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RON E. ARMSTEAD, MCP, LSW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS VETERANS BRAINTRUST
“ 2 5 T H S I LV E R A N N I V E R S A RY O F T H E V E T E R A N S B R A I N T R U S T ”
2013 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.43rd Annual Legislative Conference”
INSPIRING LEADERS/BUILDING GENERATIONS
New Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC
Friday, September 20, 2013
“…you have no idea how important it is that you would come to participate, because you don’t do it just for yourself. You do it for so many others. Some that can not get here. Some that can not afford to be here. Some that are physically impaired, and some that just don’t know that their presence and political forces can make a difference.
And of course, for the witnesses that take the time to share their eloquence. But more importantly, for their expertise with us so we just don’t feel sorry, but so that you can motivate us and point us in the right direction as to what we can and should be doing.”
Hon. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
Sgt. Charles Rangel , U.S. Army
He served with Distinction and won a Purple Heart and Bronze Star
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Introduces Bill Marking 2012-2013 as “Year of the Korean War Veteran” During 60th Anniversary
Washington, DC -Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) joined by his Collegaues Reps. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Howard Coble (R-NC), introduced H.Res. 618, a resolution expressing support for designation of 2012 - 2013 as the “Year of the Korean War Veteran” and recognizing the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War that lasted from 1950 – 1953, before it unofficially ended by a ceasefire agreement. Rangel and the three original co-sponsors to the bill are the last four remaining Korean War veterans in the U.S. Congress.
James McEachin, Actor, Award Winning Author, and Korean War Veteran
“No veterans, no democracy. No democracy, no America.”
Actor, Korean War veteran James McEachin soldiers on for veterans.
James McEachin has worked beside such legends as John Wayne, Bette Davis and Sidney Poitier. He became the first African American man in 1973 to have his own show on NBC, “Tenafly,” a detective series about a police officer turner private eye.. He went on to star as police Lt. Brock in several Perry Mason TV movies.
But despite having more than 150 film and television credits to his name. McEachin, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who fought in the Korean War, would much rather be remembered as a soldier than an actor.
A recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service in Korea, McEachin is among the six Korean War veterans slated to ride on the Department of Defense’s Rose Parade float on January 1st. The float will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the hostilities.
The Veterans Braintrust
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Welcomes the Attendees of the Veterans Braintrust
S0ocial Consequences of War
UnemploymentBroken families or homes (dysfunctional)Alcohol and drug abuse (major challenge)Lost of self-esteem (or pride) they once had
while in the militaryHomelessness (disproportionate)Double Fight Rep. Charles
Rangel, D-NY
Note: emphasis added in parenthesis by Ron E. Armstead, MCP, LSW
Gen. Colin Powell, U.S. Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff addresses CBC Veterans Braintrust
Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) invited Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to address a special session at the 20th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend in Washington, DC.
The occasion, convened by Rep. Rangel, was Gen. Powell’s first appearance before an event sponsored by the African American legislative body.
Adding to the historical significance of the occasion, Gen. Powell was joined by a gathering of some of the highest ranking African American military officers ever to serve this nation.
Among the officers were: Lt. Gen. Julius Becton, BGen. Hazel Johnson-Brown, Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely, Jr., of the Navy, Lt. Gen. Frank Peterson, Jr. of the Marine Corps, and Col. Fred V. Cherry of the Air Force.
(N.Y. Amsterdam News – Saturday, September 29, 1990, p3)
Coming Home: Transition From Military Service to Civilian Life, 2009
Coming Home: Transition From Military Service to Civilian Life, 2009 (VA
Secretary Shinseki & Rep. Rangel)
Bringing & Caring for our Troops Back Home Press Release, October 7, 2011
The current unemployment crisis has a disproportionate impact on veterans; young male veterans (ages 18 to 24) are hit hardest with an unemployment rate of 22%.
Returning veterans who do find jobs earn an average of $5,736 less a year than their civilian counterparts, according to the VA. The disparity is even greater for veterans with college degrees: They earn $9,526 less than their civilian counterparts a year.
Rangel Rallies to Bring our Troops Home on 10th Anniversary of War in Afghanistan
Congressman Rangel Hosts Veterans Braintrust at 2009 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative
Conference African Diaspora News
AMVETS Department of DC CURRENT NEWS Recognition Service Award presented to Mr. Johnnie Collins, Jr. for his many years of devoted service and support to disabled veterans at DC VA Medical Center, September 1, 2010
Clockwise, from top left: Department Executive Director Johnnie Collins, Jr., (left) and Vincent Patton, Ed.D., Coast Guard Master Chief (Ret.), attended the 15th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust Awards, where Patton was an honoree; Collins (left) with Alonzo A. Swann, Jr. Winner of the Navy Cross (USS Intrepid, WWII) and Ed Brown , Ph.D., an employee of the VA Vet Center in Dallas, TX at the Congressional Black Caucus event; Collins (right) and Isiah “Ike” Williams, Owner and Publisher of the National Florida Advocate and the Jacksonville Advocate, at the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust where Williams was also honored.
Edward L. Jennings, Jr., HUD Southeast Regional Administrator
September 17 – Edward Jennings, Jr. speaks about HUD’s initiatives to support veterans and military families, at the Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) Veterans Braintrust Forum, during the 2010 CBCF Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) in Washington, DC
(Credit: Elbert Garcia)
24th Annual Veterans Braintrust Forum: Veterans Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Employment and Economic Stability After Military Service at the Washington Convention Center
From Left to Right:
Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Keynote Speaker Gen. Lloyd Austin III, Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Lt. Gen. Willie Williams, Chief of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps., Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, U.S. Coast Guard, and Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA)
Economic Division Deputy Director Mark Walker (far right) represented the American Legion on a 12 member panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust
(Photo by Craig Roberts)
Walker recalled the discussion as fruitful, saying, “it was agreed upon that the fight to create a more favorable employment market for veterans should be one of ‘all hands on deck.’ The effort should include the public and private sectors, NGOs (non-governmental organizations), faith-based communities and individuals. All are needed to assist veterans and their families in reintegration into civilian life.”
APA member provides expertise at Congressional Black Caucus event on veterans issues
APA secured participation of Josef Ruzek, PhD, for September 21, 2012, Veterans Braintrust event at the 2012 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. Dr. Ruzek shared his knowledge and experience as Director for the Dissemination and Training Division of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was joined for the discussion, called “Mental Health and the Workplace: Social Messaging, Interventions and Help-Seeking Behavior,” by Billy E. Jones, MD, MS, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Donna Barnes, PhD, Suicidologist, Howard University Hospital and Co-Founder of the National Organization for People Against Suicide.
Photo by Lloyd Wolf
Pictured (from right) Josef Ruzek, PhD, Donna H. Barnes, PhD, and Billy E. Jones, MD, MS
Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park in Florida received the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans’ Braintrust Award
Staff and supporters of Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park at the Congressional Black Caucus meeting in Washington, DC where the park received the Veteran’ Braintrust Award for its recognition of African American civil war soldiers. Pictured (left to right) are: Susan Kett, USDA Forest Service; Valinda Subic, Park Manager at that time; Ron Williams, 54th Massachusetts Reenactor; Hon. Corrine Brown, U.S. Congress Representative, 3rd District-Florida; John Thrush, then President of Olustee Battlefield Citizens Support Organization (CSO); and O.J. Lake, 54th Massachusetts Reenactor.
Staff were joined by Robert Young, Mel Reid and Michael Coleman, Members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company ‘B’ from Washington, DC.
Ron Armstead receives special gift of a White House watch from Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL)
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it
Rep. Corrine Brown’s Veterans Braintrust Reception and Awards Ceremony
at 334 Cannon House Office Building
Photo by Frank Powell, 2012
2012 Awardees: William B. Lawson, MD, Ph.D., Billy Jones, MD, MS, Jay Chunn, Ph.D., Donna Holland Barnes, Ph.D., Sgt. Stephen Sherman, US Army, WWII Veteran, Otis Nash, Ralph Cooper, M.Ed., BGen (Ret) Robert Cocroft, Wendy McClinton, Michael ‘Mike’ Neely, Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada, USMC, Ret’d., and CMD Mark C. Nisbett, USN, Ret.
Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA)
As the Ranking Member of the House Appropiations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Co-Chair of the Congressional Military Family Caucus, he has long been an advocate for improving the quality of life for our nation’s veterans and their families.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 2012/2013 Annual Conference Homelessness within Minority Populations Sessions
Although the percentage of minority homeless veterans has decreased, minority veterans are still overrepresented with the homeless veterans population. This session outlined successful programs from the community working to meet the needs of minority veterans. May 29, 2013
The Bloody Massacre perpetuated in King Street, Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.
Crispus Attucks was the first person shot to death by British Redcoats during the American Revolutionary War. Attucks was killed in Boston, Massachusetts on March 5th, 1770, at was is known now as the Boston Massacre. He has been immortalized as “the first to defy, the first to die,” and has been regarded by historians as a true martyr for American Independence.
Paul Revere, Engraver
Battle of Lake Erie, War of 1812
Courageous Act of Cyrus Tiffany in Battle of Lake Erie, September 13, 1813
By Martyl Schweig
Cyrus Tiffany in the Battle of Lake Erie (1813), saving the life of Commodore Perry
Battle of New Orleans, 1815John Andrews, 1856
Detail Showing Free Black Battalions
The First and Second Battalions of Free Men of Color, comprising over six hundred men, played an important role in the Louisiana campaign, just as free black men had during the colonial period in the service of France and Spain. Louisiana was the first state in the Union to commission a military officer of African descent, and an act passed by the Louisiana legislature in 1812 was the first in the nation to authorize a black volunteer militia with its black line officers.
Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863
Frederick Douglass
Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.
Araminta Ross (Harriet Tubman) was born into slavery in 1819 or 1820, in Dorchester
County, Maryland
Quote: “If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.”
--- Harriet Tubman
Sergeant William H. Carney, 54th Mass., C.M.H., Civil War Hero. 1840-1908
William Carney was one of the first African American soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Carney was awarded on May 23, 1900, nearly 40 years after he served in the Civil War. Carney was a popular speaker at patriotic events, and has been remembered for his role in the Battle of Fort Wagner when he saved the American flag.
Famous words: “The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground.”
Cpl. Andrew Jackson Smith, 55th Mass.
Historical Marker for Andrew Jackson Smith, A Former Slave Who Won the Congressional Medal of Honor
Andrew Jackson Smith was born a slave in rural Lyon County, Kentucky in 1843. He served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. He died in 1932 and was buried in the Mount Pleasant African American Cemetery in Lyon County, Kentucky. The cemetery is located in the Land Between the Lakes National Park that straddles both Kentucky and Tennessee.
Washington Race Course, 1865 Charleston, SC
View of graves of Union soldiers and sailors at Confederate military prison on the grounds of Washington Race Course, now Hampton Park, Charleston, SC.
The first known observance of Memorial Day was in Charleston, SC in 1865; freedmen (freed enslaved Africans) celebrated at the Washington Race Course, today the location of Hampton Park, and each year thereafter. African Americans founded Decoration Day, now referred to as Memorial Day, at the graveyard of 257 Union soldiers and labeled the gravesite “Martyrs of the Race Course” on May 1, 1865.
Posted: July 24, 2009 Revised: January 6, 2011
Copyright reference: Image is in the collection of the Library of Congress, LOC, and is believed to be in the public domain.
Gen. Gordon Granger, General Order No. 3 June 19th, 1865
Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday celebrating the End of Slavery.
It started on June 19th, 1865 when the Union soldiers, led by Gen. Granger came to Galveston, Texas and announced that the war was over and he slaves were free. Gen. Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation freeing about 250,000 slaves throughout Texas.
One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3
San Juan Hill, 1898
Detail from Charge of the 24th and 25th Colored Infantry, July 2nd 1898 depicting the Battle of San Juan Hill. 1898 Lithograph by Chicago printers Kurz and Allison
369th Infantry, WWI
Colored Heroes who won the Croix de Guerre. All of these are enlisted men of the 369th Infantry who were decorated by the French High Command. In front row from left to right are: Privates Ed Williams, Herbert Taylor, Leon Fraitor and Ralph Hawkins. In rear row are Private H.D. Prunes, Sgt. D. Stormes, Private Joe Williams, Private Arthur Menly and Cpl. Taylor
Colors of the Famous 369th Infantry in Parade in New York City.
Original Caption: Colors of The Famous 369th Infantry in Parade in New York City. Colors of the famous 369th Infantry [African American] troops of New York that have been decorated by the French Government. U.S. National Archives’
Houston Riot of 1917
On August 23, 1917 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment 3rd Battalion stationed in Houston to guard the construction of Camp Logan, a training facility, marched on the Fourth Ward police station and were met outside the camp by police and armed citizens. Four policemen, four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed in the confrontation, and 19 soldiers were eventually executed. No white soldiers or Houston residents were charged with any crimes.
Around noon that day, police dragged an African American woman from her home and arrested her for public drunkenness. A soldier from the camp asked what was going on, and was beaten and arrested as well. When Cpl. Charles Baltimore, an MP, learned of the arrest he went to the police station to investigate. He was beaten, then shot at as he was chased away. Rumors soon reached the camp that Baltimore had been killed, and that a white mob was approaching. Soldiers armed themselves and began their march toward the city.
The primary cause of the Houston Riot was the habitual brutality of the white police officers of Houston in their treatment of colored people. Contributing causes were (1) the mistake made in not arming members of the colored provost guard or military police, (2) lax discipline at Camp Logan which permitted promiscuous visiting at the camp and made drinking and immorality possible among the soldiers. ~ Martha Gruenig, Crisis Magazine, November 1917
The Houston Riot of 1917 was one of the saddest chapters in the history of American race relations. It vividly illustrated the problems that the nation struggled with on the home front during wartime. ~ Texas State Historical Association
Tuskegee VA Hospital, 1923 In 1923, the Tuskegee Veterans Hospital was the first VA facility that was staffed entirely by African Americans
The Golden Thirteen
The Golden Thirteen were the thirteen African American enlisted men who became the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the United States Navy.
Lt. Col. Charity Adams, WAAC
Ens. Jesse L. Brown, U.S. Navy, First Black Naval Combat Aviator
Ens. Jesse L. Brown, USN was the first African American Naval aviator in the U.S. Navy, a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the first naval officer killed in the Korean War.
Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to an impoverished family, he graduated as salutatorian of his high school despite segregation, and later received his degree from Ohio State University.
Brown enlisted in the Navy in 1946, and flew 20 combat missions over Korea, before being shot down supporting ground troops at the Battle of Choosin Reservior on December 4, 1950.
(13 October 1926 – 4 December 1950)
Wallace “Wally” Terry, Noted Journalist
In 1967, Wallace Terry became Deputy Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in Saigon. His two years of Vietnam War reporting included coverage of the Tet Offensive and scores of combat missions with American and South Vietnamese pilots. In addition to writing for USA TODAY and Parade Magazine, Terry was an award-winning author, producer and public speaker.
He died on May 29, 2003.
On January 28, 2012, Wallace Terry was posthumously inducted into the National Association of Black Journalist Hall of Fame represented by his loving wife Janice Terry and friend Jack E. White.
Wallace “Wally” Terry, Noted Journalist
Time Magazine, May 26, 1967 (Cover Story)
The Negro in Vietnam Sgt. Clide Brown, Jr.
Marine Barracks Bombing in Beirut, 1983
Sgt. Kenneth Ford, LaBelle Disco Bombing, Germany, 1986
The outside walls of LaBelle discotheque were blown in by the bomb
USS Cole (DDG 67), bombing in the Port Yemen, 2000
This photo includes all 17 sailors who were killed in the attack on the USS Cole.
Photo by Wayne Hinshaw of the Salisbury Post
Seaman Likiba Nicole Palmer is one of only two women killed aboard a U.S. Naval Combat vessel under terrorist attack. She was awarded the Purple Heart.
The Last Soldier to Die in Iraq was Black U.S.
Army Specialist David Hickman, an African American from North Carolina
Hon. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
Black or African American soldiers have fought and died in every American war, both abroad and domestic. Throughout history, they have demonstrated courage and valor in the face of discrimination and prejudice. It is our patriotic duty to admire their resolve and honor their unwavering dedication to service.
Issues linked to History and Socio-Economic Well-Being
Johnson C. Whittaker (1858 – 1931)
Johnson Chesnut Whittaker was one of the first black men to win an appointment to the U.S. military academy at West Point. While at the academy, he was brutally assaulted and next expelled after beinbg falsely accused and convicted of faking the incident. Over 60 years after his death, his name was formally cleared.
On July 25, 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded posthumously the commssion of a US Army Second Lieutenant to Whittaker’s heirs, syaing, “we cannot undo history. But today, finally, we can pay tribute to a great American and we can acknowledge a great injustice..
Lt. Henry O’Flipper, Cadet HOF, USMA Class of 1877
Lt. Henry O’Flipper was born into slavery in Thonmasville, Georgia, on March 21, 1856, Henry Ossian Flipper was appointed to the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1873. Over the next four years he overcame harassment, isolation and insults to become West point’s first African American graduate and the first African American commissioned officer in the regular U.S. Army
Rev. L. Jerome Fowler Great-Great Nephew of Chaplain Henry Vinton Plummer, U.S. Army said, the Army has now “recognized his uncles patriotism
and loyalty to his country.” (Michael Lutzky – The Washington Post)
Henry Vinton Plummer was born a slave on June 30, 1844, in Price Georges County, Maryland. During the Civil War he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, served for about sixteen months, and was honorably discharged in August of 1865. Following the war, he worked at various jobs in Washington, D.C., until he had saved enough money to enter Wayland Seminary of that city. He graduated from the seminary in 1879 and served as a Baptist pastor or missionary in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
On July 8, 1884, Plummer was appointed chaplain of the Ninth Cavalry, U.S. Army by President Chester A. Arthur, becoming the first Negro chaplain to serve in the post-civil war army. After ten years of service in Kansas, Wyoming, and Nebraska, he was dismissed from the Army at Ft. Robinson, Nebraska, in 1894 for conduct unbecoming an officer. Plummer died in Kansas City, Kansas, on February 8, 1905.
Capt. Charles Young, 9th CAV., U.S. Army (1903)
Col. Charles Young was born March 12, 1864, in Mayslick, Kentucky, the son of former slaves.
Sgt. Henry Johnson, 369th Inf., World War I
(Historical Photo of Henry Johnson /undated)
Sgt. Henry Johnson, WWI
Herman Johnson, Tuskegee Airman
Son Discovers World War I Hero Father, Buried at Arlington National Cemetery
New York Governor Pataki, right, along with Herman Johnson, left, and PFC Gerald Jilliard of the New York Army National Guard, prepare to place a wreath at the gravesite of Johnson’s father, World War I hero Sgt. Henry Johnson at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. Thursday, January 10, 2002. The wreath laying was to honor Sgt. Johnson, a famed member of the Harlem Hellfighters.
New York Gov. George Pataki, right, along with Herman Johnson, left, and Pfc Gerald Jilliard of the New York Army National Guard, pause after placing a wreath at the gravesite of Johnson's father, World War I hero Sergeant Henry Johnson at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Thursday, January 10, 2002
Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) Honors Sgt. Henry Johnson – After Eight Decade Effort, Black World War I Hero is Awarded with Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) at Pentagon Ceremony; Herman Johnson holds the DSC awarded posthumously to this father,
Sergeant Henry Johnson. John Howe left, was a key fighter for recognition of Henry Johnson’s heroism.Press Release: February 13, 2003
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announces that newly discovered documents will enhance Sgt. Henry Johnson’s chance of receiving the Medal of Honor, at the World War I hero’s statue in Washington Park on
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in Albany, New York. (Philip Kamrass/Times Union)
Sen. Chuck Schumer talks about new efforts to get the Medal of Honor for Sgt. Henry Johnson in Albany, NY
Sen. Schumer announced a new online petition in a spirited campaign to win a Medal of Honor for Army Sgt. Henry Johnson, an African American World War I hero who fought with uncommon valor.
In a May 1918 battle, Johnson helped repel a 20 soldier german unit, despite being seriously wounded and armed only with a knife and a jammed rifle he swung as a club.
Schumer is partnering on the petition drive with PBS, which aired a segment on Johnson earlier this month on the TV program “History Detectives.”
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Petition-drive-starts-for-Johnson-medal-3977561.php#xzz2B6P58Ryl
Dorie Miller receives Navy CrossPhotograph courtesy National Archives 80-G-23588
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson Seeks Congressional Medal of Honor for Dorie Miller
Click icon to add pictureCBC Former Chair, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, has taken the lead in introducing a bill for the late Doris (Dorie) Miller to receive the honor that he deserves through the posthumous award of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military honor that can be awarded to an individual.
Miller, a native of Waco, texas, distinguished hiomself during thre infamous Japanese attack on Pearl harbor by dragging his ship’s commander out of the range of fire and manning a machine gun on deck. While under heavy fire from the Japanese, Miller shot down at least two of the 29 enemy planes that were downed that day. Miller, as a Navy Mess Attendant, performed with valor even though he had not received training to operate the gunnery that white sailors on board had received.
On May 27, 1942, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross, after civil rights leaders launched a public campaign to call attention to his unbelievable heroism that had been downplayed by the military.
CBCF News September/October 2001, Volume 3, No. 3
(Credit: Facebook)
William Raspberry’s Column, “Two Heroes, No Medals of Honor” Friday, June 3, 1988 (Dies at 76)
Rep. Joe DioGuardi (R-NY) not only thought his bills to honor two black war heroes would be noncontroverisal. He was also naïve enough to imagine that the Army and Navy might be grateful for a chance to correct what he deemed a “historic oversight.” But the services turned down his attempt to grant posthumously Congressional Medals of Honor to World War I Sgt. Henry Johnson of Albany and World War II Seaman Dorie Miller of Waco. As a result, the number of black servicemen to receive Congressional Medals of Honor for their heroism in the two world wars will remain zero. Rep. Mickey Leland (D-TX) joined him in introducing bills to waive the time limit for granting the medals, and have not accused the services of discrimination – just neglect.
U.S. Navy African American Navy Cross Awarded Gun Crew: Jonell Copeland, Que Grant, Harold Clark, Jr., James Eddie Dockery, Alonzo Alexander Swann, Eli
Benjamin; circa 1945
Gun Tub 10, USS Intrepid, World War II
On October 29, 1944, a Zero smashed into Gun Tub 10 and killed 9 men. In 1993, Alonzo Swann, Jr. received the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest award for valor, in a presentation ceremony aboard the Intrepid. He had been promised the Navy Cross by Intrepid’s captain soon after the kamikaze attack, but in a ceremony a few weeks later he and the five other surviving African American gunners each received only a Bronze Star, the military’s fourth highest award for valor, most likely due to racial discrimination.
Steward’s Mate Third Class Robert Jones, Gun Tub 10, USS Intrepid, World War II
While minorities were normally relegated to non-combat duties on U.S. Navy ships, Gun Tub 10 on the USS intrepid was manned by Black and Hispanic volunteers, most of them cooks or waiters for the Officers’ Mess.
On October 29, 1944, in the face of a diving kamikaze, these sailors maintained their duty station until the enemy plane crashed into their position killing 10 men and badly burning the others. Six of the survivors were subsequently awarded Bronze Stars.
Decades later Alonzo Swann, one of the six, sued for the Navy Cross he had been promised but which had been downgraded to the Bronze Star.
Ultimately, from 1993 to 2002, three of the six men initially awarded Bronze Stars received Navy Crosses.
Robert Jones subsequently also received the Navy Cross for his own actions on that occasion.
Port Chicago DisasterDamage at the Port Chicago Pier after the Explosion of July 17, 1944
Results: 320 Killed & 390 InjuredLocation: Port Chicago Naval Magazine, Port Chicago, California, United States
Port Chicago, World War II
Freddie Meeks, Pardoned in Port Chicago Mutiny, World War II
Freddie Meek s, who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton 55 years after being court-martialed for mutiny for refusing to return to work after the cataclysmic Port Chicago explosion, died (2003) in Los Angeles. He was 83.
Mr. Meeks had been in increasingly poor health for the past several months and died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles, said his son, Daryl Meeks,
When two ships loaded with 10,000 tons of ammunition exploded at Port Chicago near Concord on July 17, 1944, 320 servicemen were killed and nearly 400 others were injured. It was the worst stateside disaster of World War II.
Mr. Meeks was one of 50 black sailors who were convicted of mutiny because, fearing for their safety, they would not return to duty at Port Chicago. He and others were imprisoned for 18 months before the sentence was commuted to time served.
For decades, Mr. Meeks refused to speak about the incident, even to his own children.
"He was not ashamed of what he did," said Daryl Meeks, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's lieutenant. "He was ashamed of it in the sense that he didn't want it to affect our careers."
Mr. Meeks' children found out about the mutiny conviction after a professor interviewed him in the mid-1980s for a book on th e explosion. In the 1990s, U. S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, pushed for a presidential pardon for Mr. Meeks, the only survivor who sought a pardon. Miller also fought for the Port Chicago National Monument at the site of the catastrophe.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Freddie-Meeks-pardoned-in-Port-Chicago-mutiny-2607630.php#ixzz2HhfJDjSE
On September 22, in Congressman George Miller’s Washington Office, members of the World War II Black Navy Veterans of the Great Lakes presented Congressman Miller an award for his decade-long effort to clear the names of 50 black sailors
charged with mutiny following a huge explosion at the port Chicago Naval Magazine in 1944. Miller is leading the national effort to secure a pardon from President Clinton for one of the last remaining sailors, Freddie Meeks of Los Angeles.
Fort Lawton Case, State of WashingtonJack and Leslie Hamann, residents of Magnolia, Washington wrote the book “On American Soil” outlining the Fort Lawton case. Then Hamann
and Rep. Jim McDermott led the charge to have the convictions overturned based on the clear evidence that the 28 men were innocent.
Fort Lawton Case, State of WashingtonLate last year, the Army awarded honorable discharges to each of the men and ordered that their estates be issued back pay and benefits. Update: Samuel Snow,
the Army veteran honored this weekend, died early Sunday at Virginia Mason Medical Center, hours after the US Army awarded him san honorable discharge and apologized for the “grievous wrong,” done to him and 27 other black soldiers more than 60 years ago. (July 26th, 2008)
Roy Montgomery, Fort Lawton, World War II
Matteson - Assistant Army Secretary Ronald James presents a check to World war II veteran Roy Montgomery as compensation for a wrongful conviction in connection with the 1944 death of an Italian POW at Fort Lawton, Washington. Montgomery also received his military back pay, plus interest, in two checks totaling $42,254. Both the checks and the heartfelt expression of remorse were delivered in person…
For Montgomery, 87, of Park Forest, the gesture was more about money and an admission the Army mistreated him. It meant that 64 years after he was wrongfully convicted in the largest court martial of WWII, the old soldier could put the episode behind him.
Samuel Snow, who was court-martialed in World War II at home in Leesburg, Florida (Photo: Chris Livingston for the New York Times)
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., U.S.A.F., Ret.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force, and commanded the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Davis retired as a lieutenant general in 1970, then was raised to a full general in 1998 when President Bill Clinton awarded him a fourth star. Davis was a highly decorated general who was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, and numerous other awards of distinction. Molefi Kete Asante also listed Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
Cpl. Isaiah Mays was awarded the Medal of Honor after being wounded in an ambush in 1889
Cpl. Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor Recipient.
Buffalo Soldier Gets Arlington Burial after 100 years.
It was a long journey that took more than a hundred years. Missing for decades, the remains of Clp. Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor Recipient, were laid to rest at Arlington.
Army Sgt. Cornelius Charlton
Army Sgt. Cornelius Charlton died of his wounds at the age of 21. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 19, 1952.
“We gave him the Medal of Honor,” the Saturday Evening Post wrote in 1953. “He gave us his life.”
Army photo of Sgt. Cornelius Charlton and AP photo of his burial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and of Zenobia Penn wiping tears from her eyes at the
ceremony.
Chief Petty Officer Carl E. Clark, USN, Ret.: US Navy Considers Medal, 65 Years After a Heroic Act
Carl E. Clark, 94, served in World War II to defend America, not to win glory. Now, the veteran is under consideration to receive the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. In an effort, 65 years after the fact to repair history.
On May 3, 1945, the destroyer USS Aaron Ward was on “picket duty” to warn the fleet in Okinawa of impending Japanese attacks. At sunset, a kamikaze plane hit the deck exploding into fire, followed in the next 51 minutes by five more, killing dozens.
Clark, despite a broken collarbone, raced into the mayhem and manned a fire hose so powerful it usually took four men to control it, to douse flames headed for an ammunition locker, which would have exploded and split the ship.
It took more than 66 years, but Carl E. Clark, 95, was finally honored for extraordinary heroism in World War II --- recognition he had previously been denied because he is black. In front of a cheering crowd of more than 600, Clark received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the Combat Distinguishing Device. The medal was pinned to his chest by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who had flown in from Washington, DC to bestow the honor.
Sgt 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, US Army; Fight for Alwyn Cashe’s Medal of Honor continues …
WASHINGTON -- When the roadside bomb detonated, it ripped through the fuel tank of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and ignited like napalm. The seven men seated inside were knocked unconscious and had no chance to escape the fire.
But the gunner, Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, managed to crawl out of the burning wreckage. Wounded and drenched in diesel fuel, he pulled the Bradley’s driver from his seat before the flames reached there, dragging him to safety.
And then he went back.
The 16-year Army veteran had seen a dozen of his men die on that tour in Iraq, and he couldn’t bear to lose another. His uniform caught fire as he desperately tried to open the Bradley’s hatch.
By the time he got in, all he had on was his body armor and helmet, the rest of his uniform in ashes or seared to his skin. With help, he carried one of his dying men out of the fire and back to horrified medics trying to triage their charred colleagues. Soldiers couldn’t tell what rounds pinging off the Bradley were from insurgents’ weapons and which ones were from their own ammunition ablaze in the vehicle. As he reached the next Soldier, Cashe tried to douse the fire on his uniform, only to realize that his own skin was peeling off from the heat. As another Soldier helped pat out the flames, Cashe moved the next wounded friend to safety.
And then he went back.
Cashe was the last of the injured to be evacuated from the scene. Doctors later said he suffered second- and third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body, but he still walked off the battlefield under his own power.
Congressman Sanford Bishop, Jr. representing Thomasville, Georgia (Yesterday & Today)
Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III33rd Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, 2012
Lt. Henry O’ FlipperCadet Henry O Flipper USMA Class of 1877
The Homelessness Experiences of African American Veterans
Race & Ethnicity as Risk Factors
The rates of homelessness are much higher for veterans who are African American and Native American than for veterans who are not members of minority groups, particularly among those living in poverty.
Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report
to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report
to Congress (October, 2011)
Factors contributing to homelessness
Poverty (poverty is closely tied to joblessness) Lack of support from family and friends Dismal living conditions (cheap hotels, overcrowding, or
substandard housing) Male Single (majority) From poor and disadvantaged backgrounds (most) Mental illness, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Lack of Affordable Housing Marital & Financial Difficulties Substance Abuse (alcohol & drugs) Unemployment & Underemployment (income disparities) Single Mothers (facing challenges with readjustment
to civilian life)
Women in the Military
Harriet Tubman, also known as ‘The General’
Harriet Tubman
For 25 years Tubman attempted to receive a pension from the federal government in recognition of her wartime service.
Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the former commander of the first South Carolina Volunteers, and Gen. Rtufus Saxton, the former head of the Department of the South, both lobbied on Tubman’s behalf, but to no avail.
Susie King Taylor (1848 – 1912), an African American Army Nurse
Susie King Taylor, as the author of Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st South Carolina Volunteers, is the only African American woman to publish a memoir of her wartime experiences.
She was also the first African American to teach openly in a school for former slaves in Georgia.
In the 1870’s, King traveled to Boston, where she remained for the rest of her life, returning to the South occasionally. She is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Roslindale, MA.
2nd Lt. Prudence Burns Burrell, U.S. Army, World War II Nurse
2nd Lt. Prudence Burns Burrell, WWII Nurse
Surgical ward treatment at the 268th Station Hospital, Base A, Milne Bay, New Guinea. Left to Right: Sgt. Lawrence McKreever, patient; 2nd Lt. Prudence Burns, ward nurse; 2nd Lt. Elena Townscent, chief surgical nurse; and an unidentified nurse. June 22, 1944
by Pfc. Michael Pitcarn 111-SC-28748
Dr. Elizabeth Allen, Vietnam Army Nurse
Ann Arbor’s Elizabeth Allen served as a nurse in Vietnam. Her story is among those told in Keith Famie’s new documentary, “Our Vietnam Generation.”
Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, USMC was the first US servicewoman to die since the War on Terrorism began.
Sgt. Jeanette L. Winters was also the first female Marine to die in a combat zone.
Sgt. Winters, 25, was a radio operator who joined the marine Corps in 1997. She followed in the footsteps of her older brother Matthew Winters, Jr., who was also a Marine. Her father Matthew Winters, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” from the family home in Gary, IN, that he last spoke to his daughter just before the holidays, Jeannette Winter’s mother died of cancer nearly five years ago.
“She told me, ‘Dad, I won’t be home for Chrismas, “but sent a guitar as a gift, he said. “She was so proud to get into the Marine Corps. She loved her job.”
Spc. Shoshanna N. Johnson, U.S. Army
Sergeant Vannesa Turner, U.S. Army
Sergeant Vannesa Turner, U.S. Army
Army Sgt. Vannesa Turner is seen outside of the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston. Turner, who nearly died from a mysterious illness in Iraq, needed intervention from Sen. Edward Kennedy just to get a doctor’s appointment in the VA system.
African American Women and Disability
According to Dr. Eddie Glenn, African American women with disabilities are victims of the impact of a “Triple Jeopardy Syndrome: Race, Gender and Disability.” He also makes the point that there is a direct need for research which focuses on the status, needs and aspirations of African American women with disabilities. African American women with disabilities have historically been excluded by both the disability movement, as well as feminist movement.
Prisoners of War
Andersonville Civil War Prison, or Camp Sumter
Battle of Carrizal, Mexico, June 20, 1916
Return of the 10th Cavalry men captured in the Battle at Carrizal, Mexico, 21 June 1916. In the center is Lem Spillsbury, 10th Cavalry guide, who was captured, and the other members of the unit. This photo is believed to have been taken on the International Bridge at El Paso, Texas. Photo courtesy Lt. Col. John Healy, USA Retired.
Men of the 10th Cavalry taken prisoner at the Battle of Carrizal, Mexico.
Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, USAF, Ret., Tuskegee Airman & World War II Ex-POW
Robert Fletcher, a Ypsilanti native was one of approximately 150 US Army soldiers captured on the frosty day of November 27, 1950, when North Koreans overran their position
Of that group from the 24th Infantry Regiment, known by the name “Buffalo Soldiers” that was given to all-Black units in the segregated army, Fletcher said only 39 returned home alive at the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Col. Fred V. Cherry, USAF, Ret.Colonel Fred Cherry, the first and longest held black POW of the Vietnam War. He was held from 1965 to 1973
Spc. Shoshanna Nyree Johnson
Congressional Research Service (CRS), 2002
There is little readily available information that treats African American POW/MIA’s separately from POW’s as a whole. A search of reference works resulted in primarily anedotal material. Further, according to the Army Center, there has been no scholarly treatment of the topic. Consequently, obtaining substantial information on this topic would require primary research, such as a collection of oral histories.
Awards
Black Revolutionary War Patriots Commemorative Coin, 1998
Released on February 13, 1998, this coin commemorates the Black Revolutionary War patriots and the 275th anniversary of the birth of the first Black Revolutionary War patriot, Crispus Attucks, who was the first American colonist killed by the British troops during the Boston Massacre. The coin features an image of Crispus Attiucks. It is inscribed: Liberty, In God We Trust, Crispus Attucks, 1723 – 1770, and 1998.
Carl Cruz, Great Grandnephew of Sgt. William Carney
New Bedford resident Carl Cruz bows his head along with the reenacting members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment during a benediction at the Statehouse.
Mr. Cruz is the great grandnephew of Sgt. William Carney a member of the 54th, and the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Photo by Patrick Whittemore via the Boston Herald
September 29, 1864 --- The Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia --- 14 Black Medal of Honor Winners: (1) Thomas Hawkins, (2) Powhatan Beaty, (3) James Harris, (4) James Daniel Gardner, (5) Milton Murry
Holland, (6) Alfred B. Hilton, (7) Miles James, (8) Alexander Kelly, (9) Robert Pinn, (10) Charles Veale, (11) Edward Ratcliff, (12) William Barnes, (13) James Bronson, and (14) Christian Fleetwood.
The Butler Medal, or Army of the James Medal
The Butler Medal, is the only medal awarded specifically to Black Soldiers in the Civil War
Cpl. Freddie Stowers of the 371st Infantry, U.S. Army, World War I
Cpl. Freddie Stowers of the 371st Infantry, U.S. Army, World War I
White House Ceremony - for Cpl. Freddie Stowers, the only Black Medal of Honor Recipient for World War I --- his surviving sisters accept the decoration from President & Mrs. George H.W. Bush.
(Date: April 4, 1991)
Lt. Vernon Baker, U.S. Army, World War II veteran
Vernon Joseph Baker (December 17, 1919 – July 13, 2010) was a U.S. Army officer who received the United States military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. He was awarded the medal for his actions on April 5 – 6, 1945 near Viareggio, Italy, when he and his platoon killed 26 enemy soldiers and destroyed six machine gun nest, two observer posts and four dugouts. He was the only living Black World War II veteran of the seven belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor when it was bestowed upon him by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
Lt. Vernon Baker, U.S. Army, World War II
Lt. Jackie Robinson, U.S. Army, 761st Tank Battalion
Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers #42
On April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson played his first Major League game at Ebbets Field.
Jackie Robinson
President George Bush, Jr. with Rachel Robinson
Lt. Jackie Robinson, U.S. Army
Rev. Benjamin Hooks receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Rev. Benjamin Hooks, who served in the 92nd Division, found himself in the humiliating position of guarding Italian prisoners of war who were allowed to eat in restaurants that were off-limits to him. The experience helped deepen his resolve to do something about bigotry in the South.
After his wartime service – he was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant – Hooks went north to Chicago to study law at DePaul University. No law school in his native Tennessee would admit him.
Benjamin Hooks, U.S. Army, World War II
USS Mason (DE-529)African American crewmembers look proudly at their ship while moored at the Boston Navy Yard,
MassachusettsMarch 20, 1944 --- Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archive
Proud the Movie, 2004
Mary Pat Kelly is a best selling writer and the producer of PROUD the movie. She is a graduate of Saint-Mary of the Woods College and received her Ph.D. from the City University of New York.
Ruby Dee, Ozzie Davis and Mary Pat Kelly
Action starring Ozzie Davis
The true story of the only African American crew to take a Navy warship into combat in World War II
Publisher: Lion Gate/USA
Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum, Detroit
Tuskegee Airmen at the U.S. Capitol March 29, 2007
Bush and Pelosi at Tuskegee Airmen Ceremony
Tuskegee Airmen receive the Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal was collectively presented to approximately 300 Tuskegee Airmen or their widows, at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC by President George W. Bush on March 29, 2007.
Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
Fairy Mae Papadopoulos (second right) sister of Sgt. Cornelius Charlton, received his Medal of Honor in 2008
Sgt. Cornelius Charlton, U.S. Army, became a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient in 1952.
Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Brown v Board of Education, 1954
Oliver L. Brown, U.S. Army, World War II Veteran
Oliver L. Brown, plaintiff in the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Case Oliver L. Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, more famously known as Brown v. Board of Education
Harry Briggs (1913-1986) – Clarendon County
Harry and Eliza Briggs
Harry Briggs was a World War II Navy veteran. Briggs, a gas station attendant, and his wife, Eliza allowed Rev. DeLaine to use their home for people to sign the petition that became Briggs v Elliott. Eventually, Briggs was fired from his job on Christmas Eve and Mrs. Briggs lost her job as a motel maid. The case of Briggs v Elliott was named for Harry Briggs, who was listed first on the petition.
Harry and Eliza Briggs
Congressional Gold Medal, 2003, recognizing Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs and Levi Pearson
George Washington Honor Medal
In 2005, the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust received the George Washington Honor Medal at a special ceremony from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Quote: “The unwillingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.”
George Washington, First President of the United States
National Order of the Legion of Honour
Awarded by France
Lt. Col. William Calbert, Chaplain Corps, USA, Ret., France Legion of Honor Awardee
France Bestows Highest Honor on U.S. World War II veteran
William Calbert, who arrived at Utah Beach on D-Day-plus-26 with Quartermaster Battalion, said he’s proud to represent those who died in combat and those who brought supplies so combat troops could accomplish their mission. With his wife of 41 years, Madlyn.
Photo by Rudi Williams
William Dabney, awardee of the Legion of Honor, France
Marvin Gilmore, awardee of the Legion of Honor, France
Marvin E. Gilmore Jr., 86, was honored at the Massachusetts State House for his World War II military service. With him was Christophe Guilhou, France’s consul general in Boston.
(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
Frank Martin, Director, Producer & Co-Writer of “For Love of Liberty,” tracing black
U.S. soldiers stories
Frank Martin spent a decade trying to illuminate a long-overlooked aspect of American history: the contributions of black servicemen and women to every major U.S. military conflict.
It was the power of those soldiers’ stories that kept the documentary filmmaker laboring on “For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots.” The four-hour film was released last week on DVD, with a special edition due out March 1 at www.forloveofliberty.org.
“What’s compelling about this are the stories. When you read the stories, you are prompted to ask a very basic question, which is at the heart of the documentary, and that is why would a group of people shed their blood in defense of a nation that treated them worse than second-class citizens?” said Martin, who directed, produced and co-wrote the film, in a phone interview.
“That profound question is asked and answered time and time again in the documentary. The basic answer to that question is … black Americans fought for the love liberty, and that’s a powerful thing.”
A Breath of Freedom: The Civil Rights Struggle: African American GIs, and Germany
by Maria Hohn & Martin Klimke
A Breath of Freedom: The Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs, and Germany
Based on an award-winning international research project and photo exhibition, this poignant and beautifully illustrated book examines the experiences of African American GIs in Germany and the unique insights they provide into the civil rights struggle at home and abroad. Thanks in large part to its military occupation of Germany after World War II, America’s unresolved civil rights agenda was exposed to worldwide scrutiny as never before. At the same time, its ambitious efforts to democratize German society after the defeat of Nazism meant that West Germany was exposed to American ideas of freedom and democracy to a much larger degree than many other countries. As African American GIs became increasingly politicized, they took on a particular significance for the Civil Rights Movement in light of Germany’s central role in the Cold War. While the effects of the Civil Rights Movement reverberated across the globe, Germany represents a special case that illuminates a remarkable period in American and world history.
Digital archive including videos, photographs, and oral history interviews available at www.breathoffreedom.org(less)
“Even for those of us who were involved in the civil rights movement during the 1960s, A Breath of Freedom is an eye-opener. Today, black Americans who were once denied the right to serve side-by-side in battle with other .S. citizens have achieved some of the highest ranks in our military and government. This book helps increase awareness of the noble contributions of black veterans to our nation: it not only illuminates the irony of their struggle to defeat Nazism in World War II in the face of racial discrimination back home, but also highlights their crucial role in advancing the civil rights and liberties that all Americans enjoy today.“
Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
Paperback, 282 pages Published September 15th 2010 by Palgrave Macmillan
President Barack Obama signs proclamation to designate Fort Monroe as a National Monument
President Barack Obama speaks after signing a proclamation to designate Fort Monroe, in Hampton, VA, a National Monument, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on November 1, 2011
Fort Monroe was the site of Major General Benjamin F. Butler’s decision in 1861 to accept escaping slaves as “contraband of war.” Thousands of former slaves who cast off their bondage and sought sanctuary there called this “The Freedom Fort.” The First and Second Regiments of U.S. Colored Cavalry and Battery ‘B’ Second U.S. Colored Light Artillery, were raised there during the Civil War. In 1865 the Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees
(Freeman’s Bureau) established its state headquarters here.
Montford Point Marine Association and members of Congress at Congressional Reception in Honor of the Original Montford Point Marines, Monday, twenty-fourth of October Two Thousand & Eleven Rayburn House Office Building
Theme: “Support for Congressional Gold Medal”
Emmy Award Nominee Actor John Amos, Jr.
Original Montford Point Marines of World War II
Lt. Col. Joseph Carpenter, USMC (Ret.), Sgt. Earl Evans, USMC (Ret.), SSgt. Eugene Groves, USMC (Ret.), and GySgt. Ruben McNair, USMC (Ret.) on the Capitol Steps
Nation’s First African American Marines Receive Congressional Gold MedalWashington, DC --- C-SPAN
Montford Point Marines Gold Medal CeremonyRep. Charles Rangel , D-NY salutes and Commandant Amos of the Marines Corps greets
Montford Point Marines received the Congressional Gold Medal on June 27, 2012
On June 25, 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 establishing the Fair Employment Commission and opening the doors for the first African-Americans to enlist in the U.S. Marines.
These African Americans from all states were not sent to the traditional boot camp at Parris Island or San Diego. Instead, they were segregated at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Approximately twenty thousand African American marines received basic training at Montford Point between 1942 and 1949.
The initial intent was to discharge these African Americans after the war, returning them to civilian life. However, once given the chance to prove themselves, it became impossible to deny the fact that they were just as capable as all other Marines regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.
It is most fitting that the Congressional Gold Medal is given to those men who, years before Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks and others, joined the Marines to defend their country and do their job.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award in the United States and was first presented during the American Revolutionary War to George Washington.
Representative Corrine Brown at Phoenix Awards Dinner, 42nd Annual Legislative Conference
Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida, the first African American elected to Congress from Florida in 129 years or since Reconstruction received the Harold Washington Award.
The award honors an individual who has contributed immeasurably to African American political awareness, empowerment and the advancement of minorities in the electoral process.
Congresswoman Brown has been a fearless leader within the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on the integral issue of voting rights for more than a decade.
George Lucas Honored at Phoenix Awards Dinner, 42nd Annual Legislative Conference
Click icon to add pictureWriter/Director George Lucas receiving the Congressional Black Caucus’s “Chairman’s Award” from Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, and Robert Townsend at the Phoenix Awards Dinner which concluded the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 42nd Annual Legislative Conference.
Actor Robert Townsend Co-Hosted the Annual Phoenix Awards Dinner in our nation’s capital
The Congressional Black Caucus Chairman’s Award honors an individual who exhibits the highest standards of dedication, ability and creativity.
(Photo Courtesy of Mark Mahoney)
Co
Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust(Hons. Charles Rangel, D-NY, Corrine Brown, D-FL & Sanford Bishop, Jr., D-GA,
Chairs )
Thank You for 25 Years
Ron E. Armstead, MCP, LSW, Executive Director 617-331-3583 / [email protected]
“That those directly affected by a crisis are the ones who must take the initiative
to bring about meaningful solutions aimed at enhancing rather than destroying the democratic process…”
For more information about the Veterans Braintrust, please visit our website
at:
www.veteransbraintrustonline.snappages.com
