OHIO INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

OhioICC is a non-profit association of diverse ethnic and racial groups (African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latinos, and Indigenous People) and the community-based and grassroots organizations that represent them.
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ABOUT US

The Ohio Institute for Communities of Color(OhioICC) comprises diverse ethnic and racial groups (African American, Asian,  and Pacific Islanders, Black,  Latino, and Indigenous People) of community-based and grassroots organizations. Past research on pandemics shows a myriad of inequities by race, ethnicity, and income groups, including the level of exposure to the pathogen, access to quality healthcare, post-pandemic effects, shortened life expectancy, and lower quality of life. This is mainly due to the persistence of unacceptable racial and ethnic health disparities, strongly correlated to upstream social determinants of health. Racism is a public health crisis that is under the umbrella of equity. To make equity real for communities with in-depth research and analysis and provide testimony and comments to public agencies.  

MISSION

The mission of the Institute shall be to achieve equity, health, and social justice. To enhance the health and well-being of the state through the combined efforts of individuals, organizations, professionals, and community leaders, the Institute is a collective voice for communities and a conduit for information and resources.

VISION

The vision of the Institute is to achieve equality, diversity, and inclusion for all by dismantling systemic racism

PURPOSE

The Institute's goal shall be to advance racial equity for people of color through advocacy, community and coalition building, research, economic opportunity, policy justice, and leadership development for communities of color of Ohioans (Asian, Blacks, Latinx, Native American and New American)

CURRENT MEMBERS

BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICAN
1
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER
1
LATINO AND HISPANIC
1
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1
NEW AMERICAN/IMMIGRANT
1

OUR HISTORY

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BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICAN

Black and African Americans have been part of Ohio’s history since the state’s creation in 1787 (University of Akron, 2008). In 1830, approximately 9,600 Black and African Americans resided in Ohio; by 1950, this group represented 6% of the state’s total population. Black and African American Ohioans have always faced considerable racism, discrimination, and violence. In the early 1800s, Ohio legislators passed the “Black Laws,” which required any Black person to post a $500 bond to gain entry into the state. These laws also restricted employment opportunities for Black Americans and prevented them from voting, serving on juries, testifying against Whites, and enrolling their children in public school (Middleton, 2005)
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ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER

The immigration of sizable numbers of people from Asian countries to the United States began in the 1850s, mainly for jobs on farms, railroads, and gold mines (Klingle, 2020). Others arrived as scholars and business merchants. Immigration from Asian countries was substantially slowed by the 1924 National Origins Act and remained stagnant for more than 40 years (Klingle, 2020). The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 removed restrictions, leading to a wave of Asian immigration; the later United States Refugee Act of 1980 advanced Asian American immigration by supporting refugees' resettlement, mainly from Southeast Asia.
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LATINO AND HISPANIC

Latino and Hispanic cultural groups have a long history in Ohio. Early migration was driven predominantly by Puerto Ricans who migrated to Lorain, Ohio, in 1947 in response to a concerted recruiting campaign by the National Tube Company (Schouten, 2020). Between 1960 and 2006, distinct Latino/ Hispanic communities formed in several major Ohio cities as they found employment in factories, on farms, or by successfully opening restaurants and specialty stores (Van Tassel & Grabowski, 1996).
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INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Indigenous peoples inhabited the land now in Ohio as early as 15,000 years ago. The pre-historic Mound Builders were here for centuries, perhaps dating back to the same time as when the Great Pyramids in Egypt were built. Over the centuries, the Mound Builders civilization grew and expanded throughout much of Ohio.
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NEW AMERICAN/ IMMIGRANTS

French and British colonialists were the first immigrants to Ohio (Ohio History Connection, 2020b). The second wave of immigration in the 1800s included settlers from western Europe (e.g., Germany, Ireland, and Italy) and eastern Europe (e.g., Russia, Poland, and Hungary). Starting in the 1940s in the wake of World War II, Ohio experienced an increase in immigrants with Jewish ancestry (Aumann et al., 2020) and an increase in immigration from a greater diversity of origin countries.
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OUR WORK

The Ohio Institute for Communities of Color (OICC) is a research and organizing institute working for racial and economic justice for people of color.  The institute will work on various significant policy issues, from economy to environmental policy, health care, civic justice, and housing. The problems are interconnected threads in a web of opportunity. 

HOUSING JUSTICE

Members of people of color bear a more significant burden of the health problems that result from higher exposure to waste and pollution. Neighborhoods, which are disinvested, are burdened with many hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life. 

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EMPLOYMENT JUSTICE

Many working families struggle to make ends meet, and many lack the support to help them achieve their financial goals. The effectiveness of public and private work supports in the context of challenges facing low-income families, such as employment instability, low wages, and the prevalence of jobs with nonstandard work hours and working conditions.

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ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

The environment may be taken to encompass all external factors and conditions that affect people’s lives.  The definition may be broad and include social aspects from a health perspective. Still, often it is taken to have a more restricted meaning of the chemical, biological and physical agents that impinge on health.

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ECONOMIC INEQUITY

Over the years, economic inequality, in particular, has become even more prominent as the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer. There are various types of economic inequality, most notably measured using the distribution of income and the distribution of wealth.

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HEALTH JUSTICE

Health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential,” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.”  Inequities are created when barriers prevent individuals and communities from accessing these conditions and reaching their full potential.

READ MORE...

HOUSING JUSTICE

Members of people of color bear a more significant burden of the health problems that result from higher exposure to waste and pollution. Neighborhoods, which are disinvested, are burdened with many hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life. 

READ MORE...

EMPLOYMENT JUSTICE

Many working families struggle to make ends meet, and many lack the support to help them achieve their financial goals. The effectiveness of public and private work supports in the context of challenges facing low-income families, such as employment instability, low wages, and the prevalence of jobs with nonstandard work hours and working conditions.

READ MORE...

ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

The environment may be taken to encompass all external factors and conditions that affect people’s lives.  The definition may be broad and include social aspects from a health perspective. Still, often it is taken to have a more restricted meaning of the chemical, biological and physical agents that impinge on health.

READ MORE...

ECONOMIC INEQUITY

Over the years, economic inequality, in particular, has become even more prominent as the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer. There are various types of economic inequality, most notably measured using the distribution of income and the distribution of wealth.

READ MORE...

HEALTH JUSTICE

Health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential,” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.”  Inequities are created when barriers prevent individuals and communities from accessing these conditions and reaching their full potential.

READ MORE...

OhioICC is a non-profit association of diverse ethnic and racial groups (African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous People) and the community-based and grassroots organizations that represent them.

614-886-1866

CONTACT US