We care about smart policy, not partisan politics. We want to build community, not divide it. And we’ve had enough with the bullsh*t.
Who We Are
Launched by longtime Ohio organizers in August 2024 in response to the rapid normalization of extremism in Ohio, Ohioans Against Extremism holds the line against hate. We work to motivate every Ohioan — regardless of party or zip code — to be better to each other. But we will never sacrifice justice for politeness. And we will never trade our neighbors’ civil rights or safety for the sake of “political compromise”.
As a 501(c)4 nonpartisan nonprofit, we are allowed to take sides on issues that matter to us, and we do. We aren’t neutral, and don’t pretend to be. But we are truly nonpartisan. We’ve got strong opinions, but we answer only to everyday Ohioans, not a political party. Our strong opinions on policy reflect how much we care about getting it right.
Read more about our origin story in the Columbus Dispatch, Buckeye Flame, Axios, IdeaStream, and Spectrum News.
What We Do
We strengthen communication among organizations, train leaders in different communities, activate disengaged voters, and promote common-sense values across Ohio. We galvanize Ohioans across the political spectrum, focus on our shared values and goals, and connect voters with tangible anti-extremism actions that will make a difference in their communities.
Whether it’s helping Ohioans tell their own stories, providing educational materials to grassroots groups, or creating and consolidating reliable resources, Ohioans Against Extremism helps Ohioans become their own best advocates.
What We Care About
We care about political actions that impact Ohioans’ lives, which means caring about a bunch of different events and issues at once.
Our Priority Issues:
- Community Safety,
- Economic Justice,
- Racial Justice,
- LGBTQ+ Rights,
- Access to Healthcare,
- Representative Government,
- Sustainable Communities.
- Strong Public Education
We know what you’re thinking. That’s a lot of issues. A little ambitious, right? Don’t worry, we aren’t going to pretend we’re experts on everything.
We turn to subject matter experts to inform our priorities and perspectives.
Remember experts? Ah, we miss experts. We miss listening to people who actually know what they’re talking about. We bug experts a lot to help Ohioans follow science, qualitative and quantitative data, and thoughtful analysis on topics that matter most to Ohio’s future.
Our Guiding Principles
We don’t pretend to know it all, and love to deliberate and learn from others. We celebrate the fact that thoughtful debates get us to better solutions and always stay open-minded. But we’ve got some stuff we won’t budge on.
Ohioans Against Extremism’s guiding principles set the direction and priorities for our work:
- Everyone is worthy of living and working with dignity, regardless of race, gender, class, religion, immigration status, ability, or identity.
- We negotiate solutions, not values.
- We have no patience for lies & disinformation.
- We seek a thriving future, not revenge for the past.
- We define extremism before extremism defines us.
Defining Extremism
Understandably, one of the first questions we get is often, how do you define extremism? We’re glad you asked!
Ohioans Against Extremism defines extremism as rhetoric, policy, or action that:
- Promotes provoking physical violence;
- Targets, harms, or undermines the freedom of a specific community;
- Undermines the power of marginalized communities;
- Disproportionately enriches the rich or empowers the powerful; OR
- Disregards objective facts or science or deviates significantly from the majority of subject matter experts’ informed conclusions
For more information about how to identify extremism, check out this resource from How Things Work at the Statehouse
Support Our Work
If you appreciate our work, please consider supporting us. We don’t have any billionaire friends 🙁