Protestors at Ohio Statehouse   Save
Columbus Free Press Collection Audiovisual Series
Description: Protestors gather on the steps at the Ohio Statehouse for a demonstration related to support of the "Lucasville Brothers," organized by the Ohio Prisoners' Labor Union on September 19. 1973. According to a related article, they hoped to bring attention to the 150 prisoners being held in solitary confinement since August at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (referred to as the Lucasville Penitentiary) in Scioto County, Ohio. The prisoners were largely members of the OPLU, and the punishment was seen as an effort to discourage union participation. One man's sign reads, "Lucasville is a $35,000,000 Concentration Camp." This photograph was taken for publication in the Columbus Free Press newspaper. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1301AV_B04F10_02
Subjects: Protests and protestors; Demonstrations; Activism; Prisoners and prisons; Correctional institutions -- Ohio; Labor unions
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)