Day: February 13, 2025

(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 2/13/2025) – The Columbus-based Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the latest racist insults directed at the Haitian Community in Springfield, Ohio, in a city commission meeting.

CAIR-Ohio expressed solidarity with the Haitian community locally and nationally as it continues to face the consequences of rumors sparked last year by President Trump and Vice President Vance.

Although City officials confirmed the baselessness of Trump’s allegations multiple times, Springfield, Ohio, has received more than 30 bomb threats, an uptick in hate crimes and Neo-Nazi rallies and campaigns, both in person and online.

The latest incident of Haitian-targeted racism occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 11, when a man reportedly made racist comments comparing the intelligence of Haitians to dogs at a city commission meeting. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and City Commissioner Krystal Brown defended their community, removing the aggressor and a supporter.

SEE: City officials push back against racist insults to Haitians at public meeting

“We condemn this racist rhetoric and all other bigoted attacks targeting the Haitian community in Springfield,” said CAIR-Ohio Executive Director Khalid Turaani. “The spread of this despicable hatred must be stopped, and we must come together as a community to repudiate all forms of bigotry. We stand in solidarity with the Haitian community as it deals with these hate incidents.”  

Turaani added that CAIR expressed solidarity with the Haitian community nationwide as it has been targeted by an online racist hate campaign.

He added that CAIR-Ohio is committed to fighting bigotry and has recently condemned a banner and flags with Nazi swastikas and white supremacist statements put up by a group of neo-Nazis on a highway overpass in a historically Black community.

SEE: CAIR-Ohio Condemns Neo-Nazi Group’s Hate Event in Historically Black Neighborhood

As of February 5th, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and several other local officials filed a lawsuit on behalf of the City of Springfield against the Neo-Nazi group, Blood Tribe, for “engaging and enticing a campaign of harassment and intimidation, motivated by ethnic and racial hatred.’’

SEE: Springfield Ohio Sues Neo-Nazi Group

 CAIR-Ohio is committed to pursuing any incidents of harassment, discrimination, or intimidation to protect the civil rights, dignity, and safety of all individuals, regardless of their background, beliefs, or identity. To report an incident, file this form.

(Columbus, Ohio, 2/12/2025) Yesterday at the Ohio Statehouse, hundreds gathered to testify in front of the Ohio Senate Higher Education Committee in an opponent testimony hearing for Senate Bill 1.

Staff from The CAIR-Ohio, Columbus and Cleveland chapters were in attendance and among the many awaiting turn to speak. The 75-page bill proposes suppressive measures that will result in the criminalization of “controversial” opinions or materials shared in class in favor of “neutrality,’’ which includes banning faculty strikes and publicizing class syllabi as well as the dismantling of all DEI structures within Ohio’s public universities.

Minority students, faculty, staff, and religious and culture-based groups will be particularly impacted. The bill blocks access to culturally competent services and institutional support as it strips away DEI funding and resources. It includes banning orientations, training, offices or departments, and any DEI-specific scholarships and initiatives. Similar policies in other states have led to crackdowns on pro-Palestinian activism and increased islamophobia as it emboldened far-right groups to misuse “neutrality’’ and “free speech” protections to justify hate speech on campuses.

“As an organization dedicated to promoting justice, protecting civil rights, and ensuring equity for all Ohioans, we are deeply concerned that SB 1 creates an unprecedented framework for state overreach in higher education. This bill threatens to stifle open dialogue and undermine the very principles that make Ohio’s universities spaces for intellectual growth and civic engagement,’ wrote CAIR-Ohio Columbus Legal Director Jwayyed Jwayyed in his testimony. “Moreover, this bill raises constitutional concerns. [SB1] is vague, overbroad, and ripe for misuse in its requirements for universities to remain ‘neutral.’ It would give state schools broad discretion to suppress speech the state disfavors, while permitting other viewpoints, effectively promoting viewpoint discrimination.’’

At the Ohio Statehouse, the opponent hearing spanned nearly eight hours with more than two hundred oral and eight hundred written testimonies submitted. CAIR-Ohio Columbus staff in attendance included Legal Director Jwayyed Jwayyed, Legal Assistant Raneem Albawab, Outreach Coordinator Caisha Abdullahi, and Communications Coordinator Sara Abou Rashed, who also submitted a personal testimony calling this bill “one rooted in fear, not protection. A bill, ultimately, asking us to be afraid of each other, of our stories.’’

CAIR-Ohio is committed to pursuing any incidents of harassment, discrimination, or intimidation to protect the civil rights, dignity, and safety of all individuals, regardless of their background, beliefs, or identity. To report an incident, file this form.