Photo: Bettmann Archive
Yellow Springs Juneteenth celebration set
- Published: June 9, 2025
The community is invited to join the Coretta Scott King Center at Antioch College and the Yellow Springs Juneteenth Committee for the Yellow Springs Celebration of Peace and Unity on Thursday, June 19, at Antioch College. The event will celebrate Juneteenth and commemorate the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commencement speech at Antioch College.
The celebration will begin with the annual Juneteenth Walk, organized by Steve McQueen and Dr. Kevin McGruder of The 365 Project. This year, the walk will highlight different places around the village central to Coretta Scott King and Dr. King’s time in Yellow Springs. McQueen has been conducting oral history interviews, drawing on existing oral history interviews conducted by McGruder to develop the walk, which will be led by youth tour guides. The walk will begin at 1 p.m. and depart from the Coretta Scott King Center.
Following the walk, the community is invited to participate in a Community Day celebration, which will take place from 2–5 p.m. on the horseshoe green at Antioch College. The celebration will feature food and non-food vendors, educational displays, arts activities, yoga, games for youth and adults, spoken word performances, workshops and free books for youth provided by the Yellow Springs Community Library. Attendees will also be able to relax on the green and enjoy music. Visit antiochcollege.edu/cskc for a full list of activities and vendors.
Organizers are still accepting applications for vendors at the Community Day celebration. For more information about vending, contact Dr. Queen Meccasia Zabriskie at qzabriskie@antiochcollege.edu or 937-767-1286 ext. 0093, or visit the above website.
At 5 p.m., the Juneteenth Ceremony and the commemoration of Dr. King’s speech will begin. The ceremony will feature a discussion of the history of Juneteenth; recitation of WPA slave narratives; drumming by the Yellow Springs Peace, Justice and Freedom Drummers; music selections by the World House Choir; a dance performance; recitation of excerpts of Dr. King’s commencement speech; and the dedication of a plaque created by the Zeta Delta Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. The celebration will end with an outdoor dance party.
If there is inclement weather, activities will be moved inside of the McGregor Hall at Antioch College and the Juneteenth Ceremony inside of the Foundry Theater.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States. It commemorates the day, June 19, 1965, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with an executive decree emancipating enslaved African Americans two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This year marks the 160th anniversary of this important historic event.
To donate to the celebration, visit The 365 Project’s website at donorbox.org/ys-juneteenth.
For more information about this program or the work of the Coretta Scott King Center, contact Zabriskie. For more information about the YS Juneteenth Committee or The 365 Project, contact McGruder at the365projectys@gmail.com.
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