Black History

Jonas Bender is a former Yellow Springs resident who became one of the first Black Marines. He was stationed at Funafuti and the Ellice and Marshall Islands during WWII.

Follow the HBCU Radio Preservation Project as we rediscover the magic of Black college radio. Through archival recordings, oral histories, and visits to historic campuses, we explore how HBCU radio stations serve as vital communication hubs, launching pads for Black voices, and catalysts for social change. Tune in as we bring these vital histories to life and explore their relevance to today's media landscape.

Black Korean War veteran Joe Lewis stood up to a racist bus driver in the Jim Crow South when he was working at Keesler Air Force Base in the 50s in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will announce its 2024-25 season schedule on Juneteenth this year.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, WCSU General Manager Charles Fox will deliver a performance tracing his family legacy from Africa to a West Virginia slave plantation and finally to his birth home of Maryland.

New Businesses are Thriving; Food Prices Not Deterring Shoppers; Restoring Black Cemeteries Inspired by Cincinnati Burial Ground; Homeless Shelter Needs Bedding Donations

Hear from Betty Ford and Phyllis Jackson. These two women helped guide this community oral history project. Jackson especially had a passion for black history and genealogy and spent years researching her family's story.

The third annual Black Farming Conference hosted by Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice is next month. This will be the first time it will be held in-person.

This Sunday the Jeremy Winston Chorale will perform their concert “Black Bodies, Black Bones.” This features the Ohio premiere of Fortune’s Bones: A Manumission Requiem. David Seitz traces Fortune’s story and the music.

This weekend a teenager from Chicago flew solo into Greene County. He visited Wilberforce University. It is a historically Black university he said played a significant role in the history of Black aviation.

Wilberforce University is the first Black-owned and operated college in the United States. It was founded when slavery was still legal. The school will celebrate the 166th graduating class on Saturday. WYSO’s Mike Frazier spoke with Wilberforce University President, Dr. Elfred Anthony Pinkard about the school’s rich history, how it overcame recent financial and accreditation challenges, and his message to the class of ‘22.

Two groups in Dayton, OH collaborate for the first time helping Black artists bring their work to a larger portion of the public.