Ohio Armenian Genocide Recognition

Ohio legislators have recognized the Armenian Genocide on the state level. Gubernatorial proclamations as well as state and local legislation are provided below since 2007.  If you know of other documents to be added to this list – old or new – please send a note to elizabeth@anca.org. We look forward to showcasing them.

Ohio citizens also played an active role in assisting Armenian Genocide survivors through the Congressionally mandated Near East Foundation, during the years 1915 – 1930.  Learn more about their efforts below, through research prepared by the ANCA Western Region’s “America We Thank You” program.

And finally, review our snapshot of news coverage of the Armenian Genocide in Ohio press, as we spotlight three articles, prepared as part of the ANCA’s “Genocide Diary” project.  Check back to the Genocide Diary’s Ohio page for new articles added on a monthly basis.

Ohio Gubernatorial Proclamations

2007

Office of the Governor
Columbus, Ohio
2007

IN RECOGNITION OF April 24, 2007 Ohio Day of Remembrance For the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, 1915 to 1923

Today, I ask Ohioans to honor those who died in the Armenian Genocide, conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire, by recognizing their suffering resulting from the deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians. Of these 1.5 million men, women, and children were killed and one-half million were expelled from their homes. These acts succeeded in the elimination of a more than 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland.

All Ohioans embrace freedom, justice and human dignity. We have a collective responsibility to uphold these values and to focus the world’s attention on human rights abuses, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

Armenian-Americans throughout Ohio are joined by all those devoted to ending the cycle of crimes against humanity.

Ted Strickland, Governor

State Senate Resolutions

2015

A RESOLUTION As Adopted by the Senate 131st General Assembly Regular Session S. R. No. 67
Ohio
2015-2016
Senator Williams
Cosponsors: Senators Yuko, Patton, Skindell

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the 131st General Assembly of Ohio recognize the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, commemorated April 24, 2015; and

WHEREAS, On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities rounded up and arrested some two hundred fifty Armenian community leaders in Constantinople, starting a period during and after World War I in which the Ottoman Empire attempted to exterminate its minority Armenian populace. During this time, between 1 and 1.5 million Armenian people and other indigenous and Christian ethnic groups were systematically executed, and countless others fled to other parts of the world; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian annihilation led Raphael Lemkin to coin the term “genocide” in 1943 to define this systematic and premeditated extermination. The Armenian diaspora around the globe marks April 24 as the date to remember the injustice done to its people starting in 1915, and in observance of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the start of the genocide, commemorations will take place across the United States, including in Cleveland, and around the world; and

WHEREAS, The Centennial of the Armenian Genocide provides an opportunity to contemplate our individual responsibilities to humankind. We encourage all Ohioans to reflect on this brutal episode in history, for only by recognizing the hideous crimes of which mankind is capable, can we work against prejudice and hatred to ensure a future of hope and peace; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the Senate of the 131st General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this Resolution, recognize the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and salute all those taking part in related observances across the State of Ohio; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Ohio and to the news media of our state.

Ohio’s Support for Survivors of the Armenian Genocide

Ohio was an integral supporter of Near East Relief (NER), the American-led campaign that quickly sparked an international response with its unprecedented humanitarian endeavor, mobilizing all segments of American citizenry including elected officials, celebrities and laypersons alike, to help rescue victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-1930.

Ohio’s NER efforts were facilitated through its NER state office headquarters located at 1900 Euclid Building in Cleveland.

Rev. B.R Johnson of the First Church of Christ headed the Near East Relief Drive for the East Liverpool district in 1920. Each 250 persons in the community were asked to contribute $60, which would support one orphan for one year. The campaign was waged largely through churches, fraternal organizations and schools. A quota of $7,200 was established and funds derived from the campaign were forwarded to Near East Relief’s headquarters of Ohio in Cleveland for transfer to proper authorities in Asia Minor. The Evening Review of East Liverpool, Ohio stated in its October 6, 1920 issue: “The money will used in extending material assistance to the starving people of Armenia and Asia Minor, the victims of Turkish aggression and cruelty.”

Read the complete fact sheet prepared by America We Thank You.

The Armenian Genocide in Ohio Press

Click here for more Armenian Genocide Articles in Ohio Press

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