News & Commentary

In this last week, protesters took to the streets all across the nation to protest quarantine and lock down orders put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world. In Ohio, to the dismay of many, there were several days of protesters swarming the Ohio Statehouse in order to make their voices heard to illustrate their disdain of the state of Ohio under lock down.This has resulted in a viral photo that has been shared all across the world. The photographed individuals have been compared to zombies seen in the popular movie Shaun of the Dead, and the photo has either been celebrated in support or described as chilling by those who don’t agree with them. Regardless of whether people support the individuals in the photo or not, one thing is for certain: it will likely be one of the photographs that people look back on while remembering the pandemic we are currently living through.Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time a protest in Ohio has gone down in history. In fact, fifty years ago this year, on May 4, 1970, almost thirty National Guardsman fired into a crowd of Kent State students who were protesting the Vietnam War, ultimately killing four students and wounding another nine in just thirteen seconds. Immediately afterwards, several photos from the event were similarly published all across the world, and it has been claimed that the events of that day in northeast Ohio tilted public opinion against the war and may have contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.Thousands of students protested at hundreds of universities in response to the tragedy (this resulted in additional students being killed by police and military force). Hundreds of thousands stormed the Capital in the streets of Washington, D.C.And the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio immediately took action. According to then-Executive Director of the ACLU of Ohio, Benson A. Wolman, within hours of the killings, the Kent Chapter of the ACLU began organizing two-person teams to tape-record and take written statements from witnesses, and the next day, the ACLU national office and the Ohio affiliate issued a joint public offer to represent the families of those who were killed.The ACLU of Ohio was there instantly, because there was a strong, widespread consensus that this was an egregious violation of the victims’ Constitutional rights. Ironically, the students themselves buried a copy of the Constitution on the Kent State University Commons in front of the Victory Bell just a few days before the shooting.There is very little doubt that these students knew their rights.And we knew them too.That is exactly why the national ACLU and the ACLU of Ohio (which was just a tiny organization at the time without even a 501(c)3 status and did not even become official until a year after the shooting) came in with the intent of making sure that justice was served. Though a jury ended up exonerating the then-Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes, Robert I. White (who had been the president of Kent State at the time of the shooting), and the 27 National Guardsman, the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio fought on in the name of civil liberties – eventually getting the verdict appealed. This resulted in the case being settled with $675,000 being paid to the parents of the victims.However, that was not the only victory the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio claimed on behalf of the victims and their families, but also tens of thousands of other Kent State students as well. In an article penned by Wolman, it became clear that the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio had done so much more. This included:The establishment of the ACLU Kent Project to engage in a broad-based legislative attempt to redress the tragedy and to remedy some of the underlying and related problems in the community.Winning a major class-action suit to vindicate the rights of 8,500 students whose dormitory rooms were searched without warrants ten days after the killings while the university was shut down. This resulted in a federal court holding that the search was unconstitutional and violated the civil rights of the students (learn more: Morgan v Hayth).After the state grand jury issued its subsequently expunged report at a press conference called by the attorney general, two county judges issued orders which said that the subjects (students and university officials) could not publicly criticize it. ACLU attorneys brought suit and obtained an injunction and declaratory judgement that the gag rule was unconstitutional and unenforceable (learn more: King v Jones).In the aftermath of the killings, the ACLU succeeded in extending the right to vote to all residents of the university community. A federal suit at Kent was finally dropped when state officials acquiesced and eliminated an unconstitutional ban on student voting in academic communities (learn more: Fridrich v Brown).After continuing harassment of students, the ACLU successfully invoked administrative remedies through the Department of Agriculture when vindictive local officials arbitrarily denied food stamps to needy students.ACLU attorneys succeeded in quashing state riot charges against Craig Morgan who was indicted by the state grand jury merely because he was present on May 4 and was the president of the student body.Union attorneys uncovered a pattern of harassment and surveillance of on-campus peace groups. This included uncovering student groups being entrapped to buy illegal weapons by agents who were uncover.The ACLU of Ohio was entrusted with all of the ACLU of Ohio Kent State Project records - so great was the mistrust of government officials after the long legal battle that the attorneys and families of victims were concerned that the records might be mishandled and manipulated, eventually endangering the historical record. In 2006, ACLU of Ohio Deputy Director, Ann Rowlett, worked in Manuscripts and Archives at Yale to remove all confidential materials sealed by the court so that the files could be opened for research, which they officially were. They can be viewed here.It's important to note that despite these victories along the way, it took a long nine years to get justice for the Kent State shooting victims and their families.And this is because the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio would not give up. While it is true that we are often involved in work that becomes history, the importance of this work is not only for the present situation or the present-day, it also serves as a reference to how we will deal with the civil liberties violations occurring here and now.Here and now, fifty years later, the right to protest is actually not the right that is being violated – despite the fact that the media gaze has fallen on the anti-quarantine protesters in the recent weeks. No, during this COVID-19 pandemic, rights are now being violated through attempted abortion bans, botched election delays, inaction on protecting Ohio’s incarcerated population – including juveniles and immigrants detained by ICE.And we’re here to fight yet again.Will you join us? 

Last week the ACLU along with academic partners released a new epidemiological model that shows COVID-19 could claim the lives of as many as 200,000 people – double the federal government’s estimate – if jail populations are not dramatically and immediately reduced. The ACLU model used data from more than 1,200 midsize and large jail systems around the country, whose surrounding communities account for 90% of the U.S. population. The findings indicate that even if communities continue to practice social distancing and follow public health guidance that they will experience much higher death rates if no substantial action is taken to reduce jail populations.

At least 27 states and Washington D.C. have begun releasing racial breakdowns of COVID-19 in their jurisdictions. The data released so far has shown that by in large Black people are dying at disturbingly disproportionate rates. For example, Black people represent 43 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Illinois, but make up only 14 percent of the state’s population. In Louisiana, Black people make up 32 percent of the state but represent almost 60 percent of COVID-19 related deaths. Similarly alarming, in Mississippi, Black people make up 38 percent of the population but represent 52 percent of COVID-19 cases and 63 percent of reported deaths. Cities with larger Black and Latino communities are especially seeing the inequalities in COVID-19 cases and deaths. In Milwaukee, Black people make up 53 percent of people who have died from COVID-19, while making up only 39 percent of the city’s population. In New York City, which now has more confirmed cases than anywhere else in the world, Latinos make up 29 percent of the population but 34 percent of COVID-19 deaths and Black people make up 22 percent of the population but 28 percent of deaths.

To: Speaker Householder, Minority Leader Sykes, Senate President Obhof, Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, all members of the Ohio General Assembly

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.We’re here to tell you: Keep calm and VOTE ON!And here’s how to do it in the most informed way possible.FIRST – let’s talk about absentee voting. Are you a student who recently had to leave the area you vote in because your school closed without warning? Are you wary of voting in-person due to serious health concerns? Well, we’ve got good news: you still have enough time to vote absentee. The application for absentee voting must be received by noon on March 14 and all ballots most by postmarked by Monday, March 16. More details can be found here.SECOND – If you’re not interested in absentee voting but want to know another alternative, you have the option of early in-person voting. You can cast a ballot at your County Board of Elections on these dates and times:Friday March 13: 8AM-7PMSaturday March 14: 8AM-4PMSunday March 15: 1PM-5PMMonday March 16: 8AM-2PMTHIRD - You could take the standard route and vote on Election Day, March 17, from 6:30am – 7:30pm.Here is what you need to do before, during, and after. Read on!Before the big day:Make sure you’re still registered.With the voter purging this last year – and nearly 20% getting wrongfully purged, you may want to check to see if you’re still a registered voter. You are able to check on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website here.Find out your polling information and district information – check multiple times since polling locations are being changed due to the outbreak.Fortunately, the site also gives you information on your voting precinct and polling location. Furthermore, it will let you know what your U.S. Congressional District, Senate District, and State Rep. District is. There are multiple things to do with this information, read on to find out.Plan your day accordingly.With your polling location information on hand, it is imperative to jot down exactly where you can go to vote the day of – and make sure to plan accordingly. Allow yourself enough buffer time in case there is a long line you have trouble finding parking, or any other sort of obstacle that may arise (and given the unpredictability of the times we’re in, there might be extra-long lines).Figure out who is running and what their policies are.Not even going to lie – like so many others, I’ve been guilty of showing up to the polls ready to vote for who I believed the next POTUS should be – and so often, I’ve neglected to really understand who I was putting into my statehouse. After finally seeing the light and realizing just how important the statehouse is when it comes to my rights, I’m making sure to do my homework on all those who are running – and you should too!On March 17th, 2020:Make sure you have everything you need to meet the ID requirements to vote before leaving the house.According to the Secretary of State website, Ohio law requires that every voter, upon appearing at the polling place to vote, must announce his or her full name, current address and proof of identity. All acceptable forms of ID can be found here.Get to your polling location and VOTE!This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just don’t forget to grab an “I voted” sticker on your way out! One caveat – do yourself and fellow Ohioans a favor and wash your hands before coming into your polling location and immediately after voting.After you vote – whether absentee or in-person and (hopefully) post-Coronavirus:Pretty soon after the primaries, each party will put forward their candidates and gear up for November 3, 2020 – Election Day. Sure, you have the option of doing everything listed in this article for that day and be on your merry way… or you can do more.The Ohio registration deadline for the Nov. 2020 Election is October 5, 2020.That’s over half a year to make sure that everyone you know is registered to vote – and it’s more than enough to even get people you don’t even know signed up. You can campaign and educate others – not only on who is running for president, but you can also let people know about those who are running for seats to represent Ohio in Congress or in the Ohio Statehouse itself. If no candidate gets you super excited to knock on doors, perhaps there’s a ballot initiative that may excite you enough to do so.Regardless, what’s imperative to note here is that there is so much more that goes into just showing up and voting. Preparation is key – whether that’s making sure you have everything you need to vote or educating yourself on the people who are fighting for your vote.But, more importantly, making your voice – and ensuring other voices are also – heard is something anybody can do.Including you.Remember you and they are the difference and the voice of things yet to come.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Ben Guess and Legal Director Freda Levenson sent Ohio Governor Mike DeWine a letter urging an immediate plan of action regarding the state's prevention and management of COVID-19 and its impact on incarcerated Ohioans.