What started out wrong — Nazis in Evendale on Friday, February 7 — ended up right, with Black residents of Lincoln Heights kicking the racists out of their community. After Nazis hung banners of hate over a bridge near Lincoln Heights — a majority-Black city bordering Cincinnati — the neighborhood known as “Zone 15” exploded into action. Folks burned the Nazis’ swastikas while the Internet cheered them on (h/t Hood News 75). That night, Cincinnati celebrated.
A weekend of connection, education, organizing, and action followed — all across on Ohio.
On Saturday, February 8, over 100 people braved the blistering cold to rally outside the Geauga County “Safety Center” and demand an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jail. Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 people attended the Resistance Fair at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights High School, and hundreds showed up for rallies, workshops, organizing sessions, and more in Columbus, Cincinnati, and beyond.
Also this week, the City of Springfield sued the Blood Tribe for “engaging in, and inciting, a campaign of harassment and intimidation, motivated by ethnic and racial hatred, against those who supported Springfield’s Haitian community in the face of Defendants’ racist attacks.”
And, following the racism on display outside Lincoln Heights, the Lockland Local School District issued an unequivocal statement expressing its stance against hate, support for diversity, and commitment to “helping each and every child that [they] are lucky enough to serve, without exception.”
Then Kendrick Lamar played the Super Bowl. “The revolution is about to be televised,” he said. “You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” Check out this post from Albie Knows on Threads.
OHIA attended the Geauga County protest. Check out photos below and listen to the wise words of one participant.
