COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Black History Month continues, Ohio lawmakers and community leaders gathered Wednesday at the statehouse to address the challenges facing the state’s Black community and outline priorities for the year ahead.

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus hosted an event alongside community leaders focused on maternal health, economic stability, public safety reform, educational opportunity, workforce mobility and housing affordability.

Maternal health emerged as a pressing concern.

“In Ohio, Black mothers face significantly higher rates of pregnancy-related mortality than white mothers,” said state Rep. Ashley Bryant Bailey, D-Cincinnati.

Housing costs were also a key topic.

“About 1 in 4 Ohio renters are spending more than 50% of their income just to stay housed, and that is if they can find housing,” said state Rep. Erika White, D-Springfield Twp.

On economic issues, state Sen. Willis Blackshear, D-Dayton, said it’s about broader empowerment.

“Economic power is not simply employment. It is ownership,” he said.

State Rep. Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, said lawmakers have an obligation to do more than acknowledge these problems.

“Our responsibility as lawmakers is to not narrate struggle. It is to dismantle structural barriers,” he said.

Voter engagement was also discussed. According to the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, of the slightly more than 1 million eligible Black voters in Ohio, more than 600,000 did not vote in midterm elections between 2019 and 2023, due to disinterest, lack of access or other barriers.

Shayla Davis, president and CEO of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, said visibility and results are critical to changing that.

“The community needs to see that Black legislators at the state level are actually showing up and working for them, but in addition to that they need to see outcomes. They need to hear what’s actually happening,” she said.

Gloria Blevins, president and executive director of the Black Child Development Institute of Ohio, which focuses on early childhood mental health, maternal health and child care, said the moment calls for both reflection and action.

“It’s essential that we lean on our ancestors and bring those tools forward, but also utilize new tools and become a collective voice for collective impact,” Blevins said.

The group also held a roundtable to discuss the issues in depth, explore possible solutions and coordinate efforts to accomplish goals.