Celebrating BLACKS in AVIATION

Today the African American Military History Museum is hosting a tribute to African American aviators. Also honoring the late Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown from Hattiesburg, MS and Mycel Scott from Clarksville ,Tennessee. Mr. Scott is a Navy aviator like Ensign Brown who admired the love for future flying and new one day that he would become an aviator pilot.

This week for me has been a great archival experience dealing with preservation and uploading historical pics. Last Wednesday, Mrs. Cruthirds, Heather, and I travel down to the Eureka School to gather pictures and different memorabilia. We found plenty of material not only from Eureka School but the other Black schools around Hattiesburg including: Rowan High School, Royal Street High School, and N.R. Burger Middle School. Gathering these materials we found plenty of graduation class portraits, prom pictures, and programs from about 70 years ago.

Yesterday I had the great chance to meet to Hattiesburg's own aviator Jesse L. Brown's brother who came to view the updates at the AAMHM. We got a chance to talk about his views on seeing and honoring his brother at today's event.

The best of archiving information

The best of the whole week was when I got to search for information to be archived for the new museum exhibit. Yesterday I helped the curator Mrs. Cruthirds search and gather information on the African American Military museum. A Forrest County native brought in a box of old interesting newspapers and books from the 1970s and 80s. We scattered the newspapers into a time and searched careful for African American military information. Yet we worked half of the day looking for information and we found nothing. I volunteer today and I will continue to look for information to archive.
Yesterday we also had a meeting about gathering, researching, and archiving information for th new Civil Rights Museum in Hattiesburg. The old Eureka School downtown near Mobile Street will be transformed into a Civil Rights museum. It will be one of the two museum is in the state of Mississippi dedicated to civil rights. I do not know the perspective date of the museum but Mrs. Cruthirds except it to be open at the end of 2012. It will be a total honor to help find information resulting to the cause of civil rights towards Hattiesburg. I hope to actually help set up museum displays for the future Civil Rights Museum at the Eureka School before I am finished with my practicum.

Kicking off Black History Month

Yesterday, the African American Military Museum kicked off Black History Month by honoring the African American Korean War Veterans. Each year the museum honors a group of military war era veterans to commentrate what a superb job these service men and women have done. Nearly thirty awards were passed out to veterans serving not only in the Korean War but other war stations areas around the world. All veterans that were honored yesterday are from the city of Hattiesburg and surrounding areas. Notable figures from our own Hattiesburg were honored or in attendance for the ceremony including Jesse L. Brown, Vernon Dahmer, George Williams, Frederick & Shelia Varnado, Mayor Johnny Dupree Ph.D, Hattiesburg Convention Committee, Brooke Cruthirds, curator, and many others.

The ceremony was great and wonderful to see some many elderly men and women still active sharing in the dream of the military. Many shared the shared their experience and gave thanks to the AAMM for honoring them so many years later. After the ceremony was over many toured the museum to see the newly features that were installed while others chatted amongs their family and friends. We celebrate the event with lemon cider, shirley temples, and finger size sweets that all the people enjoyed. I really enjoyed myself and the experience I am having at the African American Military Museum the ceremony brung tears to my eyes because it remind me of my grandfather. My grandfather was not in the military but the cheerfulness and mindset of these elderly men and women brung joy and a smile to my face.