History to run deep at annual Black History Month observance

Posted February 3, 2011
By Jerry Rogers
Norfolk District Public Affairs

02/03/2011 - NORFOLK — Professor Robert C. Watson of Hampton University has a passion for history, especially African American history.

Watson will join the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, on Feb. 10 at 1:30 p.m., in the multipurpose room of Waterfield Building to celebrate Black History Month and the legacy and contributions to our nation by African Americans.

"African Americans and the Civil War" is the 2011 National Black History Month theme designated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The theme honors the efforts of people of African descent to destroy slavery and inaugurate universal freedom in the United States.

"Each year, as we recognize and participate in African American History Month and other national cultural observances, we increase our awareness of special groups in our society and foster mutual respect and understanding of our rich cultural diversity," said Gregory E. Headen, chief of Norfolk District's Equal Employment Office. "These observances also allow us to take a moment to reflect upon how far we have come as a nation, and what challenges remain."

Watson is considered by many scholars as an authority on the African Diaspora, the willing and unwilling migration of millions of indigenous people from the African continent. He has served on several national advisory boards that focused on the complete interpretation of African American history.

According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, as the United States prepared for war in 1861, African-American slaves knew that a battle between the Union and Confederacy might bring freedom.

More than 200,000 free and enslaved blacks joined the effort to bring the Confederacy to its knees – they served as soldiers, nurses, spies and cooks, enduring inferior pay and treatment compared to their white counterparts.

Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist, drove efforts to allow black men to enlist in the Union forces.

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States," Douglass said.

President Barack Obama paid homage to Douglass in his 2011 proclamation honoring African American History Month: "The great abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass once told us, 'If there is no struggle, there is no progress.' Progress in America has not come easily, but has resulted from the collective efforts of generations.

"…African Americans have strengthened our Nation by leading reforms, overcoming obstacles, and breaking down barriers," Obama wrote. "During National African American History Month, we celebrate the vast contributions of African Americans to our Nation's history and identity."