Miami hosts Nationwide Civil Rights Convention, unveils memorial for victims of lynching
Fifty-six years ago, the Western College for Women trained volunteers who later participated in a fatal attempt to register black Americans from the South for the vote that is now known as Freedom Summer.
More than half a century later, Miami University welcomed the 10th National Civil Rights Conference to its campus to commemorate those who participated in the liberation of blacks.
The conference took place from June 21 to 22, mainly at the Shriver Center and the Marcum Hotel & Conference Center in Miami, which was attended by around 40 people. It consisted of so many lectures and included the unveiling of a new historical marker in Oxford.
The conference began with the unveiling of a historical marker in honor of Henry Corbin and Simon Garnet, two African Americans who were lynched in Oxford between 1877 and 1892.
Members of the Corbin and Garnet families revealed the marker in Uptown Park. A descendant of Corbin, Chris Jerreals, said the marker was able to present a more accurate story than was reported at the time.
“I’m glad they tell the story I grew up with, which is completely different from the newspaper and the story texts.” said Jerreals. “[This is]something that is not unusual; it is oblique to their side. They feel like they have to justify what they did. But I know this story; I’ve known the story since I was a little girl. ”
After hearing a different story than what is widely accepted, Jerreals said that recognizing her family’s history is an important step for the community to learn from the past.
“In my opinion there is history, family stories, and somewhere in the middle the absolute goddamn truth,” said Jerreals. “Nobody can really know the truth. It is not easy. You have to accept history, knowing that it is not 100 percent truth of the gospel. ”
As the conference progressed, speakers from both university and outside the university discussed various aspects of civil rights in America.
The first session, presented by the founder and director of Women of Color for Equal Justice, Jo Saint-George, discussed criminal justice reform laws, notably including draft laws to prevent police brutality.
Miami Art Museum exhibition curator Jason Shaiman and Alyssa Locker, the Canal Winchester School District trainer, then presented the Miami Art Museum’s Telling a People’s Story exhibition, which focused on African-American children’s books.
Throughout the conference, speakers focused on political change, activism and the history of the civil rights movement.
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Kendrionne Anderson, a political scientist at Grinnell College, Iowa, presented at the conference as a member of Daughters Beyond Incarceration, an organization that aims to support daughters of incarcerated parents. During her presentation, she and other members discussed the impact that parenting imprisonment can have on families.
Anderson said she was grateful to have a platform to talk about social change.
“I have a feeling that a lot of the brightest and most talented people often experience stage fright,” said Anderson. “But I’m not one of those people, I like to be heard. So I’m always ready to talk and I’m always ready to be part of something where I can share my feelings and share what needs to be done. “
Drew Glover, executive director of the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, said conferences like this one can help drive social change and create awareness, albeit indirectly, by creating starting points for larger conversations within communities.
“I don’t think there will be systemic changes from this conference [immediately]”Said Glover,” but I think the connections that will be made at this conference, and the people and the opportunities that will result from them, will make lasting and substantial change in the world. “
Anthony James, associate professor, director of the Miami Family Research Program and interim vice president for diversity and inclusion, said the marker unveiling and the hosting of the conference could have a positive impact on Oxford. He hopes it will be able to stimulate conversations about inclusion and possibly bring about change.
“The community can now honestly look back on what they saw, what two individuals and families went through in that community, and be honest so that we can move forward,” said James. “We hope to have some community discussions on this topic, we certainly know that the communities can get involved with them [the marker] as it is in a high traffic area and the class is likely to be taking place [with the marker]. ”
For Glover, Oxford’s choice of conference venue is valuable in making change happen, but that need for conversation and change is by no means unique to Oxford or Miami University.
“I think it’s especially important here because of the story associated with Oxford: the summer of freedom, the EJI’s endorsement of the lynchings, and apparently this attempt to racially heal the community,” said Glover. “But I would say these things should happen in every state.”
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