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6 The GUIDE to YELLOW SPRINGS 2019 – 20 YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS www.wellnesscenter. antiochcollege.edu 937.319.0100 An oasis of health and wellness in Yellow Springs. The renovated 44,000-sq. ft. Wellness Center — spacious and filled with natural light — is designed to preserve historic architectural elements while incorporating modern amenities. • Pool & Large Therapy Spa equipped with UV filtration system to minimize chlorine • Day passes, monthly & annual memberships available • Swim lessons, workshops and series for members and non-members • Event space available for rent One Morgan Place Yellow Springs, OH 11 AM–9PM WED–MON CLOSED TUESDAYS DINE-IN • CARRY-OUT DELIVERY 1535 XENIA AVENUE 767-9000 CALYPSOGRILL.NET INFO@CALYPSOGRILL.NET Eric Espinosa, M.D. Board Certified Urologist S P E C I A L I Z I N G I N • Erectile Dysfunction • Botox & Biofeedback Treatment of Incontinence • Bladder Cancer • Vasectomy • Kidney Stones • Laser Treatment of Prostate Springfieldurology.net 937-342-9260 Offices in Beavercreek, Springfield & Xenia By AUDREY HACKETT J ohn Crawford III is not forgotten. That was the main message Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, at a memorial along Bea- vercreek's Pentagon Boulevard, outside the Walmart where Crawford, a 22-year-old black man from Fairfield, Ohio, was shot and killed by a white Beavercreek police officer five years ago. Organized by villager Yolanda Simpson, the memorial drew at least 100 people, including many from Yellow Springs. The mass shooting in Dayton early the day before didn’t appear to reduce turnout, and may have strengthened the mood of quiet determination evident at the event. “This is yet another tragedy in a long list,” participant Lynda Hardman observed prior to the event. “I’m here to stand in honor of him, and all the other young people’s lives.” Held under a blazing evening sun, Mon - day’s memorial opened with a 10-minute silent vigil. People stood shoulder to shoulder in a line that stretched along the roadside most of the way from one mall entrance to another. Some held hands. Some closed their eyes. “When you stand there, I want you to come up with solutions so that we don’t have to keep memorializing unarmed black people,” Simpson coached the crowd prior to the vigil. Young and old, black and white, the JOHN CRAWFORD MEMORIAL— Five years of seeking justice PHOTO BY AUDREY HACKETT In 2017, John Crawford III’s parents, John Crawford Jr. and Tressa Sherrod, above, took part in a commemoration marking the third anniversay of their son's death at the hands of police in a Beavercreek Walmart on Aug. 5, 2014. crowd stood very still for the allotted time. Some held signs that read “Remember John Crawford III,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Legalize Blackness,” or simply “Justice.” There were two cloth banners with quotes from James Baldwin. Cars passed. Some honked sup- port. At least one driver shouted, “All lives matter.” Crawford was killed in the pet food aisle of Walmart on the afternoon of Aug. 5, 2014. He was on his way to a barbecue. In the minutes before his death, he was talking on his phone to the mother of his children and distractedly handling an air rifle/pellet gun he’d picked up from the store’s shelves. Another shopper called 911, reporting that a black man with a gun was threatening customers. Responding to that single 911 report, Beavercreek police entered Walmart and shot Crawford twice within seconds of encountering him. They subsequently said they believed they were dealing with an active shooter. The store’s video surveillance footage shows that the 911 caller’s description of Crawford’s movements, including the claim that he was pointing a gun at a mother and her children, was false. A Greene County special grand jury declined to indict the officers involved in Crawford’s death. A Department of Justice investigation, concluded in July 2017, also cleared Beavercreek police of wrongdo- ing. Now a civil case brought by Craw- ford’s family against the officer who killed Crawford, Beavercreek Police, the city of Beavercreek and Walmart is pending. The case, after multiple delays, is scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Dayton, begin- ning Oct. 28. The family is seeking damages on a variety of state and federal claims. Both the circumstances of Crawford’s death and the fact that it was part of a string of police shootings of unarmed black people make this case particularly trou - bling to some local people. (The pellet gun Crawford picked up is a kind of hunting rifle, available on Walmart shelves and not sold as a firearm.) Many at Monday’s memorial voiced frustration and outrage that justice — five years later — has not been served. “It’s not just losing a child, but watching the process of justice be sabotaged,” Yellow Springs activist Bomani Moyenda observed during his remarks at the event. The crowd was still standing silently when Crawford’s father, John Crawford Jr.,