As we head into Super Bowl weekend, we can celebrate two great teams facing off in the Super Bowl for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. As you can read in Jim Fox’s column, I am predicting a big Rams win, 30-17, over the New England Patriots, as long as the Rams continue to follow the ‘Marshall Plan’ (as in Marshall Faulk).

But we can also start celebrating another great event which begins today, Black History Month. Whether black or white, African-American or Irish-American, we should all take the time in February to celebrate this part of our American heritage.

Where else in the Army can you take a day trip to historic Harlem? In what looks to become a West Point tradition, Maj. Steve Redmon, a fellow Judge Advocate in the Department of Law, is running another Harlem Trip Feb. 16. Simply put, this trip is almost as good as the Super Bowl itself. Last year, several buses went down on this exciting and insightful trip. This year’s trip looks to be even bigger and better.

The Harlem trip will be departing West Point Feb. 16, at 8 a.m., from Buffalo Soldiers Field. After visiting institutions like the Schomberg Center of Research in Black Culture (a must-see visit in itself), the Apollo Theater (where some of us may have the opportunity to show off our talents), Grant’s Tomb and enjoying some fine soul food cuisine, the trip will return to USMA by 7 p.m., just in time for any Saturday night plans.

For more information on this terrific opportunity, please contact Redmon at 938-3510 or Capt. Steve Oates at 938-6828. Don’t miss out on this outstanding cultural experience.

In his best-selling book, "My American Journey," Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "We knew that the path through the underbrush of prejudice and discrimination had been cleared by the sacrifices of nameless Blacks who had gone before us -- the Henry O. Flippers -- and to them we owed everything."

More than a century ago, Flipper -- a young black man born into slavery, -- became the first African-American cadet to graduate from West Point. On June 14, 1877, Flipper graduated fifteenth in his class of seventy-six and led the way for other African-American cadets to successfully make it through West Point and enter the Long Gray Line.

His story is a compelling one, as he began his Army assigned to the 10th Cavalry. Over the next four years, Flipper served on frontier duty at Forts Elliot, Concho, Quitman and Davis in Texas and at Fort Sill in Indian Territory. His outstanding performance in the field earned him the positions of post quartermaster and assistant commissary of subsistence at Fort Davis. Those positions placed him in charge of the fort’s supplies and its physical plant.

But challenges arose. Shortly after Col. William R. Shafter (the namesake of Fort Shafter) assumed command of Fort Davis in 1881, Flipper was relieved as quartermaster. The following year, when $3,914 of post funds was found to be missing, Shafter immediately filed charges of embezzlement against Flipper. Contemporary review strongly suggests that his relief as quartermaster -- and the charges of embezzlement -- stemmed from racial animosity.

Throughout the court-martial, Flipper maintained his innocence, pointing to both the lack of proof and, given the considerable wealth of his family, lack of motive. Eventually, the missing funds were found in the possession of his maid.

A divided court-martial panel acquitted Flipper of embezzlement ,but found him guilty of five specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer and sentenced him to dismissal (a mandatory sentence).

The convening authority, Gen. C.C. Augur, disapproved the not guilty verdict for embezzlement and approved the other guilty verdict. As all Firsties who have taken Law 403, Constitutional and Military Law, know, a convening authority today could not overturn a not guilty verdict. But the Judge Advocate General of the Army, then Brig. Gen. D.G. Swain, stepped up to the plate.

He found the original acquittal (and the findings of conduct unbecoming) were appropriate and recommended a lesser punishment. President Chester A. Arthur agreed with TJAG and approved the findings and sentence as originally adjudged.

Nevertheless, in 1882 Flipper was dismissed from the Army. After his forced removal, Flipper became an important leader in the Southwest. He was an accomplished land surveyor and an expert in the area of mining and property law in the United States and Mexico. He published a number of articles and became noted for his translation abilities. He was later appointed an assistant secretary of the Interior.

Despite enormous personal and public success, Flipper agonized over his dismissal from the Army. For the rest of his life, he fought a battle to clear his name. He died on May 3, 1940, in Atlanta. Although his fight to clear his name did not succeed during his lifetime, Flipper would ultimately receive recognition and the restoration of his name that he so badly wanted.

In 1976, the Army unveiled a bust of Flipper at the West Point Library (displayed on the 3rd floor among busts of Napoleon and Pershing), and granted him an honorable discharge dated 1882. He was reburied with full military honors, and in 1999, he was formally pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

Although it took 117 years after his separation from the Army, this once-promising young officer’s reputation was fully and legally restored. USMA honors Flipper’s reputation each year by identifying a graduating cadet who succeeds in the face of great hardship. The Henry Ossian Flipper Memorial, established in 1981 by the Association of Graduates, is awarded to the graduate who demonstrates the highest qualities of leadership, self-discipline and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties during his four years at the academy.

Additionally, there is a dinner to honor Henry O. Flipper each year during Black History Month. This year’s dinner will be held Feb. 21. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Reginald Brown, is scheduled to be the guest speaker. Interested parties should contact Major Langford at 938-2037.

Conclusion

February is not a month to be celebrated by only 12.1 percent of our nation. Similar to St. Patrick’s Day, when everyone is Irish, we should all celebrate the role African-Americans play in making our country the great place it is today. Black History Month is as much a piece of Americana as mom’s apple pie and should be celebrated as such.

Now, who’s in for the Harlem trip?