Around Tappan Square This page, from left to right: Matthew Rinaldi ‘69, Ken Mostow ‘63, Joe Gross ‘67, Marcia Aronoff ‘65, Gail Baker Schmidt ‘55, Eric Seitz ‘65, David Reed ‘65, Sydney (Zeiler) Reed ‘64; opposite, left: Marcia Aranoff ‘65, one of more than two dozen students who helped to rebuild the Antioch Baptist Church in Ripley, Mississippi. Opposite page, bottom right: Oberlin contractor Burrell Scott, who directed the Carpenters in construction work; They Had a Hammer Role of Oberlin students in rebuilding Mississippi church in 1964 honored with historic marker The church, founded by former slaves, was the first black church in Tippah County, Mississippi, and it was active in voter registra- tion efforts. It was also one of nearly 40 churches that were burned or bombed in Mississippi during a six-month period in 1964. Five Oberlin students took part in a Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party voter registration rally featuring civil rights activist Fanny Lou Hamer the night the church was burned to the ground. In response, Oberlin Professor of Philosophy Paul Schmidt and his wife, Gail Baker Schmidt ’55, proposed to Oberlin’s student civil rights organization that they rebuild the church. The students raised the money and recruited students, faculty, and community members to rebuild the church during Christmas recess. A team of nearly two dozen Oberlin students and three faculty members, along with a skilled contractor from Oberlin, traveled to the site to offer their skills, calling themselves Carpenters for Christmas. A volunteer engineer from Littleton, Massachusetts, and students from several other colleges joined in the effort. For nearly two weeks, the BY AMANDA NAGY the work of oberlin college alumni who in 1964 volunteered to rebuild a Mississippi church that was destroyed by fire following a voter registration rally has been com- memorated with a new historical marker. The marker is part of a cultural initiative that honors the men and women who were a part of the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the 1950s and ’60s. The marker was dedicated on January 17, the weekend before Martin Luther King’s birthday, with a ceremony at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Blue Mountain, Mississippi. 6