In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, host Mike Thompson discusses the wide range of demands coming from protesters on how to change policing. Morgan Harper, former candidate for Ohio's 3rd Congressional District, joins the show.
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In this week's episode:
Where Will Protests Lead?
After two weeks of protests, proposals for how to reform the police department are starting to take shape. While some protesters–and most Columbus public officials–favor changes to police training, oversight and policy, others are calling for more severe measures such as drastically defunding the department, or abolishing it entirely.
Snollygoster Of The Week: State Sen. Steve Huffman
During a hearing at the Ohio Statehouse on whether to declare racism a public health crisis, state Sen. Steve Huffman asked a question about why African Americans are disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
“Could it just be that African Americans–the colored population—do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear a mask? Or do not socially distance themselves? Could that just be maybe the explanation of why there’s a higher incidence?”
The question brought immediate and harsh criticism for using the term "colored” and perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Huffman, who's also a physician, apologized. He says the question was unintentionally awkward, and was the exact opposite of what he meant.
On Thursday, Huffman was fired from his position as an ER doctor at TeamHealth, and the ACLU has called for his resignation from the Ohio Senate.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.
