8/4/2023 0 Comments Jim garrison hudson ohio![]() Regardless of the investigation’s outcome, the national headquarters is very clear that The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution. “Bill” Oxford issued this statement regarding the incident in Hudson: “The Ohio American Legion assures us that they are fully investigating this incident. "We are shocked about this," Heller said Thursday.Īmerican Legion National Cmdr. Suzette Heller, department adjutant for the American Legion Department of Ohio, told the Beacon Journal an investigation is "happening right now," and added her office also is in communication with the national American Legion office. Roger Friend had requested the resignations of Suchan and James Garrison, adjutant of the local American Legion post. It was followed Thursday evening with tweet saying Ohio Cmdr. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."Ī separate tweet from the American Legion Department of Ohio stated, "We will investigate and take disciplinary action if necessary." This matter and the facts are under full investigation by our organization. The American Legion Department of Ohio said in a tweet directed to a Beacon Journal reporter that it is investigating the incident: "We are aware of the incident written by you and published in the Akron Beacon Journal. Hudson American Legion Auxiliary President Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day parade committee, told the Beacon Journal Kemter's mic was turned down because it “was not relevant to our program for the day," and added the “theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans.” Barnard Kemter, began sharing a story about freed Black slaves honoring deceased soldiers shortly after the end of the Civil War. “A lot of people viewed this as a healing speech and paying a tribute to the African Americans that started Memorial Day,” Kemter told the Post.What we know: Ohio veteran's mic cut as he spoke about Memorial Day and Black historyĪ ceremony organizer turned off the mic Monday when the event's keynote speaker, retired Army Lt. Col. Stokes apologized to him and said the organizers did it themselves.ĭespite organizers attempting to silence the Army veteran, Kemter said the speech was “well-received” and that many people told him afterward, “I never knew that.” Kemter didn’t know until after he finished his speech that the mic had been turned off on purpose, according to the Beacon Journal, because the event’s audio engineer A.J. “With this speech, I chose to educate people as to the origin of Memorial Day and why we were celebrating it.” “Throughout history, there has been a lot of claims about who actually performed the first Memorial Day service,” Kemter told The Post. After Kemter finished the part of Memorial Day’s connection to Black history, the microphone was switched back on. Kemter said he didn’t have time to write another speech and continued on with the one he had. Suchan told the Beacon Journal that ahead of the speech, organizers had requested Kemter “modify his speech, and he chose not to do that.” She said it was either her or her colleague Jim Garrison who turned the mic off, because she said the Black history part of the speech “was not relevant to our program for the day.” “In following years, it was the African Americans in the south who perpetuated and kept alive the Memorial Day tradition,” Kemter said in his speech after the mic was turned off.Ĭindy Suchan, the president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal that organizers switched off the audio. He continued to say Memorial Day dates back to a “moving ceremony” on in Charleston, SC where thousands marched in a parade and decorated soldiers’ graves with flowers. But historians have discovered through newspaper clippings and handwritten notes that a group of formerly enslaved Black people commemorated the first Memorial Day “less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered” following the Civil War, according to Kemter. holiday, which honors fallen military veterans. The legion also said it would “take disciplinary action if necessary.”ĭuring his speech, Kemter said many have tried to claim credit for inventing the U.S. The Ohio American Legion, which hosted the event, tweeted on Wednesday that it was “aware of an incident” during the Memorial Day event and was investigating. He later told The Washington Post he thought the disruption was “a technical glitch.” ![]() Kemter laughed and joked to the crowd, “This is why you moved in closer” and continued on, video showed. Barnard Kemter, 77, was giving a keynote speech in Hudson, Ohio on Monday when an event organizer cut the audio. An Army veteran’s microphone was intentionally cut off during his speech at a Memorial Day event as he honored formerly enslaved Black people who have gone uncredited for the holiday’s origins.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |