♪♪ ♪♪ >>> THE HISTORY OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY AS THEY JOURNEYED AND SETTLED IN CENTRAL OHIO PACKED WITH STORIES OF HARDSHIP, HOPE AND RESILIENCE.

IN TODAY'S SHOW WE WANTED TO EXPLORE A FEW OF THESE STORIES BEGINNING WITH THE GREAT MIGRATION WHICH WAS A MASS EXODUS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS FROM THE SOUTH TO NORTHERN CITIES LIKE COLUMBUS IN THE LATE 1800s.

THEY WERE MOTIVATED BY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ADVANCEMENT.

HERE'S THAT HISTORY.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> THIS IS A PRIMARILY RELIGIOUS FOLK SONG.

THEY WERE BIRTHED OUT OF SLAVERY.

THERE WERE MANY SPIRITUALS USE AS PRAISE SONG AND COMMUNICATION AND THE TEXT PRIMARILY WAS BIBLICAL TEXT AND THEY CHOSE BIBLICAL TEXT BECAUSE OF THE ISRAELITES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WHO WERE ALSO ENSLAVED PEOPLE AND THEY BELIEVED THAT IF THE GOD OF THE ISRAELITES COULD DELIVER THEM THEN THAT SAME GOD COULD DELIVER THEM AS WELL.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ I WANT JESUS TO LOVE ME ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> THROUGHOUT THE 1800s, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS DOTTED COLUMBUS WITH NAMES LIKE PETER'S RUN, OAK WOODS AND MUDZAC.

>> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SMALL AFRICAN-AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS ALL ACROSS CENTRAL OHIO.

A LOT OF THEM SEEM TO BE LOCATED ALONG THE RIVER.

SOME HAVE NAMES AND SOME DON'T.

>> SO YOU HAVE POCKETS ALL OVER THIS CITY AND THAT'S WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT COLUMBUS, THAT YOU HAD TEN, 12 DIFFERENT LITTLE INLETS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.

>> UNRELIABLE SENSE OF NUMBERS DON'T GIVE US THE WHOLE PICTURE, BUT WHAT IS KNOWN IS THAT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION STARTED TO SWELL DURING THE SOUTH'S TURBULENT RECONSTRUCTION YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.

>> THE INTENSE SEGREGATION, THE FACT THAT PEOPLE COULDN'T EVEN BE COMFORTABLE WALKING DOWNTOWN, SHOPPING OR ATTENDING CHURCH IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY.

THEN THERE WERE ISSUES LIKE THE POLITICAL DISENFRANCHISEMENT THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT VOTE AND THE LACK OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THEN WE LOOK AT ISSUES LIKE LYNCHING.

SO PEOPLE WHO DID TRY TO FIGHT BACK WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY WERE LITERALLY KILLED FOR THEIR E PORTS.

>> AND THEN LATER TERRORIST GROUPS LIKE THE KU KLUX KLAN WHICH IS, AFTER ALL, A TERRORIST GROUP TO PUT PEOPLE IN THEIR PLACE AND THE REFUGEES AFTER RECONSTRUCTION WILL BE AFRICAN-AMERICAN S. >> THE MIGRATIONS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MASS MIGRATIONS IN HISTORY.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> WHEN MIGRATION CAME ALONG IT CAME BECAUSE PEOPLE NEEDED A SENSE OF HOPE.

THEY NEEDED A SENSE OF SAFETY.

>> WE'RE TALKING OVER 6 MILLION PEOPLE WHO LITERALLY VOTED WITH THEIR FEET, WHO LITERALLY SAID WE AREN'T GOING TO SAY WHAT WE ARE BECAUSE THERE IS SOME PLACE BETTER WE CAN BE.

>> AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS CONTINUED TO MIGRATE NORTH THEY WERE COMING NORTH BECAUSE THE NORTH WAS THE PROMISE LAND.

YOU OFTEN HEAR IN THE SPIRITUALS ABOUT GETTING TO THE PROMISE LAND.

>> THEY LEAVE AT THE RATE OF 500 A DAY AND 15,000 A MONTH AND SO BY THE TIME THE 1930s COME, ONE-THIRD OF ALABAMA'S BLACK POPULATION IS LIVING NORTH ALREADY AND THAT'S JUST ALABAMA.

>> IT REALLY IS MORE I'M SEEKING FREEDOM.

I'M SEEKING ECONOMIC ABILITY AND SAFETY.

VERY MUCH LIKE THE REFUGEES WE SEE TODAY.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> WE WERE AMERICANS.

WE STILL ARE AMERICANS.

THIS IS OUR COUNTRY.

WE FLED WITHIN OUR OWN COUNTRY.

THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> WHILE JIM CROW LAWS PUSHED, THE PROMISE OF STEADY WORK PALLED.

>> THEY WENT FROM WORKING CLASS TO A MIDDLE-CLASS STATUS WITHIN A LIFE TIME AND THAT WAS UNIQUE AND ALMOST UNHEARD OF FOR MANY SOUTHERN COMMUNITIES, AND SO PART OF THE POOR FACTOR FACILITATING THAT WAS THE ROLE OF THE UNIONS AND THEY HAD THE LABOR AGES WHO WENT THROUGH VARIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE SOUTH ADVISING PEOPLE OF PARTICULAR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND WHERE THEY SHOULD GO TO AND THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY COULD LIVE.

>> MY FATHER CAME FROM TENNESSEE.

THE ONLY WAY HE ESCAPED TENNESSEE, HE COULDN'T GO BEYOND THE SEVENTH GRADE AND YOU COULDN'T GET AN EDUCATION BEYOND THAT AND JOINED THE MILITARY.

FROM THE MILITARY HE CAME TO OHIO AND THAT'S ONLY WAY HE GOT OUT OF CONTINUE 10.

>> THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SETTLEMENT, 12 IN POPULATION, CIVIC GROUPS AND CHURCHES RESPONDED BY PROVIDING HOMES FOR THE NEW ARRIVALS.

>> IT'S A PART OF THE DNA THAT WHEN WE MOVE TO COMMUNITIES IT BROUGHT THE COMMUNITY.

WE CARED FOR ONE ANOTHER.

WE LOOKED AFTER ONE ANOTHER.

>> OVER THE YEARS, SETTLEMENTS CAME AND WENT WITH LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT THEY EVER EXISTED.

SOME COME TO US IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHERS ARE GONE.

FOET ♪♪ >> THE SETTLEMENTS ARE A FIBER OF THE CITY.

THEY SERVED A PURPOSE AND ONCE THE PURPOSE FADED, WHEN INDUSTRY MOVED OR CIRCUMSTANCES, THEN WE'VE LOST THOSE.

THERE'S NO SENSE THAT THERE WAS EVER AN AFRO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN HILLIARD.

PEOPLE MOVED, MOVED ON.

>> BUT ONE SETTLEMENT SURVIVED AND THRIVED.

>> IT BECOMES PROBABLY THE HEART AND SOUL OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY BECAUSE WHETHER YOU'RE RICH OR YOU'RE POOR, THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE AND SO IT IS.

IT'S A CITY WITHIN A CITY.

BY THE 1930s, PARTS OF IT WILL TAKE THE TERM BROWNSVILLE.

>> SOME RESIDENTS STILL REFER TO THE KING LINCOLN DISTRICT BY BROWNSVILLE, AND STILL REMEMBERS MAYORS IN POLITICAL POWER AT CITY HALL AND STILL MOURN THE RAZING OF THE BLACKBERRY PATCH TO MAKE WAY FOR POINDEXTER VILLAGE AND THE SOCIAL STRIKE THAT FOLLOWED.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> ONE PUSHBACK OF THE GREAT MIGRATION CAME IN THE FORM OF NEIGHBORHOOD COVENANTS THAT RESTRICTED THE SALE OF REAL ESTATE TO MINORITIES.

TO THE IRISH, THE ITALIANS AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

>> HOUSES WERE FOR SALE OR FOR RENT, THEY SPECIFIED NO COLORED.

MEANING NO AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SO WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS RED LINING SO THAT THERE WERE AREAS WHERE AFRICAN-AMERICANS COULD NOT PURCHASE A HOME.

>> THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IN SOME PEOPLE'S MINDS IS SEE THEM POPPING UP IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND SO THERE ARE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS THAT COME IN THAT SAY YOU CANNOT SELL TO ITALIANS.

YOU CANNOT SELL TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THAT GOES WITH THE DEED OF YOUR PROPERTY.

>> MY DAD HAD SIGNED THE PAPERS BECAUSE HE WAS A VERY FAIR AFRO-AMERICAN AND BY THE TIME THEY HAD TO GET SIGNATURES FOR MY MOM IT WAS TOO LATE, BUT THEY HAD NOT INTENDED TO SELL TO AN AFRO-AMERICAN.

>> THE GREAT MIGRATION LASTED FROM 1910 TO THE 1970s, AND THE PUSH AND PULL OF IMMIGRANTS BOTH SOUTH TO THE NORTH AND EAST TO THE WEST LEFT A UNIQUE SETTLEMENT PATTERN DIFFERENT THAN OTHER MIDWESTERN CITIES.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> COLUMBUS HAS NEVER HAD A FULL-FLEDGED GHETTO, IF YOU WILL, WHERE MAJORITY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS RESIDED AS EXISTED IN CLEVELAND AND TO SOME EXTENT IN CINCINNATI.

>> OTHER HISTORIANS HAD NOTED THAT ONE OF THE REASONS WHY COLUMBUS DOES NOT HAVE THE RACIAL CONFLICT AT THAT TIME THAT OTHERS DO IS BECAUSE IN NO PART OF THE CITY ARE THERE MORE THAN 30% AFRICAN-AMERICANS OR ANY DOMINANT ETHNIC GROUP, AND SO BECAUSE IT IS DIFFUSED, IT IS NOT THAT ARMED, RACIAL CONFLICT THAT YOU MIGHT BE SEEING IN OTHER PLACES.

>> I THINK THE GREATEST IMPACT OF THE GREAT MIGRATION FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IS TO OPEN UP MORE DOORS FOR EDUCATION FOR BLACK PEOPLE.

EDUCATION IS THE GREATEST BUILDING BLOCK TO ESCAPE POVERTY, TO ESCAPE RACISM, TO BUILD YOUR OWN FUTURE AND THE NORTH GAVE US THAT OPPORTUNITY.

SO THE GREAT MIGRATION MADE AMERICA STRONGER, MADE THE BLACK RACE RICHER IN DEED AND IN THOUGHT AND GAVE THIS COUNTRY AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE THE MELTING POT THAT IT IS.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> YOU MIGHT KNOW YELLOW SPRINGS AS AN ARTISTIC AND PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY TODAY, BUT IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE VILLAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIT MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN OTHER PLACES AROUND OHIO.

SINCE THE MID-1800s, THE BLACK COMMUNITY HAS BEEN WELCOMED TO YOEL LOW SPRINGS, LIVING AND WORSHIPPING LIKE THE ANTI-SLAVERY BAPTIST CHURCH FOUNDED IN 1863.

EVEN THOUGH THE CONGREGATION IS NO LONGER THERE.

THE BUILDING STILL STANDS.

WE SENT ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN JEFF DARBEE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE TO THE COMMUNITY.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> WE ARE IN GREEN COUNTY AND AN INTERESTING PLACE CALLED YELLOW SPRINGS.

IT STARTED IN 1950 AND THE FIRST PRESIDENT WAS FORREST MANN WHO IS KNOWN AS FATHER OF EDUCATION.

THERE'S BEEN A RAILROAD STATION THAT'S BEEN REDONE AND AN OLDER POST OFFICE, BUT WE'LL LOOK AT ONE SPECIFIC BUILDING THAT LOOKS PRETTY INTERESTING.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> HI, KEVIN.

>> HELLO.

NICE TO SEE YOU.

>> I HAVEN'T BEEN IN YELLOW SPRINGS IN A WHILE.

I'M GLAD TO BE HER.

TELL US ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL BUILDING WHERE WE'RE STANDING.

>> WE ARE GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE.

THIS IS AN ARCHITECTURE STUDIO FOR A CHROME YELLOW SPRINGS AND IT'S HOUSED IN THE FORMER FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.

>> IT'S NOT WORKING AS A CHURCH ANYMORE.

IT'S SORT OF A COMMERCIAL BUILDING -- IN WHAT WAS A HISTORIC CHURCH.

THE HISTORIC CHURCH, KEVIN, IS AN EXPERT AND I'LL DEFER TO HIM TO HISTORY.

>> WHEN WAS THE CHURCH BUILT?

>> IN THE 1850s AND IT WAS BUILT BY A CONGREGATION THAT NEVER OCCUPIED IT AND THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH THAT MOVED IN IN 1869 PURCHASED IT.

>> IT'S ALMOST 20 YEARS, BUT NEVER OCCUPIED UNTIL THE FIRST BAPTIST.

FIRST BAPTIST MUST HAVE QUITE A HISTORY.

>> THE CONGREGATION WAS FOUNDED IN 1863 AND IT WAS THE ANTI-SLAVERY CHURCH AND THAT GAVE US THE IDEA OF THE TIMES AND THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR AND THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, AND THAT WAS THE INITIAL NAME.

>> YELLOW SPRINGS HAS QUITE A HISTORY IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MOVEMENT.

>> IT DOES.

THERE IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE 1890s FROM THE OHIO STATE PROFESSOR WHO WROTE ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD AND THERE'S A MAP THAT HE HAS SHOWING THE ROUTE IN OHIO AND THERE ARE SO MANY ROUTES THAT COME THROUGH YELLOW SPRINGS, AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT US ON THE MAP WITH A DIRECT LINE GOING NORTH TO CANADA, REALLY, AND SO THIS CHURCH IS BEING FOUNDED IN THAT PATHWAY.

>> SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT YELLOW SPRINGS IN 1863 WHEN THE CONGREGATION WAS FOUNDED, THERE IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY HERE AT THAT POINT.

PART OF THE REASON IS BECAUSE MANY OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND HERE WERE WANT WELCOMING TO BLACK PEOPLE.

YELLOW SPRINGS WAS NOT.

BLACK PEOPLE WERE MOVING HERE FROM THE 1850s AND MAYBE EVEN EARLIER AND THEY WERE BUILDING THEIR OWN BUILDINGS AND SO THAT'S THE COMMUNITY THAT FIRST BAPTIST ENTERED INTO.

>> OKAY.

>> AND THEN IN THAT COMMUNITY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THAT POPULATION GREW INTO KENTUCKY, VIRGINIA AND THE UPPER HOUSE WHO WERE COMING TO YELLOW SPRINGS AND BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT WELL IN IN MANY OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES, THEY'RE COMING HERE AND THEY'RE THRIVING AND THIS CONGREGATION IS THRIVING AND IT BECOMES A MAJOR CENTER OF COMMUNITY AND THEN CENTERS, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE KIND OF THINGS THAT BLACK CHURCHES DO WERE DOING ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE LATER PART OF THE 1800s.

>> YELLOW SPRINGS HAS BEEN KNOWN AS A LIBERAL PLACE AND WELL BACK TO THE CIVIL WAR ERA WHERE THE COMMUNITY WELCOMED THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARRIVALS AND IT STOPPED BEING A CHURCH.

>> ROUGHLY 20+ YEARS AGO THE CHURCH BUILT A NEW FACILITY CLOSE BY ON DAYTON STREET AND THE BUILDING WAS PURCHASED BY A COUPLE WHO CONVERTED IT INTO A HOUSE.

>> OKAY.

>> SO IT WAS A HOUSE FOR A LITTLE OVER 20 YEARS BEFORE MY WIFE AND I BOUGHT IT.

>> I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR A BUILDING IN YELLOW SPRINGS TO OPEN AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM AND WHEN THIS CAME ON THE MARKET IT WAS ONE OF THE BUILDINGS THAT I LOOKED AT, INSPECTED TO POTENTIALLY PUT MY ARCHITECTURE STUDIO IN.

>> I WOULD LOVE TO SEE INSIDE.

KEVIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION I APPRECIATE IT.

THANKS, KEVIN.

I'LL SEE YOU IN TOWN.

COME WITH ME.

>> ALL RIGHT.

>> WE HAVE BATHROOMS AND THE ORIGINAL STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AND THE CONFERENCE ROOM HERE AND ENTRY INTO MY PRIVATE LOFT HERE.

>> WHAT A SPACE.

THIS IS WONDERFUL.

>> THANK YOU.

>> SO THIS IS THE SANCTUARY FOR THE CHURCH.

>> YES.

>> IT'S NOT WHEN YOU'D SEE IN A CHURCH THESE DAYS.

THEY WOULD HAVE PLASTER ON THE WALLS AND YOU CAN SEE THE WOOD TRESSES ABOVE AND IT'S HOW A BUILDING WOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE 1860s.

>> THAT'S ONE THE INTENSIONS OF THE DESIGN WAS TO EXPOSE THE STRUCTURE.

THE PLASTER WAS FAILING WHEN WE GOT THE CHURCH SO WE NEEDED TO DECIDE WHETHER TO REPLACE IT OR TO REPAIR IT AND WHEN WE PULLED SOME OF IT BACK AND SAW THE ORIGINAL BRICK UNDERNEATH I DECIDED TO PULL IT ALL OFF AND THEY WERE REALLY WHAT CONVINCED ME TO DO THIS PROJECT.

I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST ABOUT PUTTING AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM AND DURING THE INSPECTION I GOT UP INTO THE ATTIC AND I SAW THESE BEAUTIFUL TRESSES, AND I JUST KNEW THAT A COULD MAKE A BEAUTIFUL PROJECT.

>> THE TRESSES ARE WONDERFUL.

THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY VERY OLD, 1960s AND I ASSUME THIS IS OAK?

>> YES, OAK.

THIS TYPE OF WOOD IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND THESE DAYS AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THE WAY IT'S PUT TOGETHER YOU CAN SEE -- STILL SEE THE HATCHET MARKS AND YOU CAN STILL SEE BARK ON SOME OF THE WOOD AND YOU CAN REALLY GET A FEEL OF INTUITIVELY, GET A FEEL OF HOW THIS BUILDING HAS HELD UP.

THE VARIOUS PIECES HAVE HELD TOGETHER JUST WITH THE NOTCHES.

THERE ARE NO SCREWS AND NO NAILS.

THE ONLY METAL IN THE CONSTRUCTION ARE THE VERTICAL BOLTS AT EACH VERTICAL.

>> WE ARE ON THE MAIN FLOOR AND THERE'S A MURAL.

WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THAT?

>> WELL, WHEN WE OPENED THIS FLOOR UP, I NOTICED HOW PROMINENT THE FLOOR WAS AND I NOTED THAT WE HAD TO HAVE A MURAL THERE AND I TALKED TO MY OLDEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD, MY BEST FRIEND, JARED ADOLF IF HE KNEW A MURALIST IN TOWN, SO HE REFERRED IT TO PIO NEGLY HAS DONE THE MURALS IN TOWN.

I ASKED HIM TO PAINT THE MURAL OF PEAK VALLEY AND PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE MURAL THAT HAS VIRGINIA HAMILTON AND IT HAPPENS TO BE MY BEST FRIEND JAMIE'S MOTHER.

SO IF YOU GREW UP AROUND HERE YOU GREW UP READING VIRGINIA HAMILTON.

IN FACT, PEOPLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY GREW UP READING VIRGINIA HAMILTON.

THE MURALS ALL REFLECT STORIES FROM HER BOOKS AND THE LITTLE GIRL THERE -- IS FROM THE BOOK AND IS MEANT TO REPRESENT JAMIE'S DAUGHTER ANAYA.

>> THERE ARE PERSONAL STORIES AND THERE'S A UNIVERSALITY TO IT TELLING THE STORY OF THIS AREA.

>> YEAH.

>> I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW THE BUILDING LOOKED BEFORE.

YOU'D HAVE TO LOOK ON IT.

>> I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO PASTOR BERT RANDOLPH.

>> I'M JEFF DARBEE.

>> THANK YOU HOSTING US TODAY.

>> TELL ME, WHAT WAS THE CHURCH, AND IT WAS A DIVERGENT GROUP OF PEOPLE AND WE HAD A MIXTURE OF YOUNG PEOPLE, OLDER PEOPLE, AS WELL AND PRIMARILY AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONGREGATION AND HOW WAS THE INTERIOR FINISHED AT THAT TIME AND IT WAS A TRADITIONAL, BIG, OPEN SANCTUARY?

>> YES.

WE ARE VERY COMFORTABLE RIGHT NOW HERE, BUT BACK THEN IT WAS WARM.

IT WAS HOT IN HERE.

THERE WAS LITERALLY NO AIR-CONDITIONING AND THIS FLOOR WAS WHERE THE CONGREGATION WAS YOU COME THROUGH THE DOOR HERE.

>> ARE YOU CORRECT IN ASSUMING THAT IN THE LOWER LEVEL WHERE I CAME FROM CHURCH IS UPPERS?

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

WE WOULD HAVE FELLOWSHIP MEALS DOWN THERE AND EVERYONE WOULD BRING A MEAL AND EVERYONE WOULD CONTRIBUTE IN THAT REGARD.

THIS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN A LOVING CONGREGATION WHERE IF THERE WAS A NEED YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH, IF THERE WAS A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY THEN WE WOULD STAND READY TO ASSIST.

>> HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH THE BUILDING?

>> I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT AND HOW MAX AND HIS TEAM RENOVATED THE BUILDING AND HOW THE WHOLE TEXTURE OF IT AND EVERYTHING.

>> REVEREND, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION YOU GAVE ME.

I ENJOYED THE STORY AND THERE'S MORE FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.

>> THANKS FOR BEING WITH ME.

>> GLAD TO BE HERE.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> THIS IS THE OTHER HALF OF THE STUD WHY.

THIS IS MY PARTNER STEVE PRICHER.

>> HI, STEVE.

AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO RAFAELA SANTOS.

>> TELL ME ABOUT THIS.

>> MAX WANTED ART WORK ON THE WALL AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND UNTIL I STEPPED INTO THE CHURCH AND FELT SORT OF THE SENSE OF THE SPIRITUALITY AND I HAD TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO I HONOR THE SPACE AND I DID RESEARCH ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD AND ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF OHIO AND THE BAPTIST CHURCH AND THERE WAS AN INSTALLATION IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM WHICH TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DID THE PASSAGE FROM KENTUCKY TO CANADA, AND OHIO AND YOU HAVE TO WAIT A WHOLE YEAR IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THE JOURNEY.

THE INSTALLATION IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM IS REALLY AN HOMAGE TO THOSE TWO.

A LOT OF THE WORK WAS CREATED NOT ONLY TO BEAUTIFY THE SPACE AND ALSO TO HONOR THE PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE AND THE HISTORY.

>> SO HOW DID OTHER ARTISTS BECOME INVOLVED?

>> WE PUT OUT A CALL FOR ARTISTS.

WE FORMED A COMMITTEE TO REVIEW SUBMISSIONS AND WILL FROM TIME TO TIME SELECT A NEW ARTIST TO SHOW HERE.

>> WE REALLY WANT TO KIND OF BRING ARTISTS INTO SPACE THAT UNDERSTAND THE AREA.

CHOOSING ARTISTS THAT HONOR THE SPACE IS IMPORTANT TO US.

>> THANKS FOR TELLING THE STORY.

IT'S A GREAT USE OF THE SPACE.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

>> IT WAS MY PLEASURE.

>> MAX, IS OUR TOUR DONE?

>> THERE'S ONE MORE PLACE I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU.

LET'S GO SEE.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> OH, LOOK AT THIS.

>> UP CLOSE ANY PERSONAL WITH THESE TRESSES.

THIS WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE.

>> THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE BUILDING AND I LIKE BEING VERY CLOSE TO THE WOOD UP HERE AND YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE WAY UP INTO THE BELFRY.

THERE IS INTERESTING CONSTRUCTION DETAIL AND YOU CAN SEE THE FOUR POSTS THAT GO ALL OF THE WAY UP TO THE ROOF OF THE BELFRY AND THAT IS HOW THE BELFRY IS STABILIZED BY THIS VERTICAL CANTILEVER.

>> THEY REST ON THIS CROSS BEAM WHICH IS THE PRIMARY SUPPORT.

>> YEAH.

>> YOU'VE DONE A TERRIFIC JOB HERE AND I DON'T DOUBT THAT IT WILL CONTINUE HERE IN YELLOW SPRINGS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR A GREAT TOUR.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

>> THANK YOU.

IT'S MY PLEASURE.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> PICTURESES CAN CAPTURE MOMENTS IN HISTORY WHICH SOMETIMES ARE FORGOTTEN.

IN THIS NEXT SEGMENT, NICOLE SUTTON FROM THE COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARY SHARES THE STORY FROM THE PHOTOS FROM THE GRAND OPENING OF DRIVING PARK PLAZA IN 1978.

IT WAS A PLAZA THAT RENTED SPACE TO LOCAL BUSINESSES AND WAS IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY AROUND IT.

WE HEAD OVER TO THE LIBRARY NOW TO HEAR MORE.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> WE HAVE A PHOTO HERE OF THE OPENING OF THE DRIVE-IN PARK MRASZA THAT WAS IN 1978 WHEN DRIVE-IN PARK PLAZA HAD ITS GRAND OPENING AND WE CAN SEE A GROUP OF PEOPLE HERE IN FRONT OF THE STAGE AND YOU CAN SEE THE PEOPLE IN THE BACKGROUND.

THE TWO BROTHERS WHO FOUNDED WILLIS BEAUTY SUPPLY AND IT HAD ONE LOCATION ANY THEN THEY STARTED TO EXPAND AND GROW AND THEY OPENED A SECOND LOCATION ON EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE, AND AS THAT BUSINESS STARTED TO GROW THEY WANTED TO INVEST MORE INTO THE COMMUNITY.

SO THEY DECIDED TO EXPAND THEIR SPACE, INCLUDE A DRIVING PARK PLAZA AND WE CAN SEE IN THIS PHOTO HERE, WE HAVE THE SHERMAN IS HOLDING A PLAQUE FOR THE DEDICATION OF THE PARK PLAZA AND THEN WE CAN ALSO SEE COLUMBUS COUNCILMAN JERRY HAMMOND HERE IN THIS PHOTO, AS WELL, THIRD FROM THE LEFT.

>> THESE PHOTOS OF THE GRAND OPENING OF DRIVING PARK PLAZA WERE LOANED TO US BY MARY WILLIS WHO IS THE SISTER OF SHERMAN AND JAMES WILLIS, AND SHE WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE SOME OF THESE PHOTOS, BUT WE CAN SEE THE SUCCESS OF BOTH BEAUTY SUPPLY AND EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> THANKS FOR BEING WITH US AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN CATCH ALL OUR EPISODES ON YOUTUBE OR COLUMBUSNEIGHBORHOODS.ORG.

PLUS SEE THE STORIES ON THE WOSU MOBILE APP AND YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK ON "COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS."

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