This March, we commemorated the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when voting rights leader John Lewis of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was beaten nearly to death by cops and Klansmen on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.  

The youngest marcher, Lynda Blackmon Lowery, was beaten so badly she was put in a hearse to take to the morgue.

But when the unconscious Lynda woke up in the hearse, she jumped up, ran out, and ran straight across the bridge into the teargas and Klansmen.

On May 1, 2025, 18-year-old Ryan Hinton was fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer in East Price Hill. This tragedy highlights the controversial legal doctrine of qualified immunity that often protects officers from accountability, acting as a veritable “get out of jail free card” in cases of alleged misconduct. 

Meanwhile, the community grapples with the aftermath of two connected tragedies: Hinton’s shooting and the subsequent death of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson, struck and killed by Hinton’s father, Rodney Hinton Jr., the following day. While Rodney Hinton faces charges of aggravated murder, his actions are described as those of a grieving father distraught after watching footage of his son’s death.

The Incident

Dozens of activists for the rights of nature who traveled to the United Nations to participate in a high-level meeting were unexpectedly barred from speaking on April 22nd, Earth Day, due to a supposed “security breach.” 

The attendees, each of whom was personally invited by the Bolivian Foreign Minister, had previously been cleared by UN security personnel and issued access passes. Many had traveled thousands of miles — coming from Brazil, Poland, Canada, the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Colombia — to attend the meeting. 

Watch video of salon here.

Free Press Board member Mark Stansbery opened the session, mentioning it's the Columbus Free Press May Day version of the Second Saturday Salon, focusing on immigrant and worker rights. He noted recent events like May Day protests and anniversaries of Kent State and Jackson State.

Bob Krasen of Healthcare For All Ohioans announced a new initiative by Columbus Community Bill of Rights to contest state pre-emption through a city charter amendment, with signature gathering to begin at Comfest June 27-29.