MCBH Heritage Committee lauds African-Americans


Story by Sgt. Jereme Edwards


MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — All over the United States, various organizations celebrate Black History month with many educational forums or events, and MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, is no exception.

The African-American Heritage Committee kicked off Black History month here Feb. 4 with a prayer breakfast open to all base personnel at the Anderson Hall dining facility.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexander Gray, band director of the Marine Forces Pacific Band and guest speaker at Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Black History Month Breakfast, talks about the many accomplishments of African Americans over the years. Photo by: Sgt. Jereme Edwards.

"We use the prayer breakfast to bring base personnel together to recognize black leaders and distinguished service men and women of African American heritage," said Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth Etheridge, a counselor with Headquarters Bn., MCB Hawaii's Substance Abuse Center and an African- American Heritage Committee member. "People such as civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, underground railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman, and recently departed space shuttle astronaut Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson are honored so that people can learn about the great contributions that African-Americans have made throughout American history."

According to Navy Lt. Kenneth Miller, presiding chaplain at the prayer breakfast, events such as the prayer breakfast are vital to maintaining a sense of heritage among African-Americans, as well as exposing people of various ethnic backgrounds to black history.

"It is an opportunity to educate society at large on the cultural and social significance relating to a particular racial group," said Miller. "Other cultures becoming more aware of such events can have a positive impact on society and facilitate working in concert toward developing a greater humanity.

"It also affords the opportunity to revisit and retell history from a particular racial perspective," Miller added. "The accuracy of historical facts and contributions depends primarily on who writes it. Therefore, it is imperative that racial groups interpret their story, not only for accuracy purposes, but also to tell their story.

"Our children and grandchildren need to know from where they came and how they have contributed to the world family. "History determines the future."

After Miller's invocation, the service continued with a musical interlude and the reading of a passage written by the famous African-American poet Maya Angelou, followed by the introduction of guest speaker Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexander Gray, Marine Forces Pacific band director.

Band member Cpl. Matthew Leonhardt of the Marine Forces Pacific Band holds the microphone for Mrs. Cynthia Alexander as she sings a song during a musical interlude at Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Black History Month Breakfast, Feb. 4. Photo by: Sgt. Jereme Edwards.

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration embodies the theme for this year's Black History Month: "Understanding our Past, Living Today, and Creating our Future," said Gray. "As we reflect on the positive attributes of such an organization as NASA and what it has meant for us as a nation, let us reflect back for a moment to the APOLLO 1 mission of January 27, 1967, when Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Brad Chaffee perished in a tragic fire on the launch pad.

"All three astronauts were white males. Blacks had not yet even entered the space program — though there was plenty of opportunity to afford them such a chance.

"This is not a glass-ceiling story, but rather an opportunistic story."

Indeed, 11 months later, Air Force Maj. Henry Lawrence Jr., now known as the first black astronaut, was killed in an Air Force F-104 fighter during a training evolution in support of the space program.

"Major Lawrence did not let a fire that occurred 11 months earlier with Apollo 1 deter him," said Gray. "Major Lawrence's efforts gave way to the first black astronaut to make it into space.

"Mission Specialist Ronald McNair, a black American, was a part of the Challenger crew in 1986. Ron McNair's tenacity inspired Lt. Col. Mike Anderson to become a pioneer for the future."

Anderson became the latest African-American astronaut to perish in devotion to his country's efforts while serving aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

"All of these men understood the risk of the past, as they lived for today, while their efforts have planted the continual seeds of greatness," said Gray.

"My message simply involves the psychology of winning. If you can conceive it — and believe it — then why not go out and achieve it?"