Event Schedule

The Untold Story: African Americans in the U.S. Military

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
6:30 p.m.
Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
Reception to follow

A MilitaryMakers Presentation Featuring:
Michael Lee Lanning, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Eugene Scott, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Dr. Charles Harrison, U.S. Army (Ret.)
LTC Andrew C. Gainey, 1-7 Field Artillery Battalion Commander
1SG Phillip C. Hollifield

African Americans have served in our country's wars and armed forces from the very beginning of our history. For most of that history, African American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines also struggled against the daunting obstacles of slavery, prejudice, discrimination and misunderstanding. This program will feature noted military historian Michael Lee Lanning, author of The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell, who will use excerpts from Frank Martin's film, For Love of Liberty, and his own expertise to shed light on this powerful story of service and sacrifice.

Afterwards, Lanning will be joined by local African American veterans Colonel (Ret.) Eugene Scott and Dr. Charles Harrison, who will share their own stories of service in the U.S. military and answer questions from the audience. He will also be joined by LTC Andrew C. Gainey, an active duty officer, and 1SG Phillip C. Hollifield, an active duty non-commissioned officer. Both Gainey and Hollifield serve with the 1st Infantry Division.

The event will conclude with a presentation on MilitaryMakers, which seeks to correct the missing legacy of African Americans in the U.S. military by conducting 200 video oral history interviews with African American veterans and current servicemen and women. They then make this information available to the public via the HistoryMakers' digital archive and through engaging public programs with the First Division Museum at Cantigny and other military museums.

An informal reception will follow the program. Please join us for an evening that promises to be both educational and inspirational.

1.5 Teacher CPDU credits available for this event. Click here for details.

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