Pictured are Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and Justice Melody Stewart, Stewart the first Black elected to the court

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief. Coleman is a former public school biology teacher and a seasoned Black political. legal and investigative reporter who trained as a reporter at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio for 17 years,

COLUMBUS, Ohio-The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down GOP drawn state House and Senate district maps, ruling 4-3 that the new maps do not meet the anti-gerrymandering rules established by voters in 2015 and are unconstitutional. The ruling sends the maps back to the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission for a new plan that must be adopted within 10 days, and the Ohio Supreme Court retains its authority to review any rewrites.

A Republican and former lieutenant governor, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor broke with her party and joined the three Democrats on the seven member largely female and majority Republican court to bring Democrats and voting advocates a win.

The court's majority opinion was written by Justice Melody Stewart, a Democrat and the first Black elected to the court. A former 8th District Court of Appeals judge out of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, Stewart's  opinion on behalf of the majority says the maps disproportionately favor Republicans.

Those preferences, she wrote, were 54% for Republican candidates and 46% for Democratic candidates over the past 10 years and since the last census report.

“The commission is required to attempt to draw a plan in which the statewide proportion of Republican-leaning districts to Democratic-leaning districts closely corresponds to those percentages,” wrote Stewart. “Section 6 speaks not of desire but of direction: the commission shall attempt to achieve the standards of that section."

The court heard oral arguments last month relative to three lawsuits that challenge the Republican-approved state legislative district maps, controversial maps approved in September by the Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC), which  is accused of  approving illegally drawn maps that are racist and that favor Republican candidates for office. (Editor's note: The ORC also has jurisdiction under state law to approve congressional district maps when the state legislature reaches an impasse on the issue but this article pertains to the controversy around the ORC's drawing of maps for state legislative districts, and three pending lawsuits that say the new maps are unconstitutional).

Set to take effect for the 2022 elections for open seats on the  Ohio state legislature, such maps determine state district boundaries for elections of state representatives and state senators in Ohio, and in a discriminatory fashion, the lawsuits say. Currently, Republicans control the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, which is partly why the ORC is largely Republican.

An amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 2015 changed the way the process for drawing congressional and state legislative maps occurs and created the ORC, though districts are still drawn initially in conjunction with population dynamics in response to the U.S. Census every 10 years. The year 2020 marked 10-years since the last applicable census and, accordingly, this year is the first time that the new process that employs authority to the ORC to step in for the state legislature when a partisan conflict ensues over the maps has been put to a test.

The first lawsuit for which the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in December was filed by the ACLU primarily on behalf of the League of Women Voters and the A. Phillip Randolph Institute and the second by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee on behalf of a group of Ohio voters. A third suit was brought by plaintiffs who say the maps dilute Black Muslim votes. It was filed by the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and the Ohio Environmental Council.

All three of the lawsuits were filed in the Ohio Supreme Court and allege in large part that the ORC purposely gerrymandered the maps to help Republicans win elections over Democrats for state House and Senate races with the plaintiffs in the third lawsuit claiming also that the maps have racial implications that raise constitutional questions since a majority of Black and Muslim voters and voters of color in general are Democrats.

"OOC believes that the maps currently under scrutiny by the state's highest court are unconstitutional because of the ways they dilute the power of voters in Black, brown, immigrant, and Muslim communities through "cracking and packing," a spokesperson for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative said in a statement to Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader.

The maps that Ohio's highest court struck down on Wednesday were approved by the commission (ORC) 5-2 on Sept. 16 with Democrats House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes of Akron and her father, state Sen Vernon Sykes, also of Akron, refusing to support the measure. Both of them are Black. The younger Sykes is no longer House Minority leader, and her successor, state Rep Allison Russo, an Upper-Arlington Democrat, will serve on the ORC in her place as the commission begins complying with the court's order to revise the maps.

The five Republican members of the ORC, including Ohio Gov Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, eagerly voted for the new maps and subsequently issued a press release praising the process. The issue moved to the seven member commission (ORC) after state lawmakers as a whole and along party lines could not agree to the redistricting maps. Under the new redistricting rules that Ohio voters approved at the ballot box in 2015 the maps are for four years because Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature could not agree on 10-year maps.

Ohio lawmakers are term-limited. State law restricts state legislators in Ohio from holding office for more than eight years, and only after a four year period out of office.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black and first female vice president

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - Speaking from the predominantly Black city of Atlanta, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday called for the U.S. Senate to change filibuster rules in an effort to get two voting rights bills passed in Congress, namely the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

All 50 Republicans in a 50-50 U.S. senate are against a filibuster rule change as well as the enactment of such bills, proposed legislation on voting supported by the Congressional Black Caucus and Black leaders and Civil Rights organizations across the country.

Two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are siding with Republicans on the filibuster controversy. The senate will vote on whether the rules should be changed to eliminate the filibuster, an uphill battle for Democrats. Under current Senate rules, any modification or limitation of the filibuster would be a rule change that itself could be filibustered, with two-thirds of those senators present and voting (as opposed to the normal three-fifths of those sworn) needing to vote to break the filibuster.

"I'm tired of being quiet," Biden said during his speech on Tuesday in Atlanta before a small but largely Black audience that sat outside behind him, the event also a Biden-Harris press briefing. "Sadly the United States senate, designed to be the world's greatest deliberative body, has been rendered a shell of its former self. We must find a way to pass these voting rights bills."

A filibuster is a political procedure where one or more members of a Congress or Parliament debate over a proposed piece of legislation so as to delay a decision being made on the proposal or entirely prevent such a decision from occurring. And such limited debate can continue unless of three fifth of those senators present vote to end the debate, or filibuster, A former U.S. senator -turned vice president, and then president, Biden said Tuesday that the threat to the country's democracy is so grave, and that "we have no option but to change the senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this."

His more aggressive stance on voting comes as the mid-term elections loom and following pressure from Black leaders and Civil Rights groups such as the NAACP for the president to take a stronger position on voting rights and to make good on his campaign promises to Black voters.

During a speech after he was elected in November 2020 over incumbent Republican president Donald Trump with the help of Black voters nationally, Biden, a Democrat and vice president under former president Barack Obama, promised to stand up for Black people, and Black voters.

"The African-American community stood up for me," Biden said relative to the after election speech. " You've always had my back and I'll have yours."

Vice President Harris spoke briefly at Tuesday's briefing with the president in Atlanta and urged swift Congressional action on the demand by Senate Democrats to end filibustering and pass the two voting rights bills at issue.

“If we stand idly by, our entire nation will pay the price for generations to come,” said Harris, the nation's first Black and first woman vice president.

At least 19 states, including Ohio, and led predominantly by Republican state legislators, have enacted laws to make it harder for Blacks to vote, Democrats and voting rights advocates say.

While in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, Biden later spoke at the historic Antioch Baptist church where U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has been pastor since 2005. Civil Rights leaders such as the Rev Al Sharpton and the Rev Jesse Jackson were among the prominent Black dignitaries there. But some voting rights groups purposely stayed away and have said that Biden has not been assertive enough in seeking Congressional legislation around voting rights since becoming president.

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was a no show due to a scheduling conflict, Biden said. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Slain Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio - Funeral services were held on Tuesday at the Grace Church of Middelburg Heights for slain Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek, 25, who was shot and killed in connection with a New Year's Eve carjacking by 18-year-old Tamara McLoyd, who is Black and has been indicted in his murder on several charges, including aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, grand theft, and having weapons under disability.

Though Officer Bartek, 25, was off-duty when he was killed, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb deemed his killing that of an on-duty cop in order that the fallen officer's family could qualify for benefits, including funeral and burial monies. Cleveland Police Patrolmen's President Jeff Follmer had argued that since Bartek struggled with McLoyd before she allegedly gunned him down, that he was, in fact, acting as an on-duty police officer. How this questionable determination by the city that Bartek was on-duty when he was killed will impact the upcoming likely trial and McLoyd's constitutional right to a fair trial remains to be seen.

Hundreds of police officers from across the state, including as far away as Cincinnati, were in attendance to bid farewell to Bartek at funeral services in early January. Bartek's twin sister, Summer Bartek, was among the speakers, and she gave a touching tribute.

“I wish I could tell him one more time how much I admired him,” Summer Bartek said. “How he has always been my idol growing up and always will. I am 13 minutes older than Shane, but he always treated me like a little sister.”

Interim police chief Wayne Drummond, a 32-year law enforcement veteran who became interim chief last Monday when Mayor Bibb assumed office, has called the tragic shooting death of the police officer "senseless."

Drummond was also among the speakers at the funeral, and he described Bartek as an officer and a gentleman, and a role model for other patrolmen.

“While I did not have the privilege to know Shane personally, I have recently talked with many officers who spoke of him very highly,” Drummond said. “I’ve learned that courage came naturally to Shane. And I’ve heard stories that tell me Shane truly embodied the virtues needed to be an outstanding law enforcement officer.”

Prosecutors say McLoyd  was on probation and under the supervision of the Lorain County Juvenile Court for a robbery conviction when she allegedly shot and killed Bartek.  Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley told reporters that at that time McLoyd had been convicted of robbery as a juvenile in Lorain County Juvenile Court and that she should not have been on the streets, though a judge who had released her from custody obviously disagreed with his stance.

Officer Bartek was shot twice in the back in his car, which was parked outside of his apartment complex. He was pronounced dead after being transported by EMS from the scene of the shooting to Fairview Hospital

Surveillance video purportedly reveals that McLoyd drove off in the officer's car after she allegedly shot him. She ultimately delivered the car to Anthony Butler Jr, 28 and of Bedford Heights, the other suspect in the case is charged with fleeing and receiving stolen property. Police recovered the stolen car following a high speed chase through the city and several other communities.. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Pictured is Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle, interim pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, one of Cleveland's most prominent Black churches