African Americans In YS Section :: Page 10

• Elders recall a more diverse era

  By Megan BachmanNovember 1, 2012

  

  The complicated history of race relations in town and the significant role African Americans have played in the making of Yellow Springs will be addressed at a forum on Monday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Antioch University Midwest.

• Bender honored for WWII service

  By Diane ChiddisterMarch 22, 2012

  

  As a boy growing up in Mississippi, Jonas Bender knew about racism and segregation. But living in “the oasis of integration” that was the college town of Tougaloo, Bender knew about racism mainly from other people’s stories.

• A civil rights milestone, 50 years on

  By Megan BachmanDecember 1, 2011

  

  Fifty years ago this month, African-American villager Paul Graham walked into Lewis Gegner’s barbershop on Xenia Avenue, sat down in his barber chair and asked for a haircut. “I can’t cut your hair,” the white barbershop owner replied, according to Graham’s account. “I don’t know how. That’s all there is to it.” That day Graham […]

• Gegner legacy strong after 50 years

  By Megan BachmanNovember 22, 2011

  

  Fifty years ago this month, African-American villager Paul Graham was refused a haircut at Louis Gegner’s barbershop on Xenia Avenue, sparking a historic legal case at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement. Today, villagers look back on the Gegner incident.

• 2010 Census redux— Stats confirm diversity drop

  By Megan BachmanJune 2, 2011

  Yellow Springs has become a much less racially-diverse community with 40 percent fewer people of color than in 1970, according to the latest 2010 U.S. Census data released.

• Let freedom ring

  By Aaron ZaremskyJanuary 18, 2011

  

  The streets of Yellow Springs echoed with the sounds of the civil rights movement Monday morning. Admirers of Martin Luther King Jr. chanted “We Shall Overcome” as they marched through the streets; a jovial tribute to one of the most iconic and important figures in American history. Upon the crowd’s arrival at the Central Chapel […]

• MLK Jr. day in Yellow Springs

  By Matt MindeJanuary 13, 2011

  

  In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday this Monday, Jan. 17, village offices, schools and the News will be closed.

• Bluesfest a cultural treasure

  By Megan BachmanAugust 31, 2010

  

  In its 13th year, AACW’s Blues and Jazz Festival, offers a mix of returning artists and new acts sure to entertain, and educate, audiences.

• Juneteenth a Scrumptious Affair

  By Aaron ZaremskyJune 20, 2010

  

  Juneteenth celebrations included a pie contest and Motown dancing last Friday night at the Bryan Center.

• Assessing the value of diversity

  By Diane ChiddisterMarch 25, 2010

  

  For Jewell Graham, the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s were exhilarating times to live in the village. Having come to Yellow Springs as a young African-American woman with her new husband, Paul, who after graduating from Antioch had been offered a job at Vernay Laboratories, Graham was impressed with the quality of relationships between blacks and whites. Many businesses were integrated in a way unusual for the time, and a passion for the civil rights movement further brought people together. There was considerable socializing between blacks and whites in her world, as well as a sense of shared purpose.