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GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS | 2021– 2022 55 A diverse crowd of about 100 attendees filled the floor and bleachers of the Bryan Center gym to cel - ebrate Juneteenth. | PHOTO BY RE I LLY DIXON in 2010, and the holiday has been observed annually in the village since 2013, with celebrations planned jointly by First Baptist Church and Central Chapel AME Church, including an online event in 2020 and a collaborative event with the YS Juneteenth Committee in 2021. In 2019, another June- teenth celebration was hosted in conjunction with the re-establishment of Help Us Make a Nation, or H.U.M.A.N., planned and executed by vil- lager Carmen Lee. H.U.M.A.N. hosted a second Juneteenth event at Beatty-Hughes Park in 2021 in conjunction with the completion of two murals in Kieth’s Alley, though it was postponed due to rain. The event was eventually held in July. “A lot of communities do celebrate [Juneteenth],” Lee said in 2019. “There are parades, there are rodeos — big events that commemorate that day in Texas.” Lee told the News that her own family’s history in Ohio began in 1822 when her great-great-great-great grandfather, Godfrey Brown, bought himself and 15 other people, including his wife and children, out of enslavement in Virginia. He and his family founded the 254-acre Brown Settlement in Caesarscreek Township, between present- day Xenia and Waynesville. Lee, who hosted the 2019 event at Mills Park Hotel, said her reasons for hosting the event there were partly per- sonal. When looking around the building, she saw an old map of the Miami Valley area hanging on the wall. On the map, which was issued in the mid-to-late 19th century, she saw, right in Caesarscreek Township, a notation for “Africa M.H.,” or “African Meeting House” — this was how the mapmakers and governing bodies of the day had referred to Middle Run Baptist Church, the church her ancestor Godfrey Brown founded and pastored. The church still operates, though it’s now located in Xenia. “That’s part of my history on the wall,” Lee said. History is central to cel- ebrating Juneteenth. Antioch College Associate Professor of History Kevin McGruder was one of the organizers of the first joint First Baptist and Central Chapel celebra- tion in 2013, and each year’s celebration has focused on a different theme con- nected to Black history, from African kings and queens to narratives of enslaved Black Americans. McGruder pointed out in a 2019 interview that, when the news of freedom finally reached the enslaved Black Americans in Texas from whom it had been withheld, despite the tragedy inherent in the delay, the overwhelm- ing reaction was one of joy. “The people who received that information decided not to dwell on the tragic side of things and created what really was a community celebra- tion,” McGruder said. But during Reconstruc- tion, celebrating Juneteenth became increasingly difficult, according to McGruder. “White people in the south became hostile to the Continued on page 56 233 Xenia Ave. • www.emporiumwines.com • 937-767-7077 E mporium W ines u nderdog c afé ! • breakfast & soups from scratch • fresh sandwiches & bakery treats • DaILY VeGan options • equaL exchange & faIr traDe orGanic coffees & espresso drinks • homemaDe breads & muffins DaILY wIth gLuten free choIces A NEWWAY TO EXPLORE WINE: VINO CSA EDITIONS Think “community supported agriculture,” but wine. HOW IT WORKS: Each month, we hand pick, describe, and package two small production, organic wines for you. Subscribers get them before they hit the shelf! Choose a subscription rate: $ 35 | $ 55 | $ 85 per month CAFÉ OPEN FOR SEATING 7 dAYS A WEEK AREA’S LARGEST SELECTION OF NATURAL WINES — ORGANIC & SUSTAINABLE