PDA

View Full Version : Black History Month ‘an American celebration’



thedrifter
02-02-06, 07:36 AM
Black History Month ‘an American celebration’
February 02,2006
BY DANIEL MCNAMARA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Pass it on.

That was the message delivered by Master Sgt. Brennett Ford, a minister and career Marine who served as the keynote speaker Wednesday night at the opening ceremony for Black History Month aboard Camp Johnson.

Ford spoke before a packed crowd of civilians, sailors and Marines — including a few who first broke the color barrier in the Marine Corps — at the Camp Johnson Chapel.

“It’s really an American celebration because African-American history is a part of American history,” said Col. Grover C. Lewis III, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Combat Service Support School aboard Camp Johnson. “(Black history is) one piece of the colorful fabric that makes up our great country.”

In the hall that heard the prayers of the first black men who were allowed to pin on the globe and anchor at what used to be known as Montford Point, Ford urged the audience to take advantage of their surroundings.

“Thousands of Marines have walked through the camp and never known its historical significance,” Ford said. “If we don’t pass it on, nobody will ever understand.”

Wednesday’s event was the first of several intended to celebrate black history by educating, enlightening and entertaining the public about a sometimes-overlooked aspect of American culture. Over the next 27 days, Camp Johnson will feature a theme meal, step show and an evening with some of the original Montford Point Marines.

“It put me back at the beginnings,” said Jacksonville City Councilman Turner Blount, who graduated boot camp aboard Montford Point in 1943,

The site was renamed in 1976 to honor Sgt. Maj. Gilbert H. “Hashmark” Johnson, one of the first three black men to enlist in the Marine Corps.

“A lot of people don’t like to talk about the past,” Ford said, “because for some folks, the good old days weren’t so good.”

But talking about the past is exactly what more Americans need to do, Ford said, lest the nation forget about the accomplishments of black Americans.

Ford said passing it on is as easy as child’s play. He compared it to a game of tag.

“I’m fortunate enough to be the first guest speaker in front of the first African-American commander, where the first African-Americans became Marines,” Ford told the audience.

“Tag; you’re it.”

Contact Daniel McNamara at dmcnamara@freedomenc.com or 353-1171 Ext. 237.