REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Members of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command participated in a Black History Month observance at its Redstone Arsenal headquarters Feb. 24 with a theme of "A Century of Black Life, History and Culture."
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the role they have played in American history.
The guest speaker, Dr. Steve F. Pierce, USASMDC/ARSTRAT chief technology officer, welcomed those in attendance and remarked about the importance of learning about different cultures and celebrating those differences.
"Thank you for taking the time to join us in celebrating Black History Month," said Dr. Steve F. Pierce, USASMDC/ARSTRAT chief technology officer. "Our Army, like our nation, is a tapestry of races, ethnicities and religions. February is an opportunity to reflect on a significant group that makes up that American tapestry. February is Black History Month -- a time to recognize the many important contributions made by African Americans to our great nation.
"Our armed forces have benefited from the professionalism and sense of duty of African American Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, as well as our government civilians," he added. "The civil rights march in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963, helped open the eyes of many Americans to the plight of the black community and set the cornerstone for equality. On that very iconic day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently stated the vision of a nation that would someday judge our children not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. My heart still misses a beat when I hear or read those words."
As the ceremony continued, Kim D. Ouattara, SMDC G-8 management analyst, read a poem related to the 2015 Black History Month theme, and then Dr. Claudette C. Owens, SMDC Future Warfare Center supervisory engineer, gave a summarization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birmingham jail letter.
"As you know, he was a great orator and a prolific writer, and I want to encourage you as we are going through this excerpt to not just think about the African American community," Owens said. "We want this to be a day of remembrance, but also a day to say 'what can we do as we move on.' I want us to think about things that are going on, not just in the African American community, but even those things that are injustices anywhere."
After Owens spoke, SMDC G-1 Sgt. Maj. Wanda D. Vereen thanked everyone for coming and invited everyone to stay for a food tasting and fellowship as the command continued to celebrate Black History Month.
Related Links:
Black History Month Flickr photo set
Social Sharing