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Amidst challenging economic times and fierce legislative
battles over voting restrictions, access to healthcare, and
police-community relations, the OLBC’s spirited advocacy
gave a voice to the interests of Ohio’s more than 1.6
million African American citizens.
“Not only were we able to be a voice for communities of
people who felt left behind, but – for our constituents – we
helped produce tangible results that helped to improve the
quality of life for African Americans in Ohio,” Reece said.
While Reece was president the state hit an unprecedented
benchmark in meeting Minority Business Enterprise goals two
years in a row. The caucus also successfully advocated for,
among other issues and accomplishments:
-$2.7 million for additional state summer job-youth slots.
-$1 million for on-the-job training with ODOT and the
Cincinnati Urban League.
-$330,000 for minority business assistance programs through
the African American Chamber of Commerce.
-An end to juvenile courtroom shackling.
-A statewide community-police relations taskforce.
-African American membership on Ohio Peace Officer Training
Academy.
-Annual re-entry job fair.
-$3.5 million for Central State University, leveraging $10
million in federal funding and federal land grant status.
With Reece at the helm, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus
was a vocal and high-profile organization that made its
views known on the important issues facing Ohio’s African
American community. Reece took a new approach to advocacy
during her tenure, creating an annual “OLBC Day of Action”
that brought hundreds of civic leaders, faith leaders,
business leaders and citizens from all over the state to the
capitol for a lobby day each year.
“As a group, we not only spoke out about the important
issues and challenges in our communities and throughout our
state, but we also demanded action,” Reece said. “Columbus
is littered with special interest groups and lobbyists, but
regular citizens deserve to have their voices heard too. It
is up to us to speak up with our collective voice to demand
action from our state leaders, and I feel confident we did
just that.”
Reece and state Rep. Christie Kuhns (D- Cincinnati) also
took an approach similar to the innovative Day of Action in
organizing the OLBC’s quadrennial statewide convention in
2016, a day-long event that drew hundreds of participants
for workshops, seminars and briefings on voting rights, jobs
and economic opportunities, criminal justice reform and
healthcare. For the 2016 convention Reece brought in
outspoken Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for a
women’s empowerment luncheon and ended the evening with a
keynote speech from prominent civil rights and business
leader Vernon Jordan.
Events aside, Reece and the OLBC confronted Ohio tragedies
that mirrored national police-led deaths of unarmed African
American men and women. The outcry and civil unrest that
followed several high-profile cases spurred a public
dialogue surrounding police-community relations and the need
for justice reform immediately in Ohio and throughout the
nation. With the urging of the OLBC, Gov. Kasich issued an
executive order on December 12, 2014, forming the Ohio Task
Force on Community-Police Relations, on which Reece served
as a founding member.
The Cincinnati lawmaker also introduced her own justice
reform measures in the House, including HB 380, bipartisan
legislation to create a more transparent investigative
process with deaths that result from a law enforcement
officer’s use of a firearm; and John Crawford’s law, named
in memory of the Beavercreek teen who was shot to death in a
Wal-Mart while holding an air gun he picked up off a store
shelf.
Pres. Reece also played an integral role in stabilizing
Central State University, Ohio’s historically black
university, by working across the aisle to secure the
school’s land-grant status and attached funding. Her
bipartisan work resulted in a joint Republican leadership
visit to the school and a working relationship that brought
about this month’s House passage of legislation to
automatically erase arrest records of individuals who were
never criminally charged, HB 618.
The caucus and Reece also led an initiative to place a
Voter’s Bill of Rights constitutional amendment on Ohio’s
ballot to permanently enshrine voting rights in Ohio.
Together, they gathered over 100,000 signatures from all 88
counties. Reece says she will continue working on the
initiative and fighting for voting rights in the
legislature.
Reece is term-limited from serving as OLBC president
according to the group’s bylaws, but will continue to be
active within the organization while serving out her final
term as state representative for Ohio’s 33rd
House District.
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