It is no secret that many believe the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Capital City Lodge 9 and its union members have strong-armed their way into having too much control over how the Division polices Columbus citizens with minimal chance of being held accountable for their actions.

Local activists believe FOP Capital City Lodge 9 can be brazen, toxic and indifferent to those they serve.

They endorsed Trump for President last year even though many residents they serve heartedly rejected Trump. They threatened to charge Congresswoman Joyce Beatty with assaulting an officer after she was maced during that fateful Saturday afternoon, May 30, 2020, during George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests. They mocked Lebron James after he was critical of the Ma’Khia Bryant shooting by police.

FOP Capital City Lodge 9 likes to praise heroic officers on their Twitter and Facebook pages, and officers should be commended for a dangerous job well done – if done professionally.

Cleveland has been spiraling downward. It’s one of the poorest cities in the country, beset by worsening violent crime, poverty and decaying infrastructure. Now, 42 years after the end of his first term as mayor, Dennis Kucinich is ready for his second.

Kucinich won a race for mayor of Cleveland at age 31 and promptly infuriated the power structure, which could not accept his insistence that the city’s electric utility should remain under public control. Mayor Kucinich challenged and mocked the greed and anti-democratic zeal of the banks that drove the city into bankruptcy when he refused to accede to the corrupt demands that the Municipal Light Plant be sold off. After defeating a recall campaign in 1978, he lost a bid for re-election the next year -- but left an enduring legacy.

Thursday, June 17, 8-10:30pm, this event will be on-line

Columbus Community Pride hosts a night of queer art and performances on-line!

Are you a creator, shaker, or mover? We are seeking artists of all kinds to participate in our virtual queer art night! Sign up through our artist interest form to perform or share your work at the queer art night or other Community Pride events.

Musicians, writers, poets, DJs, filmmakers, comedians, visual artists, dancers, whoever! Show off what you’ve been working on in a creative and supportive environment. As always, QTIPOC to the front!! We are still taking submissions to show your stuff at this Queer Art Night.

The show itself will take place on Zoom for performers and will be livestreamed over to our YouTube channel [bit.ly/ccprideYT]. Head over and subscribe!

More information and the artist line-up will be announced!

“The United States is a nation founded on both an ideal and a lie.”

I offer these words of Nikole Hannah-Jones, whose 2019 essay is part of the New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project,” to the Heritage Foundation and the horde of Republican politicians currently trying to update the look and feel of American racism (a.k.a., “the lie”), to make it, you know, respectable and politically correct, so that it fits seamlessly into the mores of the 21st century.

Wednesday, June 16, 3pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

Please join us as we explore the significance of the Underground Railroad. This educational program will be presented by Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., D. Min., Executive Director, Ohio Council of Churches.

“Pastor Jack,” as he is known informally and personally, is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) U.S. and Canada. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Sullivan is an internationally renowned preacher and speaker, justice advocate, ecumenist, journalist, and death penalty abolitionist. In recognition of his work to stop executions, Dr. Sullivan was given the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Award for Social Justice by the State of Ohio’s Dr. MLK, Jr. Holiday Commission.

RSVP for this event by using this link.

This webinar will be presented via Zoom webinar or via “Facebook Live.”