When CJ died, many understood that she was a transformational leader who inspired people in Cleveland, Ohio, and across the nation. Her life was dedicated to advocacy, leadership, and caring for others, leaving a powerful legacy of commitment to education and social justice.
CJ’s commitment to religious pluralism was evident in how she practiced her devotion to Jesus Christ as a member of the Hiawatha Church of God in Christ in Ashtabula. She would often speak up when some Christians adopted a narrow view, explaining that people have the right to their faith or no faith at all.
Her total commitment to her sons, Albert and Maurice, was unwavering. Though never a sports enthusiast, CJ would dutifully attend their wrestling matches, knowing that they needed her support. Her 43-year loving marriage was something she celebrated, declaring that the best thing she had done in life was to marry her partner.
CJ was a powerful advocate through legislative maneuvering, becoming a leader for the marginalized in the State Board of Education, the Ohio House, and the Senate. She was indeed a member of the “Squad” before there was a “Squad.” Her tactical and strategic brilliance allowed her to work with Republicans to challenge Democrats and engage in hunger strikes, ballot initiatives, walk-outs, and legislative compromises, always laser-focused on how to take concrete steps toward social justice.
Her commitment to feminism demanded that Black women take their rightful place in charting feminist direction. CJ was willing to confront and lead so that feminism would not be only the province of white women. She also had the vision to begin Ohio Policy Matters as a beacon for pro-working-class people and as a method to confront capitalist greed, ensuring that progressive organizations always included Black people and addressed the effects of white supremacy.
She was indeed a member of the "Squad" before there was a "Squad."
CJ provided inspirational leadership to mentor a new generation of lawmakers who would follow her policy lead and see the importance of connecting policy changes with supporting social movements. The Prentiss-Charney Fellows Program at the Zinn Education Project is just one example of inspiring young people to work and fight for social justice.
She was willing to ignore the so-called “realistic” voices claiming no money existed to create a constitutional system of fair funding of all Ohio public schools. She also maintained principled opposition to the “lock-them-up” mentality of most of her colleagues, Democrat and Republican, in response to youth alienation and the war on drugs. On many occasions, CJ was the sole vote against draconian sentencing policies.
CJ was an aggressive champion of full literacy for all children, home libraries, and book ownership, seeing literacy as the root of liberation, as Frederick Douglas so eloquently stated. She was committed to cultural competency for teachers and teaching the truth about racism, slavery, and resistance, and the need for comprehensive Holocaust education.
Her full-throated and active support extended to all forms of labor struggle, from the Farm Workers Organizing Committee (FLOC) to Jobs with Justice to the campaign to raise Ohio’s minimum wage. She offered steadfast support of teacher unions in Cleveland and throughout Ohio and maintained principled opposition to private school vouchers and charter schools.
CJ provided active and strategic leadership for Black women in politics through being a founder of the National Caucus of Black Political Women and the Cleveland African American Woman’s Agenda. Her Ohio and national leadership produced strategic plans to Close the Achievement Gap and opposed using standardized test scores to measure African American achievement. She brought together Black and Hispanic state lawmakers nationwide to jointly campaign to close the achievement gap among students.
Her leadership in implementing a successful program to raise the graduation rate of Black males in high schools across Ohio was another significant achievement. Now, her supporters in Ashtabula are setting up the CJ Prentiss Education Resource Center, where CJ’s transformative vision of public education for teachers, parents, students, and the community will serve as a beacon for the nation.