We have issued a press release regarding the Hudson American Legion Post 464 issue that can be found here. The group’s state-level organization seems to vehemently disagree. What’s known for certain is that it didn’t become an official federal holiday til 1971.ĭespite Kemter’s story being accurate, Suchan reportedly told him she and Garrison wanted it removed from his speech because it was irrelevant to honoring Hudson veterans. Historians have been unable to pinpoint the first-ever official Memorial Day celebration. To be clear, it’s not the only Memorial Day origin history. In a report published two years ago, long before the debacle in Ohio occurred, the History channel described the exact Memorial Day celebration cited by Kemter and noted that it was “one of the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies” in American history. That part of the speech was the story about Memorial Day’s history - a story that, according to the History channel, is correct. Col., Barnard Kemter, US ARMY (Ret.), of which she then asked him to remove a specific part of the speech,” the release continues. “Prior to the event, a copy of the speech was given to Cindy Suchan by Lt. They knew exactly when to turn the volume down and when to turn it back up,” the release states. “We discovered that the censoring that occurred … was pre-meditated and planned by Jim Garrison and Cindy Suchan. In its press release, the American Legion Department of Ohio accused both Garrison and Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464 president Cindy Suchan of being responsible for Kemter’s microphone being cut. Veteran’s microphone purposely cut off during story of Black freed slaves’ role in first Memorial Day /4NTsjEPcjh Related: For more recent diversity and inclusion news, click here. “Veterans have done everything we have asked of them during their service to this country, and this tarnished what should have been a celebration of their service,” the statement said. The veteran who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War said, “This is not the same country I fought for.”ĭisgusted by the decision to cut his mic and the racism and erasure that the censoring implied, the mayor and Hudson City Council issued their own statement, saying the censorship “disrespected” Kemter and all the veterans in the region. He is also now said to be incredibly disappointed that the organization decided to silence more than two minutes of his 11-minute speech, including the section in which he described how following the Civil War, “former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial.” When he was made aware of her suggestions, he discussed the changes with a Hudson public official, who told him not to adjust his speech. Kemter said he didn’t see her suggested changes until just before delivering the speech. Suchan claims that after she reviewed Kemter’s original speech, she asked him to remove the sections she considered offensive - the references to former Black slaves and how they helped usher in Memorial Day. We regret any actions taken that detract from this important message.” We salute LTC Kemter’s service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. “Bill” Oxford said, “The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution. In a statement, the organization’s national commander, James W. war veterans, announced it would be launching an investigation. Outraged by the pair’s action, the Ohio American Legion, a nonprofit organization advocating on behalf of U.S. The organizers later claimed that the portion of his speech referencing Civil War traditions for memorializing fallen soldiers “was not relevant” to the city’s current efforts to honor its veterans.Īccording to the AP, “Cindy Suchan, chair of the Memorial Day parade committee and president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said it was either she or Jim Garrison, adjutant of the American Legion Post 464, who turned down the audio.” Barnard Kemter - who is white - decided to include the story in the speech he was giving “because he wanted to share the history of how Memorial Day originated.”Įvent organizers, however, “disagreed” with his decision to honor the memory of the former slaves who helped to create Memorial Day as we know it and cut his mic without any warning. The Associated Press has reported that Retired Army Lt. In an audacious display of racism and complete disregard for Black history and military history, event organizers for a Memorial Day speech in Hudson, Ohio decided to cut a former soldier’s mic when he began talking about how freed Black slaves had honored fallen soldiers following the Civil War.
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