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14 February 5, 2016 Desert Lightning News
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Sites of African American Memories

Commentary by Master Sgt. Bradford C. Bowen

355th Fighter Wing Equal Opportunity

DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Dr. Carter G. African American History month 2016. Hallowed Grounds: sites of African American Memory
Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of African Ameri-
can Life and History, once said, “Those who have no record of what the most tumultuous tests of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of
their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes Education ruling. Three years after the trial, a federal court ordered
from the teaching of biography and history.” The ASALH selected the Little Rock to comply and desegregate the school.
theme, Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories, for
the African-American History Month 2016 observance. Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. was a leader of the African-American
Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s closest
The following will trace a brief history of some of the significant friend. In 1955, he collaborated with King to create the Montgomery
individuals and accomplishments that have played a role for the mem- Improvement Association, which would lead to the Montgomery Bus
bers of the African-American community. The story of America could Boycott. In 1957, he co-founded, and was an executive board member
not be told without preserving and reflecting on the places where Af- of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He led the Poor
rican-Americans have left their mark throughout history. People’s Campaign March on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
in 1968.
The history of African-Americans unfolds across the canvas of
America, beginning before the arrival of the Mayflower and continu- In May 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality, led by James Farmer,
ing to the present. According to the U.S. National Parks Service there organized integrated Freedom Rides to defy segregation in interstate
are close to 200 African-American historical landmarks spread across transportation. The Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery, Alabama,
40 states. on an integrated Greyhound bus from Birmingham, Alabama. They
were met with violence as a large mob attacked them. Despite the
Why is this information important? This prompts us to remember violence, additional Freedom Rides continued throughout the south.
the people and places where Africans disembarked from slave ships, to
the battlefields where their descendants fought for freedom, to the col- In 1994 the National Park Service acquired the Council House, Mary
leges and universities where they pursued education, to places where Mcleod Bethune’s, president of the National Association of Colored
they created communities during centuries of migration. The imprint Women, last official residence and the original headquarters of Na-
of Americans of African descent is deeply embedded in the narrative tional Council of Negro Women. The Mary McLeod Bethune Council
of the American past. House National Historic Site preserves the house of Bethune, located
in Washington, D.C., Bethune was the president of the NCNW from
In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court freed 35 Africans who were abduct- 1935 -1949. She brought together black women from many different
ed from their home in Sierra Leone by Portuguese slave traders, abroad organizations. Bethune was also an American educator, life rights
the schooner Amistad. Passage was cleared for them to return back to leader, and founder of the NCNW.
their home on the West African Coast. This event helped inspire the
beginning of the abolitionist movement. During African-American History Month, we celebrate these for-
mative leaders and sites of the civil rights movement, as well as innu-
Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist, humanitarian, and leader of the merable others who have contributed immeasurably to the tapestry of
Underground Railroad. The Railroad was a loosely organized network America, helping shape our nation and the world. African-American
of connections for slaves escaping to the north. Homes, or “stations” History Month is a time to reflect on our nation’s history and progress,
would provide food and shelter for escaping slaves, and the leader of and recommit to advancing equal opportunity for all.
the group, or “conductor”, ensured that they moved safely from station
to station. It is estimated that close to 100,000 fugitive slaves used The For more information please contact the Equal Opportunity office
Railroad between 1810 -1860. at 520-228-5509. The 355th Fighter Wing will also host a Cultural
Awareness Festival, May 20, to honor, observe and celebrate those who
African-Americans have served honorably from the Civil War to the have made significant contributions throughout history to our nation.
establishment of black only regiments in the U.S. Army, Buffalo Sol-
diers, to Tuskegee Airmen to full integration today.

In 1866 six black regular army regiments were formed. Officered by
whites, these regiments went on to justify the belief black leaders could
contribute mightily to the nation’s defense.

In 1930, Thurgood Marshall was denied admission to the University
of Maryland Law School because he was black. After getting accepted
to Howard University Law School, he began to develop an impres-
sive track record of winning court cases against states that aimed to
continue practicing discrimination. He later became the first black
American to sit on the Supreme Court, from 1967 to 1991. His distinc-
tive tenure of service lasted twenty-four years.

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board
of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconsti-
tutional. Many southern political leaders claimed the desegregation
decision violated states’ rights. They responded with defiance, legal
challenges, delays and token compliance. By the end of the 1950s, less
than ten percent of black children in the south were attending inte-
grated schools. Little Rock High School, Arkansas, was the scene of