Ohio lawmaker seeks to right centuries-old injustice

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- This Juneteenth, an Ohio lawmaker is working to right what he calls an injustice that is nearly two centuries old.

“This is not only a suppressed history, it is an absolutely unacceptable injustice which should be repaired,” Randolph Freedpeople descendant Paisha Thomas said.

In 1846, 400 freed slaves from Virginia, known as the Randolph Freedpeople, made their journey to Mercer County in western Ohio to claim land left to them by their former slave owner, John Randolph, of Roanoke, Virginia.

But when the citizens of the county heard about it, they put forth a resolution in newspapers, like the one you see below.

The resolution reads, in part, “The best and most suitable measure for the removal of the entire colored population of the county and to prevent others from settling among us.”

Ultimately, the land was violently seized from the Randolph Freedpeople.

“For 178 years, the John Randolph’s Freedpeople and their descendants have lived with an egregious injustice,” Thomas said.

Now, nearly 178 years later, Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) is working to bring justice to the descendants.

“America’s original sin has been and remains the enduring legacy of slavery,” he said. “We occasionally have the chance to correct some of history’s greatest wrongs, and I believe today we are on the brink of such an opportunity.”

In a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, Jarrells urges the governor’s support and proposes “identifying all options to address the injustices faced by the descendants.”

“This isn’t a Democrat issue or Republican issue,” Jarrells said. “It’s about acknowledging our path and to do what our constitution sets forth: form a more perfect union.”

Jarrells said he plans to introduce a resolution in the Ohio House next week as a first step toward justice.

“And really build out a resolution to call for justice,” Jarrells said. “And then from there, I’ve been talking with the governor’s team, I’ve talked with republican colleagues, no one I have talked to has told me this is something we should not be talking about, it’s about how.”

Jarrells said the purpose of his resolution will be to acknowledge what happened. He said what we “really know is that there’s families that have been impacted by this for generations,” and it is incumbent upon him to work with his colleagues “to do something for these people.”

“Whether it’s a scholarship fund for descendants, whether it’s looking at building out a huge museum, whether it is looking at state-owned land that’s currently within 3,200 acres,” Jarrells said.

He said they are “in the light” to bring awareness to the history and ensure something gets done.

“What would it say about Ohio if we do nothing?” Jarrells said. “In my belief, it would be a travesty and a stain on this history that is Ohio.”

“It is time for Ohio to lean into the opportunity of being a place where justice is a core value,” Thomas said.