Antioch College will celebrate Juneteenth this week — and the 60th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s delivery of a commencement speech at the Yellow Springs campus.
King's speech in 1965 occurred exactly 100 years after Union soldiers told enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the Civil War was over and slavery was abolished.
"We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we will all perish together as fools. This is the great challenge facing our nation and world today," King said in his address to graduates.
Antioch will host a full day of community activities on Thursday, beginning at 1 p.m. with a memorial walk starting at the Coretta Scott King Center.
Several people will read segments of King’s 1965 speech. Additionally, the Springfield chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will present a plaque honoring King’s visit to the campus. King was a member of the fraternity.
Queen Meccasia Zabriskie, director of the Antioch College Coretta Scott King Center, said King gave his speech outdoors, next to the main building on campus on June 19, 1965.
The civil rights leader stressed the emergence of a new order of freedom replacing the restrictions of racial segregation.
"So often we have allowed the poverty stricken to become invisible. But ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation," King told the students. "Ultimately a great person is a compassionate person. And we must never allow the disinherited children of our land, we must never allow the deprived individuals in our midst to become invisible."
According to Zabriskie, King’s visit to Antioch is rarely taught in schools. Thus, she believes this June 19th is a good time to highlight it.
"People are rewriting the history books. People are changing history curriculum. And so this event in particular is trying to highlight important local history that you may or may not know about. You may or may not learn about in your own education," Zabriskie said.
In Dayton, a Juneteenth celebration also will be held at the Levitt Pavilion. It kicks off at 5 p.m. with Boots on the Ground Heritage and Cultural Line dance and storytelling, followed by African dance and drumming, food, sculpture, poetry, face painting and more. The main act, modern R&B singer Goapele, will perform at 7:45 p.m.
