Description: “...The Long Path to Freedom: African-American Settlement in Middletown, Ohio…” is during the Civil War era says, Allan Wise a student in my homeroom and graduate of our MHS Class of 1976. The "...film shows blacks’ role in city history…” printed in the Middletown Journal on April 15, 2012. Sam Ashworth and Abdul Shakur Ahmad are being co-produced while Mrs. Cheryl Wilson Cofield Mid
dletown historian continues to record and document these missing chapters of local family history should continue our declaration made by the Middletown city commission and the city commission chairman J. The Long Path to Freedom: African-American Settlement in Middletown, Ohio film is exactly what former Governor Robert Taft of the state of Ohio meant when he said on June 22, 2000 in the Middletown Journal on page A-4 that he believes that “…This is a unique opportunity to promote and showcase…” a birthday celebration for Ohio’s 200th (1803-2003) innovative pioneer days. Also, a proclamation from the United States of America’s (U.S.A.’s) former president William Jefferson Clinton proclaiming the month of February, “NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH” postmarked date is on January 23, 1995 “…urge everyone…” to reminiscence the African American bicentennial celebrations with interpretative and explanatory comments of memories and progress that are made in sequential years whether it be annually or every five, ten or 25 or 100 years and even 200 years of contributions of our struggles and triumphs made toward the growth of Middletown (ten miles north of Fairfield the towns people called The Little Prairie), Butler County, Ohio, U.S.A. City Commissioner Kimball presented a proclamation affixed with a seal dated August 3, 1913 from the city of Middletown charter bestowed upon the National Association for the Advancement of Colored (NAACP) Middletown Branch, President Mr. Cox and the executive committee chairwoman, Mrs. Carlene Johnson Cox proclaiming the month of February, 1994 “BLACK HISTORY MONTH,” attested by Mrs. Arthur, clerk of the city commission. The 1991 Bicentennial Special Edition issue printed in the Middletown Journal on September 19th, 1991 featured in an article of a group of prominent African Americans residents with a great gospel singer titled "...Mahalia Jackson's visit..." Then the city of Middletown celebrated its Bicentennial (1791-1991) presentations of 135 selected events. Bettyjeane Faulkner Sudduth is my kindergarten whom taught at Garfield Elementary School became one of the first dynamic African American selected to participate on the 1991 Bicentennial History committee as a member, J. Knight Goodman was the chairman of the 1991 Bicentennial Commons Commission, Jack Howard is the executive director of the Commission and he is a retired city of Middletown senior planner, the late editor emeritus James “Jim” Mills of the Middletown Journal and Staff are helping to collect and document Middletown family history and Middletown's African American family history of prominent contributions we have made toward the city of Middletown. Sudduth list of submissions of African-American contributions was not represented across the board in the September 1991 'Bicentennial Special Edition' of the local newspaper. Conversely, implications of the color line by the media, civic and social organizations are reiterated by the missing chapters of African Americans lifestyle's struggles, triumphs and accomplishments. Therefore, I volunteered from 1986-1991 to collect local black history. I founded the Middletown African-American Historical Society, Museum and Cultural Center Bicentennial since 1791-1991 on November 1, 1991. I designed a logo to represent African-Americans patriotic spirit on our"...land of the free and the home of the brave..." Mahalia Jackson's visit on October 7, 1956 to town with the Young Men's Progressive Club is reprinted in the Journal on September 19, 1991. Cheryl Wilson and the late Cedric Glover in a Wendt Photo during Negro history Week in the Middletown Journal on February 12, 1976 singing, reading prose and poetry to a group of freshman students in the Stephen Vail Middle School formerly the Freshman High School library. Civil Rights leader Reverend James Holloman (1930-1975) president of the Council on Human Dignity and Louie Franklin Cox vice-president of the Council on Human Dignity institute the observance of Negro History Week including the local school board and administrators in 1968. Raymond Johnson, assistant principal of student affairs formed a committee of faculty in 1976 to plan for this 1976s observance. The former elected board member of the Middletown United Way, Reuben Thompson Doty (1902 - 1992) says, "Brotherhood must serve to cast aside bigotry and intolerance and serve as a powerful friend to freedom and understanding . . . Every man's life should be committed to this ideal..." Americans dubiously instituted African-American history week as Brotherhood Week. Comparatively, twenty-three years before this interlude, the City of Middletown and the Honorary Doctoral Robert L. Robinson (1888-1969) pastor of the Union Missionary Baptist Church commemorates the unity of all races during Brotherhood Week March 1953 of prominent citizens' contributions to Middletown. Then as we continue to read our local newspaper prints a column titled "...Colored News..." in the Middletown Sunday and Thursday News Journals on March 30, 1930 and January 2, 1930.
