TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma -- In a luncheon held Feb. 21 at the Tinker Club, Oklahoma City-based Rev. Amos Byron Coleman III spoke to members of Team Tinker about the importance of Black History Month and learning about the past.
An adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma, Coleman said he was once asked by a student why people should learn about the history of racism, aligning it with reopening wounds and preventing healing. Coleman said knowledge of history is “vitally important” to the survival of culture, legacy and lineage.
“A people without a knowledge of their past, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. It is impossible for me to stand here as a separate entity within myself. I am connected to people. I am connected to a lineage, I am connected to a history,” Coleman said.
Coleman said modern success despite history is also important to note.
“African American history can never be a footnote, because that history is interwoven into the fabric of this country. To ignore it, to dismiss it, would be like amputating a healthy limb from your body,” he said. “It is within history you learn the resilience and fortitude, the determination of a people that for decades have been marginalized.”
Before lunch was served and Coleman took the stage, 72nd Air Base Wing Commander Col. Kenyon Bell recognized the contributions of Maj. Gen. Marcelite Harris, the first African American woman to hold the title of Aircraft Maintenance Officer or rank of major general.
Harris held the position of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex vice commander from 1990 to 1993, later retiring in 1997.
“For her to break ground during that time of our nation’s history and be the first African American woman to hold that title is very significant,” Bell said.
“We don’t have to go far to understand that black history is still being made right around us, and that ... African Americans are still making significant contributions.”
Bell challenged luncheon attendees to not just recognize the big names in black history, but take the time to learn about the lesser-known individuals who made strides in equal rights.
“Learn a new story so you can clearly and personally articulate the contributions of … an African American person and the contributions that have been made. Share that story, because that is really what this is all about,” Bell said.