Dr. Carolivia Herron at Samarian Cemetery. Photo courtesy Historic New Richmond, Inc.
Celebration paid tribute to the late John Hale
Dr. Carolivia Herron with members of Common Ground, a faith-based social justice organization group led by Kim Musgrove. Photo courtesy Historic New Richmond, Inc.
The New Richmond community honored its history with the second annual Juneteenth Celebration sponsored by Historic New Richmond, Inc. and New Richmond Area Ministries. The event took place June 19 at the First Baptist Church in New Richmond, historically one of several churches in the village that took an early and uncompromising stance against slavery. The event opened and closed with songs by the River Valley Interfaith Choir led by Ms. Vickie Hale. Afterward, attendees enjoyed food and discussion courtesy of New Richmond Area Ministries.
The celebration paid tribute to the late John Hale, a beloved figure and a remarkably gifted athlete and singer, who recently passed away after a life of service to the New Richmond community. Dr. Jennifer Morris presented a documentary film featuring the voice of Mr. Hale about New Richmond’s historic black church, Second Baptist. Dr. Morris’ class at Mt. St. Joseph University created the short film in 2023. Greg Roberts, organizer of the event, said of Mr. Hale, “John was loved by all who knew him. His faith and humility helped him endure the pain of growing up during segregation with incredible dignity and grace. Amazingly the students with their video captured John’s spirit and personality as well as his beautiful singing voice.”
Special guest, Dr. Carolivia Herron, author and professor at Howard University in Washington DC was introduced by documentary filmmaker Brenda Hayes. Professor Herron presented the remarkable narrative of her great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Lumpkin. She performed in period attire as Mary Ann Lumpkin. Lumpkin’s life, a testament to resilience and change, has been immortalized in the book The Devil’s Half Acre by Kristen Green. The book chronicles the transformative power of one woman’s spirit and quest for her and her children’s freedom against the backdrop of slavery at an infamous slave jail in Richmond, Virginia. Earlier in the day Professor Herron visited the gravesite of Mary Lumpkin at Samarian Cemetery just outside New Richmond in Ohio Township. Samarian Cemetery is a historic black cemetery, one of three such cemeteries in Ohio Township and one of 20 Underground Railroad sites in Clermont County recognized by the National Park Service Network to Freedom program. Dr. Herron was accompanied by New Richmond councilwoman and genealogist, Mary Allen whose great-great grandparents Howell and Aley Ann Boone are buried in Samarian. According to Allen, Howell and Aley Ann Boone were contemporaries of Mary Ann Lumpkin when she lived in New Richmond and very likely knew each other. Lumpkin lived the last years of her life in New Richmond. Allen added, “We are not sure what brought or attracted her to New Richmond. It is believed that there is a connection with at least one of the 19 black Civil War veterans buried in Samarian.”
Of Juneteenth Roberts said, “ The holiday and our celebration not only commemorates the freedom of enslaved individuals in Texas upon the arrival of Union troops on June 19th 1865 enforcing President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and concluding the American Civil War but also reflects on the broader significance of emancipation and the enduring quest for equality and justice as referenced by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address as “a new birth of freedom”. We must never forget the cost in human life to secure that freedom that Lincoln so eloquently described at the cemetery dedication at Gettysburg.”
Historic New Richmond Inc. is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of of local history. HNR seeks truth by researching and discovering the experiences of diverse perspectives especially from groups whose stories are yet to be told or have been overlooked or ignored in the past.
New Richmond Area Ministries is a coalition of New Richmond, Ohio area churches, businesses, local government, media, schools, families, arts & entertainment, both leaders and lay people. NRAM works together with each other for the love and betterment of our community—giving all Honor and Glory to God.