Kayah Woodford Raises Awareness in Bexley
The Ohio State student draws attention to racial inequity in her hometown.
Donna Marbury
As protesters passed around the bullhorn, Kayah Woodford joined the circle of those expressing anger and frustration. She was inspired to speak out for racial justice at a Downtown Columbus rally in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. But she didn’t want her message to stay there. She wanted to bring it to her hometown, too.
Joining with friends and mentors, Woodford launched the Bexley Anti-Racism Project, an organization dedicated to shining a light on racial inequities in the wealthy, predominantly white community. In June 2020, they hosted a Black Lives Matter rally in Bexley with nearly 1,000 demonstrators marching from the tight-knit, East Side suburb to the Statehouse, where they lay on the ground for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck. “You could feel the passion and the vulnerability of students stepping forward and sharing during such an upsetting, frustrating, emotionally exhausting time,” says Woodford, a 2019 Bexley High School graduate.