The people behind this archive and those whose work made it possible
The Remember Them archive is a collaboration between two graduate students at The Ohio State University. It is built on the conviction that the victims of unsolved homicides deserve more than a case number — they deserve to be known, remembered, and fought for.
Les is a Master's student in History at Ohio State whose research focuses on the racialized militarization of U.S. law enforcement. A veteran of the United States Air Force, he brings both scholarly and lived perspective to the history of policing and public safety. The Remember Them archive is an extension of his commitment to history as a public practice.
Ezra is a Master's student in Social Work at Ohio State. His training in community practice and social justice advocacy complements the project's historical research, grounding the archive in the lived realities of families affected by unsolved violence. He brings a commitment to survivor-centered approaches to every aspect of this work.
This archive stands on the shoulders of scholars and public servants who have fought to hold institutions accountable for unsolved violence and the communities left behind. We recognize their contributions to the work this project continues.
Dr. Cook is one of the foremost historians of American policing and criminal justice reform. Her research on police science, community resistance, and the Civil Rights and Black Power struggles of the 1960s has helped reframe how scholars and the public understand the history of law enforcement in America. Her dissertation, Soul Patrols: Race, Representation, and the Limits of Police Reform in America, 1962–2022, examined police reform and community partnerships in Boston and beyond — making her scholarship directly relevant to the communities at the heart of this archive. A recipient of the inaugural Norman G. Pauling Early Career Research Fellowship from the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Dr. Cook also teaches incarcerated students through the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project.
Rachael Rollins made history as the first woman elected District Attorney in Suffolk County and the first woman of color to hold that office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Later confirmed as the first Black woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, she built her career around the conviction that the criminal justice system must be held accountable to the communities most harmed by violence. As DA, she prioritized wrongful conviction review, criminal justice reform, and keeping Boston's homicide rate down. Her tenure brought national attention to the question of what justice truly looks like for victims and families left behind by the system.