Fort Sill celebrates black history month

Fort Sill, Okla.--Several hundred people packed Patriot Club Feb. 17 for Fort Sill's African-American Black History Month luncheon.

The annual commemoration was co-sponsored by the 434th Field Artillery Training Brigade and the installation Equal Employment Opportunity Office, and hosted by Maj. Gen. David Halverson, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general.

The theme was "Fort Sill: the Last 60 Years," which recalled the integration of the military with Executive Order 9981. The order abolished segregation in the armed forces and was signed by President Harry Truman July 26, 1948.

During a slide show, four 434th FA Soldiers dressed in period uniforms from 1951 to the present stood by a projection screen. Images of the history of black Soldiers at Fort Sill and Lawton flashed on screen as master of ceremonies Capt. Joseph Jackson, 434th FA assistant brigade S-3, narrated the history of blacks at Fort Sill. The images recalled the struggles and hard-earned triumphs of black Soldiers.

Photographs showed Searby Hall, which served as the headquarters and barracks for all-black artillery units; Patterson Center, which was the USO and noncommissioned officer's club for black Soldiers; Doe Doe Park, a segregated park in Lawton, which was eventually placed off limits to all military personnel because of its discriminatory policies; and the Buffalo Soldiers Monument, recently dedicated in Lawton to commemorate the contributions of the black Frontier Army Soldiers.

Guest speaker Judge David Lewis, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, 5th Judicial District, spoke about opportunity.

Lewis talked about the trailblazing of Ada Fisher, the first black to attend the University of Oklahoma Law School, and Nancy Randolph Davis, the first black to attend Oklahoma State University.

He went on to mention prominent blacks including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., former Secretary of State Colin Powell, historian Carter Woodson and baseball player Larry Doby.

"What did all these folks want'," Lewis asked the audience. "An opportunity!"

Lewis recalled growing up in Ardmore, Okla., and how his schools was integrated when he was in the third grade. He said his parents were domestics and that he did not grow up thinking he would become a judge.

"I didn't know anything about judges and lawyers (then)," said Lewis, a former military spouse. "But now I know judges and lawyers across the land, because I have been fortunate because of the opportunities that people have given me."

At Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin's recent inauguration, Lewis said she spoke about her days as a legislator sitting in the back rows of the capital, said Lewis, pointing to the furthest tables in the Patriot Club.

At the inauguration of the state's first female governor, Fallin said: "Now, see how things have worked. I'm up here," Lewis said.

"What was that all about, ya'll'" Lewis asked. "Opportunity!," responded the audience.

Lewis brought up the story of how he met former NFL great Minnesota Viking Alan Page, whom he watched play as a member of the "Purple People Eaters" the Vikings' dreaded defensive line.

There's another side to the story though, said Lewis, who graduated from OU law school in 1983. After football, Page went on to become a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

"It's amazing to see what people can do when given the opportunity," Lewis said.

During his remarks, Lewis recited "I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes.

"I dream a world where man

No other man will scorn,

Where love will bless the Earth

And peace its paths adorn.

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the Earth

And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind

Of such I dream, my world!"

In closing, Lewis said he borrowed words from Halverson: "This reflection of seeing the past what the struggles were, and seeing the future how well our kids will perform, and seeing now what we can do now, shows us why reflection of black history is so important."