Ballot Battles

Ohio Wesleyan to Host Author Ric S. Sheffield Discussing 'Ohio's History of Resistance to the Black Vote'

DELAWARE, Ohio - Ric S. Sheffield, author and professor emeritus of Legal Studies and Sociology at Kenyon College, says the voting rights battles faced by Black men in Ohio in the 1800s were among "the most heated and significant of the Reconstruction Era."

Sheffield, J.D., will discuss those battles when he presents "Whistling Dixie: Ohio's History of Resistance to the Black Vote" at 7 p.m. March 31 at Ohio Wesleyan University. He will speak in the Benes Rooms of OWU's Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The event, the university's 2025-2026 Vogel Lecture, is free and open to the public.

Sheffield's latest book, "False Promises: The Struggle for Black Voting Rights in 1800s Ohio," presents narratives about men of color who went to the polls and were denied the right to vote, even after the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

"In this book, I share their stories of hope, courage, and resolve that readers will find both touching and inspiring as well as frustrating and infuriating," Sheffield stated upon its release in 2025. "Most of these cases and events, encompassing a history largely unknown and certainly not taught, take place in the sparsely populated regions of a Midwest state. What you may find surprising, regardless of where you now live, is how the voting rights battles in Ohio were some of the most heated and significant of the Reconstruction Era in the entire country."

The book also "connects these historical battles to the present, illustrating how voter-suppression tactics in today's Ohio have roots in the racial exclusions of the nineteenth century."

Before joining Kenyon's faculty in 1989, Sheffield served for 10 years as an assistant attorney general for the State of Ohio. He began his legal career as a civil rights lawyer, primarily handling cases of sex and racial discrimination. In addition to "False Promises," Sheffield is also the author of 2022's "We Got By: A Black Family's Journey in the Heartland." He earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Learn more at https://www.ricsheffield.com.

Ohio Wesleyan's annual Joseph and Edith Vogel Lecture is sponsored by the OWU Department of History. The Vogel Lecture is made possible through an endowment from their son, Ezra F. Vogel, Ph.D., now deceased. Ezra Vogel was a 1950 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, retired professor of East Asian Studies at Harvard University, and author of the critically acclaimed book, "Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China." Learn more about the lecture series and the OWU Department of History at owu.edu/history.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.