I tell the students in my African American History Post-Emancipation class that the blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard is the police beating that time forgot. Woodard had been discharged from the United States Army in 1946. A decorated veteran, he left Camp Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, on his journey home. A short distance from Augusta, there was a rest stop, and Woodard asked if he had time to visit the restroom. He and the driver exchanged words, but he was allowed to go. In Batesburg, near Aiken, Georgia, the drive stopped, notified the police, and Woodward was put off the bus. Several police asked Woodard for his discharge papers, and then took him to an alley nearby and beat him. He was then arrested for disorderly conduct and put in jail. During the night, Lynwood Shull, the chief of police jammed Woodard in the eyes with the end of his nightstick, allegedly because he said yes, instead of yes sir.

In 2017, the year that Donald Trump was inaugurated, there was a 17% increase in hate crimes within the United States from the previous year. Due to the prejudiced rhetoric spoken by the new leader of the free world during his campaign, some accused him publicly of being responsible for the rise in these kinds of crime. President Trump has not had much to say on the matter.

However, the number of hate crimes within the demographics his campaign demonized (people from the Middle Eastern and Latin America, Muslims, and LGBTQ+ people) were particularly notable. As reported by Roll Call:

Most of the 7,175 cases in 2017 involved race-based bias, though there were at least 1,564 cases that involved bias against certain religions. People were targeted for their sexual orientation in 1,130 cases.

Sunday, July 21, 2-3pm
North CC, 2040 N Henderson Rd.
Just North UCC is welcoming a new family that is seeking asylum from Honduras. The family of four (which has chosen to remain anonymous for reasons of safety) fled Honduras after receiving death threats, crossed the border and went to Columbus. Now they need our support for legal counsel, applications fees and daily living expenses until they receive a legal work permit and a home.
Join us to welcome these new residents and friends!

I spoke with Senator Mike Gravel on Thursday and asked him whether it seemed fair to him to be excluded from Democratic Party Presidential Primary debates on the basis of his performance in polls that did not include his name among those whom people could say they supported.

Of course, he said that it did not. But he also raised some additional questions, and told me what he would say if included in a debate.

Gravel said that 70,000 supporters had donated to his campaign. That means he has qualified for the debates by the factor that he couldn’t be prevented from competing in, namely number of donors. In this regard he differs from some of the candidates being included in the debates; they have not achieved the required number of donors, but are being included on the sole basis of their performance in polls in which they had the distinct advantage of their names being included.

Earlier this month it was still looking like Prohibition 1920s for CBD oil and industrial hemp in the Buckeye State, but the Ohio General Assembly on Thursday passed Senate Bill 57, allowing for the cultivation of hemp and the legal sale of CBD.

Every single state bordering Ohio, including staunch right-wing Indiana, was moving forward with cultivation of marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin, industrial hemp, which can be used to make CBD oil, fuel, paper and textiles, among other things.

Nevertheless, Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder said on July 6th that Senate Bill 57 wouldn’t pass until this fall at the earliest.

However, small changes to the bill were made this week making state representatives have a change of heart before their summer break. Ohio farmers struggling with tariffs and bad weather could have been a factor.