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THE COSHOCTON COUNTY BEACON is published weekly by AloNovus Corp ., 226 Main Street , Coshocton , OH 43812 . All rights reserved by AloNovus Corp . AloNovus Corp . does not necessarily support the opinion of writers . Mailed at Periodicals Postage Pricing Permit No . 25408 at Coshocton , OH , 43812 . Postmaster , send address changes to The Coshocton County Beacon , 226 Main Street , Coshocton , OH 43812 . Address changes may be sent via email to addresschange @ coshoctoncountybeacon . com . To request free in-county delivery of The Coshocton County Beacon , visit our office at 226 Main Street in Towne Centre , Coshocton to fill out a requestor card . You can also request free in-county delivery of The Beacon online at www . iwantmybeacon . com .

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By Tara Gracyk

With so much chaos surrounding the presidential election and the riot that occurred at the United States Capitol on Jan . 6 , Mayor Mills took time at the Jan . 11 city council meeting to address the energy exerted throughout the nation .

Mills said , “ Basically , I look at it as definitely an energy waster to think about what is going on somewhere when we can put that energy here , and I just want the community to buy into loving their neighbor and getting through COVID . We can worry about here and put our energy here , and that ’ s what I invite everyone to do .

“ It takes more than one

person . It takes more than one council . It really takes everyone as a community to make this place the best place . I just want to invite people to get involved in anything positive and let ’ s start moving in the next direction .”

During the meeting , cofounders for Coshoctonians for Peace and Equality , Lucy Malenke and Javanna Ramsey , presented to council in an effort to gain support and request city council representation on the coalition .

Coshoctonians for Peace and Equality is a nonpartisan , grassroots community group dedicated to bringing people together across racial divides and advocating for racial justice in

The Coshocton County Beacon believes in our right of free speech . The Beacon will publish a letter to the editor or an opinion as space permits . There is a 500-750 word limit . A letter to the editor also must contain your name and city or village of your postal zip code . Example : John Smith , Fresno . Please provide us with your address and phone number in case we need to contact you with questions about your letter . Phone numbers and addresses will not be included in the paper . To maintain accuracy the preferred method of delivery is email in Microsoft Word format . Please email your letter to jsellers @ alonovus . com .

Printed or mailed letters to the editor will have to be retyped and The Beacon does not guarantee accuracy . Letters to the editor will be published as space permits . The Beacon reserves the right to refuse , edit , or otherwise reject any letter that is deemed inappropriate , offensive or slanderous . Letters need to be factual and the Beacon can request proof of fact checking .

Letters to The Editor are due by noon on Thursday . Letters from the same writer will not run consecutive weeks .

Letters expressing an opinion on a levy , issue or candidate placed on the primary , general or special election ballot that affects anyone in Coshocton County must be published two weeks or more prior to the election in consideration of early voting .

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Coshocton County . They hope to strengthen the community by creating opportunities for dialogue and relationship building , educating people about the ways racism affects everyone , and holding local government and police accountable .

During their presentation , it was shared a KKK rally was held in Coshocton in 1993 and a Black Lives Matter protest occurred in Coshocton in 2020 .

“ I ’ ve watched and I ’ ve witnessed racial divides right here in our own town , so I jumped at the opportunity to create awareness and unity in a place that I love ,” said Ramsey , who is a 2014 graduate of Coshocton High School and one of the organizers of the BLM protest .

Malenke informed the council of an 1885 lynching of a black man named Henry Howard that occurred in Coshocton County . Howard was lynched after he reportedly pled guilty of raping one woman and assaulting another woman near West Lafayette .

Malenke said , “ Because we only have newspaper reports from that time period to go on and because those tended to be sensationalized and tended to promote the racial stereotypes that were popular in that time ,

it ’ s hard to know exactly what happened . But what we do know from piecing together those accounts is that there were two young white women outside of West Lafayette who were assaulted . One was raped , and in the aftermath of that , Henry Howard was pursued by a group of white men , accused of the crime and thrown in jail .

“ He had come to this area that day , I believe , seeking work in the mines . The day after he was put in jail , an angry mob descended into downtown and broke into the jail , they dragged him outside , and they hung him in the court square after forcing a confession . We know that parts of his body were taken as souvenirs . One of his toes sat pickled in a mason jar in a Coshocton jewelry store well into the 20th century .”

Malenke went on to explain it is important for all people who live in Coshocton County to know the story because knowing history helps people understand where we are today and who we want to be today .

“ We think that acknowledging this history can facilitate healing in a community that has been wounded by racism . And we think that talking about this history

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can create opportunities for deeper understanding and empathy and connection between people of different races and perspectives , which is something we desperately need as a community and as a country right now ,” Malenke said .

Ramsey said over the last few months they have been at work putting together a coalition of individuals and organizations to help organize , plan and promote events . Ramsey informed the council the group has been recruiting and communicating with people through their Facebook group , Coshoctonians for Peace and Equality .

“ What we are hoping to gain out of all of this is basically just recognition of our history , a historical marker at the Coshocton County Courthouse , an exhibit or display at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum . Other things that we look forward to is story exchanges with the community , educational events , a Juneteenth celebration to not only celebrate different cultures but to also celebrate Henry Howard because unfortunately that was the day that he was murdered too , a panel to dialogue on race and racism in Coshocton County , and a high school essay contest ,” Ramsey said .

For more information regarding Coshoctonians for Peace and Equality , Ramsey can be emailed at javannaramsey1 @ gmail . com and Malenke can be emailed at lucybgreen @ gmail . com .

serving this community !