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Sep
24
2020

African Americans In YS Section :: Page 3

  • BLOG–A Pleasant Future for Wilberforce University

    By Aaron Maurice SaariOctober 19, 2017

    The taut psychological thriller “Endless,” made by students and associated faculty at Wilberforce University could be a key ingredient to a renaissance for one of two local HBCUs.

  • Always coming home to the village

    By Holly HudsonSeptember 14, 2017

    Jim and Betty Felder came to Yellow Springs when Jim was a young Air Force officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Betty a teacher in the Mad River Township schools. They raised their two sons, Greg and Kevin, in the Omar Circle home where they still live. (Photo by Holly Hudson)

    Betty and Jim Felder, both in their 80s, have been recounting their time in Yellow Springs, how they met and when they came here, by each telling their stories which circle back, intertwine and pick up where the other left off.

  • Still vibrant, still Victorettes

    By Audrey Hackett

    Six members of the Victorettes held hands and sang at Central Chapel A.M.E. Church on Sunday, Sept. 3, capping off this year’s well-attended reunion. From left are Phyllis Jackson, Dorothy Allen, Marie Payton, Dorothy Boyce, Isabel Newman and Betty Ford. All were members of the singing and service group founded by Boyce in 1944 and active until 1946, with friendships that have lasted a lifetime. (Photo by Audrey Hackett)

    In the spring of 1944, a group of young African-American women came together under the leadership and musical direction of Dorothy Boyce. They called themselves “The Victorettes.”

  • Sculpture to honor Wheeling Gaunt

    By Carol SimmonsAugust 10, 2017

    The local effort to erect an “over-life-size” bronze statue of Wheeling Gaunt made a splash at the Yellow Springs Fourth of July parade last summer. Project steering committee member Dave Neuhardt, president of the the Yellow Springs Historical Society, is behind the tractor wheel. Visible on board the float, which featured a papier-maché depiction of Gaunt’s head, are Malaya Booth and Bob Huston. (Archive photo by Diane Chiddister)

    Wheeling Gaunt is a local historical figure who not only deserves to be remembered, but also celebrated on a large scale, says a growing group of local individuals and organizations who have launched an effort to erect a bronze statue of Gaunt in the village.

  • Preserving vital local black history

    By Aaron Maurice SaariJuly 20, 2017

    Local historians and 365 Project members John Gudgel and Kevin McGruder are preserving and sharing village history in their collaborative encyclopedia project, “Blacks in Yellow Springs,” as well as black history walking tours that involve local youth as guides. Pictured here, from left, are Steve McQueen, McGruder, Malaya Booth, Gudgel and Amani Wagner, all members of The 365 Project. (Submitted photo)

    John Gudgel has had family in Yellow Springs since the 1890s; Kevin McGruder came to the village via Antioch College only five years ago. Together, these two historians are trying to preserve some vital local history that is in danger of being lost.

  • An often fraught relationship is under scrutiny

    By Diane ChiddisterApril 13, 2017

    The relationship between local police and the village’s African-American community is one that has become increasingly fraught, especially as turnover in the local department has accelerated in recent years.

  • Story in stitches

    By YS News StaffMarch 2, 2017

    Pictured above is quilt maker Maxine Thomas, left, with Faith Patterson's daughter, Karen Patterson. (Photo by Audrey Hackett)

    A special quilt in honor of Faith Patterson was unveiled at the Yellow Springs library on Feb. 22.

  • Walking the walk

    By Matt MindeJanuary 19, 2017

    Several hundred community members marched in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday to the Foundry Theater on the Antioch College campus. (Photo by Matt Minde)

    Several hundred community members marched in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday to the Foundry Theater on the Antioch College campus.

  • Submit entries to ‘Blacks in YS Encyclopedia’

    By Web AdminDecember 20, 2016

    The 365 Project announces a call for submissions for a “Blacks in Yellow Springs Encyclopedia.”

  • Paul Graham: a soft-spoken force for equality

    By Diane ChiddisterDecember 15, 2016

    Longtime villager Paul Graham is shown in the kitchen of his Corry Street home surrounded by photos of family, including his late wife, Jewell, at right. Graham played a major role in integrating downtown businesses in the early 1960s. (Photo by Diane Chiddister)

    A soft-spoken and gentle man, Paul Graham doesn’t seem like a troublemaker. Yet in Yellow Springs a half century ago, Graham made considerable trouble for those who stood in the path of equal rights for all.