An example from Georgia of something Charlottesville, Va., does not have.

James W. Loewen’s wonderful book Lies Across America has been published in a revised 20th anniversary edition, containing a chapter called “Public History After Charlottesville.” In this usage, “Charlottesville” is an event, not a place. Specifically, it’s a fascist rally that happened here in 2017.

Loewen chronicles the dramatic surge immediately after and ever since that event in the reworking of the public landscape by governments around the United States. Statues have been toppling like bowling pins. New monuments have been going up. Markers have been sprouting all over the place to explain existing monuments and what’s wrong with them.

Loewen documents a major shift in public attitudes about the U.S. Civil War, which he credits not only to “Charlottesville,” but also to a mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, and to Black Lives Matter. I would add also some credit to the work of people like James Loewen.

DTLA FILM FESTIVAL Film Reviews

By Ed Rampell

The 11th annual DTLA Film Festival is now underway. According to the Festival’s website: “Our programming reflects downtown L.A.’s vibrant new urbanism, the unique ethnic and cultural diversity of its neighborhoods, its burgeoning independent film community, its singular blend of late 19th and 20th century architecture, and the seminal role it played in the early days of American cinema (epitomized by the world’s largest group of vintage movie palaces located in the Broadway Theater District).”

DTLAFF is screening features, shorts, documentaries etc., at two primary locations: Regal L.A. LIVE 1000 West Olympic Blvd., L.A., CA 90015 while the Dome Series is at the Wisdome Immersive Art Park in DTLA’s Arts District, 1147 Palmetto St., L.A. or the Vortex Dome Theater at L.A. Center Studios. Panels, parties, etc., are being presented at various Downtown L.A. locations. For info on the DTLA Film Festival see: https://www.dtlaff.com/.

INDIRECT ACTIONS

A Futuristic Film Form for a Traditional Struggle

The 200th birthday of the Rev. Dr. James Preston Poindexter, Columbus abolitionist and civil rights leader, will be celebrated on Saturday, October 26, from 11am to 12noon in the new Washington Gladden Social Justice Park on E. Broad St. at Cleveland Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

The celebration, which will be held on his actual birthday, will include speakers, music, and light refreshments. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held next door in First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad St.

Rev. Poindexter, who died in 1907, was an exceptional religious, political, and social justice leader in Columbus during the 19th century. He was an abolitionist, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and a lifelong advocate for civil and voting rights for African-Americans. He was pastor of the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church, and later, Second Baptist Church, and was a member of Columbus City Council and the Columbus Board of Education.

To Whom it May Concern:

In October of 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Ever since, the Trump Administration has applied an all-of-government type approach to the epidemic, taking an extraordinary range of actions that reflect the President’s commitment to stopping the crisis in its tracks.

Until the summer of 2019, I never felt the direct effects of the opioid epidemic. In August of 2019 I lost a loved one to an overdose. I made it a personal goal that day to find ways the drug epidemic could be more effectively combated. The President of The United States declared the epidemic a public health emergency, so what could Columbus do to better contribute locally?

During my quest to answer that question, I spoke to numerous Columbus police officers, two Franklin County Deputy Sheriffs, a Whitehall Narcotics Officer and two Columbus Drug Enforcement Agency agents. I also obtained the Columbus Police Narcotics Bureau Annual Reports for 2015-2016-2017 and 2018 through a public records request. This is what I found….

“The mission of the Narcotics Bureau is:

Thursday, October 24, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30 PM