Associate Professor of Christian Education David Jewell; David Reed ’65; Mary Miho ’68; Randy Furst ’68; Stan Gunterman ’67; Marcia Aronoff ’65; Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Schmidt; unidentified person (back row, left to right); Robert Moore, David Esmond ’66; Jerry VonKorff ’67, Joe Gross ’67, Alex Jack ’67, and Richard Cooper ’65 (front row, left to right). volunteers labored alongside church members to rebuild the church from the foundation up. Between December 22 and Christmas Day, the team completed the foundation and erected four walls in time for Christmas services led by the church’s pastor, the Rev. John R. McDonald. They completed most of the church before leaving to return to school. The marker takes its place on the Mississippi Freedom Trail—a virtual tour of the state that provides an in-depth look at the people and places that played a pivotal role in the fight for justice and equality. The first Freedom Trail markers were unveiled in 2011 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary and reunion of the 1961 Freedom Riders. The idea for including Antioch church and Carpenters for Christmas among Freedom Trail markers was initiated by Matt Rinaldi ’69. Although he wasn’t enrolled at Oberlin at the time, Rinaldi partici- pated in civil rights activities in the Deep South, and he was inspired by the Carpenters’ project when it made national headlines. Until now, there had been no Freedom Trail marker for any of the destroyed churches. “The churches were the only places where civil rights meetings could be held, and all of the ones destroyed had held meetings to talk about voter registration,” says Carpenters volunteer Marcia Aronoff ’65. “We undertook the project so that the churches would know there were people who would stand behind them and help them if there was retribution for their efforts. We were there to work, but we were also there to bear witness to the courage of local African Americans and the continuing need for our democracy to perfect itself.” Rinaldi enlisted the help of Aronoff and her fellow Carpenter Joe Gross ’67 in raising the money needed to fabricate the marker, about $10,000. Support came from former Carpenters and other Oberlin alumni, as well as a contribution from the Oberlin College president’s office. It is one of two privately funded markers on the Freedom Trail. Aronoff says she is pleased that the marker sets the record straight by stating that the church was destroyed following a voting rights rally. “At the time, the official police position was that it must have been an electrical short, that it was not arson,” she says. To date, 16 markers have been installed on the Mississippi Freedom Trail. n OBERLIN ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2015 / SPRING 7 DANIELLE YOUNG; OBERLIN COLLEGE ARCHIVES