Stories that make our hearts beat faster

Ohio Humanities Program Officer Aaron Rovan's dog, Barbie, lays on a brown couch with a copy of Step by Step. Colored hearts overlay the image along with the Ohio Humanities logo.

This Valentine’s Day, we’re excited to highlight our love for Ohio’s stories and storytellers. Stories connect Ohioans, strengthen communities, and foster democracy. From a bilingual podcast series highlighting Central Ohio’s rich Bhutanese-Nepali community, to a documentary about our state’s longest-running lesbian bar, to a month-long festival in Cleveland celebrating the world’s first superhero, Ohio Humanities is proud to support storytellers who share … Read More

Nearly $400,000 in America 250-Ohio Grants Awarded to Ohio Communities and Organizations

Pennant with the America 250-Ohio logo reads "Fall 2023 Grant Recipient"

America 250-Ohio announces funding for 23 community-based projects as part of $1 million grants program to mark America’s 250th anniversary As Ohio prepares to celebrate and commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, America 250-Ohio, the official state commission charged with leading Ohio’s recognition of the semiquincentennial, awarded $398,240 in grants to 23 communities and organizations across 15 Ohio counties as part of the commission’s … Read More

Ohio Humanities funds narrative medicine research at Akron Children’s Hospital

Akron Children's Hospital logo

Akron Children’s received a $20,000 Ignite Grant from Ohio Humanities for the second phase of a study on the use of narrative medicine to help families who have a child in the hospital’s pediatric critical care unit (PICU). Narrative medicine uses the literary arts to help patients, families, and providers tell and listen to stories. Parents will be invited to … Read More

Ohio Humanities, Daydreamers Press release children’s book

Nonfiction picture book tells the story of a civil rights demonstration through the eyes of a real-life child activist Ohio Humanities and Daydreamers Press announce the release of Step by Step: How the Lincoln School Marchers Blazed a Trail to Justice, a new nonfiction picture book for young readers. Written by New York Times bestselling author Debbie Rigaud and Carlotta … Read More

America 250-Ohio Partners with Ohio Humanities to Launch Grants Program

$1 million fund will help Ohio nonprofits commemorate America’s 250th anniversary The America 250-Ohio Commission, Ohio’s official state commission charged with creating the celebration of the country’s semiquincentennial, announced it will offer grants up to $50,000 to nonprofit, education, and local government organizations. America 250-Ohio will work in unison with Ohio Humanities, a statewide nonprofit, to distribute $1 million in … Read More

The Story of Cory

Cleveland’s Cory United Methodist was born a Jewish synagogue and community center. Then, it evolved into a Christian church and became one of the nation’s most noteworthy centers of civil rights activism. Now, led by a passionate young pastor, the landmark that hosted crusaders from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Malcolm X is fighting not for equality but for its life.

The Film Fellows

By Taylor Starek Backed by a rich history of uplifting documentary filmmaking—and energized by what’s possible—Ohio Humanities has launched a partnership with Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts to support independent filmmakers.  The three-year film fellowship will help fund as many as five filmmakers-in-residence at the Wex each year who are working on humanities-informed documentary films with a … Read More

Ohio’s role in the nationwide fight for school integration

When their school district refused to integrate after Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954, a group of Black mothers in Southwest Ohio marched their children to the white school, demanding admission, only to be turned away every day for two years. Their activism resulted in one of the longest sustained protests of the civil rights era—one that began before … Read More

Ohio Humanities hiring Digitization Intern

Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is hiring an intern to assist in digitizing and cataloguing the organization’s archives. The intern will assist in all parts of the project, including sorting through archived files to select documents to be digitized, scanning those documents, creating the finding aid, and preparing the digital files for a … Read More

Storyteller Spotlight: Dr. Carlotta Penn

Dr Carlotta Penn

Dr. Carlotta Penn is Senior Director of Partnerships and Engagement for the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Global Engagement in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. She holds a PhD in Education and an MA in Comparative Studies from The Ohio State University, a BA in Mass Communication from Wright State University, and spent several years as … Read More