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03.13.20
Ohioans: Here’s How to Keep Calm and Vote on
Sarah Khan-Williamson
If you thought voting was confusing any other time than right now, coronavirus has most certainly beaten that standard by a long shot. With schools shutting down, polling locations changing last minute due to vulnerable population concerns, and the number of cases increasing daily, registered voters might be feeling panicked and wondering if you should even go out to vote.
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02.24.20
All Ohioans Can Live up to the Legacy of Black History Month – Here’s How
Sarah Khan-Williamson
Late last year, the Economics Policy Institute Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) released a new report which made something glaringly obvious: Ohio still has a major racism problem. The evidence is there in many glaring ways – for instance, Ohio is in the top ten states with the largest ratio between black and white unemployment; Dayton and Cleveland are two of the six metropolitan areas in which poverty among the black population exceeds 40%; and like many Midwestern states, Ohio also imprisons African Americans at more than five times the rate of white individuals.
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02.05.20
Ohioans might have been confused about abortion laws. Not anymore.
Sarah Khan-Williamson
In 2019, I moved to Columbus from Arizona four days after Senate Bill 23 was introduced in late February.
Before I had even gotten to unpack the last of my items, the bill, which was dubbed by anti-choice groups as the “Heartbeat Bill”, was signed into law in early April.
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12.19.19
Here’s how Anti-Choice Lawmakers Waged War against Abortion in Ohio in 2019
Sarah Khan-Williamson
If you have social media and a way to get the latest news, chances are you have heard of two abortion bans (SB 23 and HB 413) – one of which was signed into law while the other was introduced to the Ohio Statehouse this year.
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12.09.19
When It Comes to Voter Turnout, Ohio Youth Lags Behind
Sarah Khan-Williamson
In 2008, President Barack Obama targeted Ohio youth when it came to gaining votes for the Democratic primary as he ran against Hillary Clinton. This, as it is obvious nearly a decade later, worked in his favor as he went on to serve for two terms as President.
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09.25.19
Incredible Quotes From Books You Might Not Have Known Were Banned
Sarah Khan-Williamson
As we stated in our blog Banned Books Week… More Relevant than Ever? , we here at the ACLU love Banned Books Week—and rightfully so! As you may already know, the ACLU firmly stands against censorship of all types, and that most certainly includes the banning of books.
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09.23.19
Banned Books Week… More Relevant than Ever?
Sarah Khan-Williamson
Do you think the practice of banning books is a thing of the past? Something that books such as Animal Farm, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird have been subject to??
Think again.
Just earlier this month, the internationally beloved Harry Potter series was banned yet again by a Catholic school in Nashville, Tennessee for supposedly depicting “actual curses and spells.” Similarly, in April of this year, a Georgia sheriff was illegally denying books to prisoners by implementing a policy that not only restricted “incoming books from family, publishers and organizations, but also remove[d] existing books from inmates” – thus limiting reading options to a “jail book cart.”
Do you think these are two instances few and far in between?
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09.16.19
Hard Time Admitting The Constitution Is Flawed? We’ll Do It For You.
Sarah Khan-Williamson
It’s Constitution Day! Okay – so we don’t get out of work or school today, nor do we get to barbeque our favorite foods or watch giant things go boom in the night sky, but is today any less important than Independence Day?