the petition informed the legislature that Black Ohioans owned property worth $500,000 and paid state and local taxes amounting to $2,500. The petition concluded with the hope that the legislature would see fit to recognize the taxpayer status of Black Ohioans by appropriating public funds for their use. As “men[,] christians and republicans,” the petitioners promised to continue exercising their “inalienable right to freely expressing our opinions … till justice be done.”
