In addition to Paul Cienfuegos’s new book, there’s another CR book coming, this one from folks in Ohio.

CELDF announced this and other updates in a recent newsletter Nov. 18, 2021.

Book Announcement

Ohio community members have worked hard over the past eight years with CELDF, proposing charter amendments and ordinances recognizing local self-governance and rights of nature community bills of rights to protect both residents and ecosystems from harmful corporate projects where they live. These harmful projects ranged from oil/gas fracking, injection wells, industrial agriculture, water privatization and corporate control of local elections. What the people discovered over all those years is that the system is set up to stop the people from taking meaningful action to stop the harms. Some of these communities, like Williams County and Medina are labeled conservative “red” and others, like Youngstown, Columbus, Athens, Kent and Toledo, progressive “blue.” In the end it didn’t matter. The system in all of these places attempted to stifle the people’s voice.

But the people learned to talk and collaborate on what they shared in common. They got together in 2013 to form a network, the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN). In 2019 they jointly filed a civil rights lawsuit against the state. They have become more than allies, they have become friends, united around the shared values for Community Rights and Rights of Nature. They have differences of opinion but work through them to focus on shared goals, a lesson they hope to share with others.Soon they will be releasing a book entitled, Death by Democracy,  Protecting Water and Life: Frontline Stories from Ohioans Fighting Corporate and State Power. In the book they tell their own stories. The book conveys the hard work and perseverance involved in systemic change. Look for announcements and updates on how to order your copy….

 

Read the full post HERE.

And here’s a very cool timeline of the CR work in Ohio.

Photo credit: “The Victorian Players Theater, Mahoning Commons, Youngstown, Ohio” by Jack W. Pearce is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0