 He was a barber to the stars, and won a Purple Heart during World War II. He lived to be 104 years old before passing away last December 2015. We will the late James Guildford, Jr. at the March 3, 2016 Black History Breakfast. Lest we forget.... ======================== Article Source: The Boston Globe by Byran Marquard A master barber, James E. Guilford Jr. was a stylist to stars of a storied era in Boston jazz, when a shave and a trim cost barely a buck at his Tremont Street shop. He could also spin stories as elegant as the fine lines that filled his sketchpads after he traded scissors and razor for the pen and a paintbrush of an artist later in life. Mr. Guilford, who died in December 2015 at 104, liked to tell how singer Billie Holiday performed a run of shows at Boston’s famed Storyville club in April 1959 “and gave beautiful performances. I was there every night.” After Holiday’s Saturday show, less than three months before she died, a party was thrown in her honor at another Boston club and “I drove her from Storyville in my Cadillac,” he recalled in a 2005 Globe interview. “She was wearing all black. Her lips were black and her nails were black. We were sitting at a table with about 10 people having cheese and crackers, and they wanted her to sing, and she says to me, ‘Jimmy, what do you want to hear?’ I said, ‘Well, “Lover Man,” ’ and she got up, took the mike, and sang it right next to where she’d been sitting.” A Roxbury resident since birth, Mr. Guilford was the oldest living graduate of Boston Latin School when he died in the Laurel Ridge care facility in Jamaica Plain after his health failed. He began barbering at age 12, cutting hair from 1923 to 1979, and he was awarded the Purple Heart after being injured while serving as an Army sergeant during World War II. When the war ended, he returned to his Roxbury barbershop. “People who were traveling could always come to Boston if they wanted their hair done and have a do. They could come to Jimmy Guilford’s hairstyling salon,” he said in an interview for the WGBH program “Basic Black.” “I had acquired quite a name where I was called ‘the hairstylist to the stars,’ ” Mr. Guilford said. “In my business were such stars as Sugar Ray Robinson and Duke Ellington. Nat Cole and Oscar Peterson. I even did Sammy Davis’s father, but Sammy, he did his own hair. A lot of show people that came to Boston came to me.” Over the years he also sold real estate before devoting much of his time to art. His portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled in January 1982 in the Central Square branch of the Cambridge Public Library, when Mr. Guilford was 70. “I think the creative part that comes along with being a hairstylist started to express itself on canvas,” said his daughter Marsha Guilford Davenport of Owings Mills, Md. “My home is filled with his artwork. He’s worked in every medium – charcoal, acrylic, watercolors, oil. He even does pen and ink sketches. Art is just something that blossomed in him.” One of four children, James Edward Guilford Jr. was born Oct. 7, 1911, in a third-floor apartment in Roxbury. “He would tell you he grew up in what they called a cold water flat,” his daughter said. His father, James Sr., was from Petersburg, Va. His mother, the former Nannie Belle Haskins, was from Lynchburg, Va. At Boston Latin, Mr. Guilford was the only African-American on the track team in 1926 and was part of a relay squad that set a record while defeating Boston English in late March. His teammate fell behind on the first leg, “but on the back stretch of the second lap James Guilford of Latin passed M.I. Linsky of English and handed over a four-yard margin,” the Globe reported. Latin’s anchor runner held on to win by inches. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.
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 We will celebrate the military achievements of Rev. Dr. Carlita Baldwin Cotton at the March 3rd Black History Breakfast. Rev. Dr. Carlita Baldwin Cotton has combined her love of ministry and the military to serve others throughout her career path of achievement and excellence. An only child, Carlita was born to Rev. Carl L. (deceased) and Dr. Alexinia Y. Baldwin in Birmingham, Alabama. She was baptized, converted and joined St. John AME Church while living in Birmingham.
Carlita first heard the call to the military, joined the United States Air Force in 1980 and served a variety of positions until her retirement in 2000. She was a manager, supervisor and educator and served as a Russian linguist, a strategic debriefer and a combat interrogator during her years of service. She received numerous military awards and citations, including the Joint Service Meritorious Service Award, Joint Service Achievement Award, Air Force Achievement Award and was recognized by the Director of the National Security Agency. Since retiring from military service, Carlita has a permanent listing on the wall at The Women in Military Service Monument in Arlington, Virginia. Carlita is a lifetime member of the American Veterans (AMVETS). She is a lifetime member of Disabled American Veterans and a lifetime and founding member of the Berlin, Germany chapter of the American Legion. Carlita graduated cum laude from State University of New York at Albany in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Russian language and literature. She received her masters of divinity degree from Howard University in 2000 and received a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2008. She is a clinician/counselor and professor of psychology at Goodwin College in East Hartford, Connecticut. Carlita holds memberships in several organizations including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Women in Ministry/New England Annual Conference, Pi Lambda Theta Honors Fraternity and Altrusa International, Inc. Rev. Dr. Carlita Cotton is also an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is happily married to Rev. Hollis M. Cotton, pastor of St. James AME Church in Danbury, Connecticut. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  Resourceful, resilient and transformational, Vietnam Era Veteran Haywood Fennell knows how to reach out to the community with gusto. We look forward to honoring him at the March 3rd Black History Breakfast. =================== Fusing Compassion and Community, Learning and Literacy, Haywood Fennell, Sr. continues to add dimensions to his writings. Born in New York City, the now Boston resident recently self-published the first book from The Coota Experiences Trilogy, Coota and the Magic Quilt, (ISBN No. 0-9720404-0-4) and has completed writing the second book, Coota and the Challenge. (ISBN 0-97204046-3).
A well-respected figure in Boston, Haywood is often called a Renaissance Man because of his prolific writings, which draw upon our history for his source material. He is an ex-offender who has refused to allow his past mistakes to hold him “hostage.” He is well known throughout the City of Boston as an advocate for prison reform. A great deal of his work centers around transitional services. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project; an ex-offender think tank working to educate and to empower those marginalized by the CORI Laws. Haywood advocates for professional social/mental health services as soon as the person enters the prison system. He helps by visiting jails and prisons and talking about the importance of opening up to change the mindset from wanting to be a smooth criminal to become with skills development a taxpayers a opposed to tax-burden. Also, a Vietnam Era veteran, who served nearly six years in the US Army as a clerk, photographer, and information specialist, Haywood founded The Tri-Ad Veterans’ League; a veterans’ rights advocacy organization where the members incorporate their military skills with program development for educational/cultural programs, particularly around incarceration and HIV/AIDS. The League recently partnered again with The Boston Local Vulcans Society of African-American Firefighters to produce the annual (televised) 9/11 Memorial Service. Presently, the veterans’ organization he founded works withNortheastern University to improve health care services. Their current project focuses on health disparities for African-American veterans that seek health care from the Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Haywood co-hosts a popular weekly cable television program called Speaking About, which welcomes a weekly guest list of community champions who have updates to share and ideas to discuss. This soft-spoken author/playwright has written, produced and staged eight annual performances of the cultural education play,The Harlem Renaissance Revisited With a Boston Flavor (the show’s title will change in the 2007 season toA Story from the Harlem Renaissance.) Haywood attended public school in Wilmington, N.C. and on to Boston University where he studied Urban Planning and U/Mass Boston’s College of Community and Public Service studying Urban Issues. He is the Boston Editor for Unity First, a Springfield, MA based diversity community newspaper. Haywood received the prestigious Boston Neighborhood Fellow’s Award in 2003. He serves on the Advisory Board of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at U/Mass Boston and sits on the board at Boston’s Urban League. He is a lecturer on the Harlem Renaissance Era and its importance to American history and served as a member of the Judging Committee for Reflection in Action; Building Healthy Communities, sponsored byThe Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity and Community Partnership and as a Presenter for theCommunity Enrichment Fellows 2004 and as a member of Roxbury Community College Community Advisory Group. He was named as Boston Herald Literacy Hero in 2005. He was honored on November 4th, 2005 as one of the 100 Distinguished Black Men sponsored by ThePrince Hall Masons of Boston, MA. When speaking to youth, and especially on prison visits, Haywood talks about his going from stealing books to writing books and how is life was changed by other people praying for him, when he would not pray for himself. Haywood’s second Coota book, Coota and the Challenge, will release in early 2007. In 2006 he completed This Man: Thoughts About Our Times, an anthology of his of poetry and prose. He also enjoys freelance photography. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  Pat Odom is a renaissance woman who has pushed her career boundaries throughout her life. We'll honor Pat at the March 3rd Black History Breakfast and celebrate her active role as Massachusetts Army National Guard's first black female recruiter. ================== Patricia Odom is a graduate of Washington Senior High School in Pensacola, Florida and a graduate of Washington Senior Vocational School of Cosmetology also in Pensacola.
Pat began her career as a flight attendant for Mohawk Airlines based in Utica, New York, and was the second black flight attendant who was hired in the early 1970’s. Later she worked for New England Telephone Company as an operator and clerk for two years and bid on jobs to explore different job opportunities. From 1976 through 1987, Pat served her country in the United States Army and served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. She becoming the first black female recruiter for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Pat also achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class (SFC - E-7) while serving in the army. Pat was honorably discharged from the army. She is a proud member of the 60 Plus Veterans Group. Pat earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts, Boston and a master’s degree in moderate special needs from Eastern Nazarene College. She retired from a twenty year teaching career in the Boston Public School system. As a special needs teacher, she was voted in as a union representative for teachers. For more than seven years, Pat has owned and operated a landscaping business. Her community activism continues to this day. She has served on the board of the Clark Cooper Community Garden in Mattapan, Massachusetts, and is a neighborhood advocate and supporter of the East River Neighborhood Association. Pat’s talent as an artist has expanded to her latest business venture. She currently sells her paintings throughout the Boston area, and is a member of both the Roxbury Open Studio and the Hyde Park Menino Art Center. She is the mother of one son, Idrissa Johnson, a grandmother of three beautiful girls. Pat is a longtime member of Bethel AME Church-Boston and serves as a church greeter. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. Ron Armstead: Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust--Honored at the March 3, 2016 Breakfast2/27/2016  We celebrate the achievements of Ron Armstead, who is the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust. He will be honored at the March 3, 2016 Black History Breakfast at the Boston Colonnade Hotel. Ron E. Armstead, is the Executive Director for the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans BraIntrust (CBCVB) located in Washington, DC, and a past consultant to the late Secretary Jesse Brown’s Veterans Administration’s Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. He has served as Executive Director of the CBCVB since its inception in 1988, first under Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), a decorated Korean War combat veteran and Dean of the New York Congressional Delegation, and currently under Reps. Corrine Brown (D-FL), new Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Co-Chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Military Families Caucus.
Under his leadership the Veterans Braintrust has expanded from its small core group to become one of the premiere forums for policy debate between veterans of African descent and representatives of government in the country. Lastly, Ron holds a Master Degree in City Planning (MCP) with a concentration in Affordable Housing and Community Development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is currently on an extended leave of absence from Howard University’s Graduate School of Social Work Doctoral Program focusing on Social Policy and Planning. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  We celebrate the achievements of Kenn Turner, who served in the US Navy for 26 years before retiring in 2006. He will be honored at the March 3, 2016 Black History Breakfast at the Boston Colonnade Hotel.
============= Kenneth L. Turner, Director of Diversity & Inclusion/Compliance, joined the Authority in June 2013. He oversees and manages the Authority’s multiple diversity programs, including business and supplier diversity, workforce diversity, and airport concessions, as well as all compliance initiatives associated with Massport’s Disadvantaged/Minority/Women Business Enterprise programs. Prior to joining Massport, Mr. Turner served as Deputy Secretary for Administration & Finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services. He also has over 20-years of general management and executive experience in various Fortune 100 companies including having served as a Senior Vice President at AOL Time Warner. A retired U.S. Navy Captain with 26-years of service, Mr. Turner began his military career as NRTOC scholarship midshipman and received his B.S. degree in Liberal Arts and a commission in the Navy from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge LA. Upon graduating college he completed the Submarine Officer Basic Course, the Torpedo Officer Course, and Tactical Weapons Officer Course at Naval Submarine Base New London; the C-3 Poseidon Missile Strategic Weapons Officer course at Naval Guided Missiles School Dam Neck; and the Trident C-4 Missile Strategic Weapons Officer course before reporting aboard USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN 634 Blue Crew) as Assistant Weapons Officer. During his initial sea tour Capt. Turner completed the officer submarine warfare requirements to receive his gold dolphins and was certified as a Strategic Nuclear Weapons Systems Officer. He was assigned shore duty at Naval Guided Missiles School Dam Neck where he served as course supervisor for the Prospective Commanding Officer/Executive Officer Trident C-4 Nuclear Weapons System Course and received his Master Training Specialist qualification. Transferring to the Naval Reserves Capt. Turner served in nine units over the course of 20-years and was selected as Commanding Officer of three reserve units: NR AFDM-6 Competent Det. 0618 Pearl Harbor; NR SUBASE Pearl Harbor Det. 918; COMSUBGRU 2 Det. 101 New London. After 911 he transferred to The Pentagon in Washington DC where he served on the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) OPNAV staff as Deputy Chief of Staff, Programming Division, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Resources, Warfare Requirements, and Assessments). Capt. Turner retired in 2006. Over the course of his career Captain Turner received numerous awards for his service to include: the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards); the Navy Achievement Medal (4 awards); the Navy Sea Ribbon (2 awards); the Armed Forces Reserve Medal; and the National Defense Service Medal. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  From Left to Right: Enoch Woodhouse, Willie Shellman, Harvey Sanford, The Late William Vickers, Delbrook Binns and Dr. Harold May Photographer: Dennis Stein/Metrowest Daily News ===================================================================================== Our March 3, 2016 Black History Breakfast will pay tribute to the six LIVING New England area Tuskegee Airmen and the Tuskegee Airman who just passed away earlier in February. Below are their biographical profiles and the history of the New England chapter, headed by Willie Shellman. All will be honored at the Breakfast. Special Thanks to Willie Shellman for providing this article about these extraordinary men. -Carole Copeland Thomas A Short History of the Tuskegee Airmen and Biography Notes of Massachusetts Tuskegee Airmen The New England Chapter is based in Massachusetts and is one of approximately 50 chapters of Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated. Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated (TAI) is a national civic organization that was formed in 1973. The goals of TAI are to:
On January 16, 1941 the War Department announced the formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, a black flying unit, to be trained at Tuskegee, Alabama, the home of the Tuskegee Institute. Thus the "Lonely Eagles," as the black pilots called themselves, became reality. The first class, which was designated 42-C, began on July 19, 1941. Five students completed the training and received their wings on March 7, 1942 The 99th was later joined other Tuskegee squadrons to form the 332nd Fighter Group. The 332nd flew P-40, P-39, P-47, and P-51 aircraft in combat throughout the Mediterranean and European Theaters and became a respected and decorated group of fighter pilots. The group was known as the "Red Tails" for their aircraft paint scheme. The bulk of the Black flyers were in the 332nd Fighter Group. Veterans of the 332nd Fighter group and newly trained pilots were used to form the 477th Bombardment Group. The Bombardment squadrons were equipped with B-26 aircraft and later with B-25s. The war ended before the 477th Bombardment Group was deployed overseas. From the inception of the 99th through the period that signaled the ending of World War II (1946), the following number of black combat flyers completed their training:
Class 46-C, which graduated on June 29, 1946, was the last pilot class to finish at TAAF. In order to support the black flyers ten times as many administrative and ground support personnel were trained. In order to keep the pilots flying the Army Air Corps trained and deployed Black servicemen in all the required support functions (mechanics, ground crew, nurses, etc.). The “Tuskegee Experiment” succeeded beyond the expectations of even those who proposed the program. The excellent record of the 332nd Fighter Group in combat led to a review of the War Department's racial policies and a presidential order in 1947 to desegregate the United States Armed Forces. There were 14 pilots and numerous support personnel from Massachusetts. Today the following Tuskegee Airmen are living in Massachusetts. *Raymond Baker entered the U.S. Army in 1944. He went to Biloxi MS for basic training and then was assigned to Tuskegee Army Airfield. After several months Raymond began pilot training as a member of Class 45I. The war ended before his completion of the flying program. Mr. Baker was discharged in July 5, 1946 and returned to Brockton, MA. *Jack Bryant grew up in Chicago, IL and followed his brother into pilot training in the Army Air Corp in 1945. The pilot training program at Tuskegee Army Air Field was discontinued before Jack’s class completed training and Jack was discharged in 1946. Jack entered the University of Michigan and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. In 1961 Jack moved to Boston and started Bryant Engineering, a civil engineering firm specializing in major infrastructure projects. *George W. Giddings from Yonkers, N.Y attended Fisk University. He entered Aviation Cadet training in 1942 and was assigned to Class 43H at Tuskegee Army Air Field. Served until 1946. George was grounded due to an eye problem. He then attended Navigator training at Hondo AAF, Texas, Bombardier training at Roswell AAF, NM and Gunnery training at Yuma AAF, AZ and was discharged in 1946. *Harold May, MD. from Poughkeepsie NY, completed two years of undergraduate study at Harvard University before joining the Army Air Corp in 1945. The war ended before Harold could complete his pilot training and upon discharge he returned to Harvard University to complete his undergraduate studies and completed the medical degree program and Harvard Medical School. Dr. May began a missionary medical assignment in Haiti and stayed for eleven years. Upon his return to the United States Dr. May practiced medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital until retirement. Dr. May remains active as a founder and Board member of the humanitarian organization Family, a human service organization operating in Dorchester Massachusetts and Haiti. *Harvey F. Sanford graduated from the Boston Trade High School in Airplane Engine mechanics in 1944. In 1945 Harvey entered the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field as an Air Inspector (Airplane and Engine) until his discharge in 1946. While at Tuskegee Harvey often traveled with the Base Commander while being responsible for the maintenance of the commander’s aircraft. And, from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean Conflict served in light Aviation Aircraft maintenance in the 272nd field Artillery group. Returning to Boston Harvey worked in aircraft research and development at Hanscom Air Force base until 1970. And, from 1970 until retirement in 1983 he worked as a FAA Airworthiness Inspector assigned to Logan Airport Boston, MA. *Enoch Woodhouse II, Esq. graduated from English High School in Boston, MA. Joined the U. S. Army Air Corps and completed the Officers Candidate School in 1946, at the age of 19. Served as Finance Officer for the 477th Bombardment Group at Lockbourne AF, OH. He was discharged from active duty in 1949 and joined the Air Force Reserves. While in the Air Force Reserves, Enoch attended Yale University and Boston University Law School. He was assigned to the Air Force JAG Office in 1956, while serving as a reservist at Hanscom AFB. Mr. Woodhouse retired from the Air Force Reserves as a Lt. Colonel in 1972. Attorney Woodhouse practiced law in Boston and served as a Diplomatic Courier for the U.S. State Department in Europe, Africa and South America. He is former Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston and served as Public Member for Promotion of the State Department of Officers. Sadly, Mr. William Vickers passed away on February 2, 2016. Here is his biographical profile. *William Vickers graduated from Boston Trade High School and entered the U. S. Army in 1944 qualifying for assignment in Pilot Training program. Mr. Vickers took basic training at Kessler Field in Biloxi, MS. Mr. Vickers was stationed in Sebring Florida as a member of the B-17 Ground Crew. Later William was sent to Bombay India and stationed in the Assam Valley in India as part of the Air Transport Command. Upon discharge in 1946, Mr. Vickers joined the National Guard and was recalled to active duty in 1950 and stationed at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and later sent to Helicopter school before his release from active duty in 1952. Mr. Vickers continued to serve and retired from the National Guard after 22 years of service. ****************  Willie Shellman joined Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. as a civilian in 1985 and currently serves as President of the New England Chapter. He graduated from high school in Chicago, IL. and later graduated from Tuskegee University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Willie was employed as an Auto Pilot Design Engineer on C-5 and F-14 aircrafts and as an Avionics Design Engineer in missile systems.
Mr. Shellman majored in Business Administration at Northeastern University and was employed as a Sales Operations manager in the computer and internet industries. Mr. Shellman most recent employment was as the Executive Director of the YMCA Achievers Programs at the YMCA of Greater Boston. Mr. Shellman is currently retired. Having lived in several cities around the United States, Willie and his wife Maxine, along with their daughter and son have resided in Sudbury Massachusetts for the past thirty-five years. Acknowledgements: Many dedicated Massachusetts Tuskegee Airmen have preceded us in their Homecoming. We dearly remember George S. Lima, Jr. (Rhode Island), William Bennett, Vernon Burke, Charles Diggs, James Fischer, Lloyd Godfrey, Daniel Grant, Stephen Hargrove, Milton Hopkins, Fuzzy Hector, Luther McIlwain, James McLaurin, Allen Monroe, Daniel Moore, Robert Newton Sr., John Roach, Frank Roberts, Thomas Ross, Willis Saunders, Herman Wells and many others. 
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Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== The military assumption of the 1930s was that Black men didn’t have the mental or physical capacity to fly airplanes. White wisdom, widespread racism and the steady hand of Jim Crow reinforced that assumption. So when America entered World War II in 1941, where would they turn to get the military and aviation manpower to fight off the Japanese, Germans, Italians and Austrians while protecting the American home front? The answer rested in the very Black men who were maligned and mistreated and assumed unfit for aviation duty. Their ranks would grow and their dignity and courage prevailed through unending discrimination and mistrust. They started out as members of the US Army Air Corps. They would later be known as the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Today as Black History Month comes to a close, we pay tribute to the brave men who flew the planes, repaired them, maintained them, conducted military missions overseas and supervised the soldiers…The Tuskegee Airmen. And we’ll pay special tribute to the men we’ll honor at the March 3rd Black History Breakfast, including my father the late, 2nd Lieutenant Wilson A. Copeland who served with his fellow Tuskegee Airmen with dignity, pride and excellence. ​ Black History IS American History! =============================== History of the Tuskegee Airmen For More Information visit: www.tuskegeeairmen.org This is the official organization for the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. The term, "Tuskegee Airmen," refers to the men and women, African-Americans and Caucasians, who were involved in the socalled "Tuskegee Experience", the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, radio operators, navigators, bombardiers, aircraft maintenance, support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air. Virtually all black military pilots during World War II received their primary flight training at Moton Field and then their basic and advanced flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF). Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (TAI) is headquartered in Tuskegee, Alabama (about 35 miles east of Montgomery), where the training of black military pilots during World War II began. There are currently 57 active chapters of TAI located in major cities and military installations throughout the United States. ============================= The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  Reverend Kenneth L. Whitley
Reverend Ken Whitley was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where he progressed through the public school system. After high school he headed for the University of Pittsburgh but his time in Pittsburgh was cut short. While at Pitt he considered applying for a Congressional appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. He didn’t expect to get the nomination but he knew there was zero chance if he didn’t apply. To his surprise, he received an appointment from his US Congressman, which he quickly accepted. Four years later he graduated from the AF Academy in Colorado Springs CO with a Bachelors degree in one hand and an Air Force commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the other hand. Later in 1990 Rev Whitley added a MS degree in business to his academic credentials. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Rev Whitley served his country for the next 26 years. For half of his career he served as a bomber crew member and the other half he spent as an acquisition officer. He retired in the rank of full Colonel. But more important is the fact that he never lost sight of his Christian roots. As a child, his parents and family friends made sure Ken was in church. Rev Whitley will tell you that even though he went through a period of weak church attendance, God was always in his life. Sometimes the devil puts distractions in our path but God is always there if we just look for him. As Rev Whitley approached the end of his military career, doors opened for him to follow his wife into seminary. He graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with a MDiv degree in 2008 and was ordained an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church that same year. Rev Whitley currently works as a civilian acquisition manager for the United States Air Force. He also serves as the assistant Pastor of People’s A.M.E. Church in Chelsea where his wife and long time friend, the Rev Dr. Sandra Gatlin Whitley serves as Pastor. Rev Whitley’s favorite scripture comes from Phil 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ========== Reverend Dr. Sandra Gatlin Whitley The Reverend Dr. Sandra Gatlin Whitley shares the sentiments of her life journey as the Apostle Paul “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect…(1Cor. 15:10).” She is faithfully serving in her second career “calling’ as an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was appointed to Pastor the People’s A.M.E. Church in Chelsea MA during the 156th Session of the New England Annual Conference in 2007. She was born in Montgomery Alabama and the eldest daughter of eight. Her father was military giving the family the experience of living in many different parts of the world. After the separation and later divorce of her parents, Montgomery AL once again became home. She graduated from George Washington Carver High School and Alabama State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Prior to her calling to the ordained ministry, she served on active duty as a commissioned officer through the Air Force ROTC program. Dr. Whitley served our country for 22 dedicated years travelling to and serving in places like Texas, Japan, California, Colorado, Ohio, Washington D.C., including Massachusetts where she retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. She had a successful Air Force contracting career with varied responsibilities in the acquisition and management of government contracts with private industry. She served as a Chief and Director of Contracting, a master instructor, a Department of Defense staff officer, policy-writer at the Pentagon and on special duty as Chief, Joint Operations on the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee in support of the 53rd Presidential Inauguration. On active duty, she earned her Masters Degree from Webster University in Business Management. She received numerous military awards and decorations. Dr. Sandra Whitley has dedicated her life to serving God through her relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Her life’s experiences, education, and ministerial positions, all contributed to her dual calling as a military member and as a servant of the Lord fulfilling His “Great Commission,” while on active duty. At various military bases she was actively involved in chapel programs, including the Protestant Women of the Chapel on the local and regional levels. Upon making the transition for active duty to active ministry, someone shared “you are going from saving lives to saving souls.” She graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary where she earned in 2004 dual degrees of a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts and in 2015 she was conferred a Doctor of Ministry degree. She is happily married to her friend and God-sent mate from Philadelphia PA, Reverend Kenneth L. Whitley. He also served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years as a navigator and acquisition program manager. Together they share the love of God, travel, photography, people, and spoiling their nieces, nephews and god-children. They now serve in ministry together. She is a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Air Force Association, the Girl Scouts of America, a charter member of the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial. She was appointed by Massachusetts Governor to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. She serves locally on the board of directors of Chelsea Rotary Club. She is a teacher, preacher, author, marriage and family pastoral counselor and Beloved Community advocate. She attests to the Apostle John’s revelation “…He testifies to what he has seen and heard…the man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit (John 3:32-33).” ============== The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  Biography Of The Late
Captain James Franklin Fitzgerald, M.D. U.S. Army Medical Corp Written by his Son in Law, Attorney Wilson A. Copeland, II Dr. James Franklin Fitzgerald was born in February,1919 to James and Lillian Fitzgerald and lived in Wilmington, Delaware from his birth through high school graduation. His undergraduate life was spent at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University, where he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, followed by what proved to be his inadvertent path to a most memorable military experience, matriculation at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he received his M.D. degree. Like all other American medical schools, Meharry was taken over by the United States Army during the Second World War due to the pressing need for physicians, dentists, and nurses in the Armed Forces. This situation resulted in the students essentially being conscripted, with their tuition being paid by the government, going to class in uniform, attending school year round, with graduations being conducted three times a year and culminating in reporting for duty following a one year internship. March of 1944 proved to be a busy month for James Franklin Fitzgerald; graduating from Meharry on the 19th, marrying Fisk University graduate, Alberta Price on the 26th, and establishing a new home for his bride and himself in Washington, D.C., where he would spend his next year as an intern at Howard University’s Freedom Hospital. While at Freedman’s, a pyrrhic victory of sorts occurred when a letter from the Army arrived advising him that the ebbing World War had resulted in a reduction of the need for health care professionals and he needn’t report for duty. Thus, upon completion of his internship, he headed for Detroit, Michigan to begin his practice and, where believing himself to be in the Army Reserve, he gave short shift to the letters from the U.S. Navy that arrived in the late 1940’s, believing them to be recruitment efforts and knowing the Navy was the least receptive of all the Armed Services about President Truman’s 1948 desegregation orders. The onset of hostilities in Korea were the precursor to a visit to his office from the two FBI agents who arrested him for failing to report for induction; it seems those ‘recruiting letters’ were in fact notices advising him that he had been transferred to the Naval Reserve. He was released from a federal detention cell that evening with the understanding he was to report for duty the next day. He did, entering the office of the Naval Recruiting Center that morning, the officer on duty took one look at him, asked with some degree of chagrin and incredulity, “You’re James Franklin Fitzgerald?” and receiving the affirmative reply, immediately blurted out, “There must be some mistake, just go home and we’ll contact you sometime in the future.” It seems the name James Franklin Fitzgerald fit someone ‘From the Old Sod’ – his skin color, however, did not – and the Navy realized there had indeed been a mistake. Over the next few months, an administrative transfer back to the Army took place and Captain James Franklin Fitzgerald, M.D. found himself in a MASH unit in Korea, where he served with distinction from 1952 to 1954. During the course of his service in Korea, Captain Fitzgerald was awarded three Purple Hearts. One coming as a result of assisting in a surgical procedure on a wounded GI and together with the rest of the surgical team, continuing the operation, despite incoming artillery shells, for this act the Purple Heart he was given for the injuries caused by those shells was accompanied by the Bronze Star. Returning to Detroit after completing his service to his country, Dr. Fitzgerald practiced medicine until his untimely death from an untreatable abdominal infection on Thanksgiving Day 1960 at the age of 41. He was survived by his wife, Alberta and their daughter, Deborah Fitzgerald Copeland. ==================== Deborah Fitzgerald Copeland will fly in from her home in Detroit, Michigan to received the Black History Month award on behalf of her late Father. Special Thanks to JET BLUE AIRLINES, who are Breakfast Sponsors and responsible for Mrs. Copeland's travel arrangements. =================== The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. |
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