Bring It On! – February 21, 2022: Desegregation of U.S. Armed Forces and Government

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This is a rebroadcast from September 20, 2022:

Today on Bring It On!, hosts, Clarence Boone and William Hosea, speak with James T. Averhart, the National President at Montford Point Marine Association, Inc., and Joe Geeter, the former Present and current National Director of Publications at Montford Point Marine Association, Inc.

Montford Point Marine Association, Inc. is the organization for The Montford Point Marines Memorial. It is dedicated to the legacy of nearly 20,000 African-Americans who served in the Marine Corps but trained in the segregated training facility known as Montford Point Camp in Jacksonville, NC from August 26, 1942, until the camp was decommissioned on September 9, 1949. The memorial tells the story through architecture and sculpture. The memorial is located within the LeJeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, NC.

As of June 25, 1941, racial discrimination in the defense industry or in government was prohibited with the signing of Executive Order 8802 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Owing to the threat of strike and a march on Washington, D.C. by the first African-American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the need for more recruits to fight WWII, President Roosevelt desegregated the armed forces and the federal government.

President Averhart, and former president Greeter, of the Montford Point Marine Association, Inc. explain more about the grand history of Montford Point and the role of African American soldiers in WWII.

Credits:
Today’s hosts are Clarence Boone and William Hosea.
Our show’s executive producer is Clarence Boone.
Our assistant producer is William Hosea.
Our consultant & WFHB News Department Director is Kade Young.
Our program engineer is Chantalle LaFontant.
Our original theme music was created by Jamyl Efiom with additional background tracks by David Baker.