It must have been somewhat difficult to grow up as the namesake of one of the most prominent and controversial human rights leader in American history, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., and his wife, Jacqueline Brown. Yet the younger Jackson followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating magna cum laude from North Carolina A & T University, earning an MA at the Chicago Theological Seminary. After attending Georgetown University Law Center, he transferred to the University of Illinois College of Law in 1993, where he finished a semester early, but declined to take the bar exam.

A career in politics was all but certain, and in 1996 he ran for the United States Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes part of the infamous South Side and Southland, a collection of southeast suburbs; Jackson’s wife, Sandi, was elected an alderman to the Chicago City Council, representing the 7th ward in 2007. The Jacksons’ future political aspects looked bright; he was often touted as a future mayor of Chicago or a United States senator. Some even spoke of the possibility that he would be the first African American president. They were Chicago’s black Camelot.

Thursday, October 10, 6-8:30pm, Church and Community Development For All People, 946 Parsons Ave.

“On The Brink” is the story of a once-vibrant community on the brink of vanishing from Seattle and their struggle to have a place to call home in a rapidly-changing city.

Following the film, we’ll have a panel discussion about the issues of affordable housing, gentrification, and how the South Side of Columbus is tackling these issues.

Confirmed panelists are:

• Jason Reece, The Ohio State University (moderator)

• Cheryl Brooks Sullivan, Franklin County Treasurer

• Sheldon Johnson, Managing Director, CD4AP [Community Development for All People]

• Jeffrey Shulman, University of Washington, producer and co-director of “On The Brink”

• Angela Mingo, Community Relations Director, Nationwide Children’s Hospital

View the film’s trailer here: https://youtu.be/WAA-VhqnchI

Hosted by Church and Community Development For All People and “On the Brink.”

Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 3:15 PM.  Proponent Testimony for SR 211.  Move to Amend Ohio just got the news that our "We the People" amendment is on the Ohio Senate agenda. This Wednesday, Ohioans will have the opportunity to directly inform our state legislators of our overwhelming support for the "We the People" amendment. This Wednesday, the Ohio Legislature will hear proponent testimony for SR 221, a senate resolution to abolish the notions that a) corporations are constitutional persons entitled to constitutional rights, and b) money is speech.

Bill Lyons was involved in the passage of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights and the Rights of Nature in Ohio, that passed with 61 percent of the vote this past spring – a first for this type of law protecting an ecosystem in the United States. The bill, initiated because of the lake’s toxic algae, was so ground-breaking that it received national attention and recently ended up as a question on Jeopardy. But strange language creeped into the State of Ohio budget this May undermining the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, stating that, “…nature or any ecosystem does not have standing to participate or bring an action in a common pleas court; it prohibits any person, on behalf of nature or an ecosystem, from bringing, or intervening in, an action in such court; and it prohibits any person from bringing an action against a person who is acting on behalf of nature or an ecosystem.”

City Council Candidate Liliana Rivera Baiman announced today that her campaign has received the endorsement of the Columbus Education Association (CEA), the union representing more than 4,000 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists, and other education professionals in Columbus City Schools. The endorsement follows a screening process and several rounds of membership votes conducted by Teachers for Better Schools, the CEA Political Action Committee.

“This past year our incredible Columbus teachers demonstrated that with unity and clear purpose we can take on powerful institutions and win major victories for our most vulnerable residents.” said Baiman, “As a member of City Council, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with CEA to prioritize the needs of students and educators instead of tax breaks for wealthy corporations, and to ensure that every child in Columbus has access to the world-class public education they deserve.”