The Locked Door with No Key: Why Ohio’s SB 153 Threatens Our Voting Rights

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There’s a quiet storm brewing in Ohio—and it's dressed in the language of “success,” but don't be fooled. Senate Bill 156, fresh out the 136th General Assembly, is coming for our youth’s minds under the slick branding of the “Success Sequence.” But once you strip away the polished words, it starts to look a whole lot like a setup. Let’s break it down.
Senate Bill 156 wants to make sure all public schools in Ohio teach students in grades 6–12 about something called the “Success Sequence.” Sounds harmless, right?
Here’s what it says:
Graduate high school.
Get a full-time job.
Get married before having children.
Do those three things, and the bill says you’ll avoid poverty. That’s the lesson they want embedded in our children’s curriculum.
But let’s take a breath and look deeper.
I love a good sequence. I teach frameworks all the time. But this ain’t that. This "sequence" ain’t grounded in the reality many of our youth face.
It ignores systemic barriers like racism, underfunded schools, redlining, generational trauma, and mass incarceration.
It paints poverty as a personal failure, not a result of stolen opportunity or economic sabotage.
It tries to put everyone in the same box, using a “one-size-fits-all” approach to life that wasn’t even built for us to begin with.
That’s not education. That’s indoctrination.
Let’s be real—this ain’t about your version of success. This ain’t about Ujima, Ujamaa, or Nia. It’s not about building strong families and communities from a culturally rooted perspective.
This bill reflects a white, middle-class, nuclear-family narrative of what life should look like. And they want to embed that into your child’s brain as the only “safe” path forward.
So what happens if you’re from a blended family? Raised by a strong single parent? What if your grind don’t look like a 9-to-5 but you’re building your own business, your own brand, your own way?
According to this bill? You’re off the path. You’re at risk. You’re wrong.
And that’s the problem.
Let’s connect some dots, family.
Project 2025 is the radical right's playbook for reshaping America—and public education is on the chopping block. They’re already:
Killing DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) programs
Pushing “patriotic” history
Silencing Black voices in curriculum
Removing honest conversations about race, gender, and justice
S.B. 156 is one of their tools. It don’t scream “radical right,” but it hums in harmony with the same song: erase the truth, flatten the culture, blame the poor, and keep the power.
This ain’t about fear—it’s about awareness and action.
Teach our children our truth: the Nguzo Saba, the principles of SelfMastery, the power of knowing who they are.
Question the curriculum: Ask what’s being taught. If it doesn’t align with your values, speak up.
Build our own sequences: Ones that center legacy, culture, tribe, and freedom.
You want a real “success sequence”? Try this:
Know thyself.
Build community.
Walk in purpose.
That’s the Gye-Nyame way.
They’re moving legislation. We need to move minds.
Senate Bill 156 might sound like it’s about helping kids—but it’s really about controlling their future. And that future doesn’t have room for Black brilliance, creativity, or culture unless we make that room ourselves.
Let’s stay woke, stay united, and keep teaching our young warriors how to walk in truth—our truth.
Need resources? Got questions? Ready to push back? Drop a comment or hit me directly.
Until then—walk strong, walk wise.
– Brother ha2tim
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