Paul Minnesota and Ramsey county pooled together $74 million of their ARP funding for “deeply affordable housing” needs for those with incomes of 30 percent Average Median Income (AMI). What are our city and county elected officials waiting for?” 

“The concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”

Even if Mitch McConnell’s viral gaffe last week is as innocent as he claims it to be, the stench of something deep — the unexamined racist fear and shame at the core of GOP policy — is unavoidably noticeable: There’s “them” and there’s “us” and never the twain shall meet. And we’ll make sure of that. (Shhhh … don’t tell anyone.)

Like many a Midwest metropolis, Columbus has a multitude of evangelical, Jesus-is-my-savior churches and if he’s not yours, you are going to hell because “Hell is Real,” as the sign says.

There’s Rod Parsley’s World Harvest mega-church in Canal Winchester, which the Free Press has heard purchases used cars for struggling single mothers if they were to convert. There’s the youth-focused Vineyard, which has multiple campuses around Central Ohio including a new church in Grandview. And the head-scratching Xenos, which recently changed its name to “Dwell,” the cultish church that sure-as-hell seems to prey on Ohio State campus kids.

These churches and their pop-rock bands promote, for the most part, a loving Christianity. Rock City Church, for instance, with its shiny and modern-ish locations in Hilliard and the Short North, has partnered with 30 Ohio prisons helping inmates.

But when tough times assail the flock, like a pandemic and a Democrat in the Oval Office, evangelical pastors begin to seriously push apocalyptic evangelicalism.