WHEREAS, each February during National Black History Month, we honor the African American military service members who came before us and still serve now, standing for their dreams and rights, and making a difference for us all; and
WHEREAS, this observance presents an opportunity to highlight the contributions of African American veterans, including those past and present who have served and continue to serve in our Nation’s armed forces; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina’s African American community has shouldered an enormous share of the burden of battle in numerous American military engagements, donning our nation’s military uniforms to answer the call of duty; and
WHEREAS, we remember soldiers like U.S. Army Chaplain Elmer Gibson from Greensboro, Vietnam Veteran Alfred Fowler from Bladen County, and pioneering 82nd Airborne female officer, Bennis Blue, of Harnett County; and
WHEREAS, these and countless other African Americans from North Carolina have triumphed over oppression and injustice to make contributions, not only to our state’s military history, but even more importantly to our American history, and deserve to have their stories told; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the N.C. Department of Military and Veteran Affairs joined forces with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, North Carolina State Archives, and the N.C. Museum of History to collect and amplify these stories as part of the African American Military and Veterans Lineage Project; and
WHEREAS, the service and sacrifice these brave individuals gave to our country has impacted the generations that have followed them, and State of North Carolina is proud to recognize them as our own;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim February 20, 2022, as “NORTH CAROLINA AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY AND VETERAN LINEAGE DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.