Demand for change: What you need to know Wednesday

The Ohio State Bar Foundation, for the first time in its history, is providing up to $500,000 in grant funding exclusively to support initiatives focused on long-lasting impact and institutional change for racial justice.

This grant money will be awarded in addition to the Foundation’s traditional fall grant cycle.

“The OSBF launched this new $500,000 initiative to educate and support positive institutional change regarding race and the quest for equal legal justice,” OSBF President Mark Kitrick said Tuesday. “In addition to our fall grant cycle, this grant money will be available to nonprofit organizations that are working on long-term, sustainable projects specifically designed to address racism in our legal system. We especially hope to support nonprofits that are collaborating with other organizations working toward racial justice here in Ohio.”

Grant applications for OSBF's new Racial Justice Initiative should specifically address and support initiatives concerning systemic racism that hinder the pursuit of justice and public understanding of the rule of law for the historically marginalized communities of color in Ohio.

“Since our grantmaking efforts began in 1992, the OSBF has given more than $12.5 million in grants to help build a better justice system throughout our great state; many of these grants have benefited racial minorities,” OSBF Executive Director Lori Keating said. “This is the first time, however, that we have created an additional grant cycle for the sole purpose of addressing systemic racial inequities in our legal system. I am pleased that our Board of Trustees has taken significant action in supporting Ohio nonprofits to respond to the racial disparities that are now at the forefront of our awareness.”

The deadline for phase one is Aug. 17. Subsequent phase deadlines will occur on Oct. 15; Jan. 15, 2021, and March 15, 2021. Applications that are submitted after one of the deadlines will be considered for the next phase, pending availability of funds and continuance of the initiative.

Organizations can apply online at OSBF.org/RacialJustice.

Each year, the OSBF gives away hundreds of thousands of dollars. This year, with its new Racial Justice Initiative grant, the Foundation will give away more than $1 million to Ohio nonprofits.

HBCUs Facing Money Challengers

As Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which include Central State and Wilberforce, prepare to reopen for the fall semester, nearly all of them face financial challenges amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The schools serve communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 both through infection rates and financial hardship.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Black Americans have an increased risk of infection from COVID-19 and are more likely to die from the virus.“We already serve a population that is greatly in need,” said Dr. Anthony Wutoh, provost and chief academic officer at Howard University in Washington, D.C. “The pandemic has just intensified that need.”

Improving Police - Community Relations

The Kettering Health Network Police Department and the Dayton Police Department are among several law enforcement agencies to recently complete the Ohio Collaborative recertification process, Karhlton Moore, executive director, Office of Criminal Justice Services, announced.

Recertification of the Ohio Collaborative standards takes place on a revolving, three to four-year cycle. OCJS plans to recertify more than 200 agencies by the end of 2020.

There are 452 agencies employing more than 28,088 officers (representing more than 87 percent of all law enforcement officers in Ohio, including most of Ohio’s metro areas) that are certified, and 24 in the process of becoming certified by meeting standards for the use of force, including deadly force, agency recruitment and hiring.

Besides Dayton and the Kettering Health Network police, the Loveland and Wyoming police departments are others in the region to achieve recertification.

The standards are the first of their kind in Ohio and were developed and established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board as part of the state’s efforts to strengthen community-police relations.

Things you need to know today:

• California prosecutors ask NFL to take down video of shooting
• Group wants Kenesaw Landis name taken off baseball’s MVP trophy

Cox Media Group