By Tamara Shiloh

Henry Ossian Flipper’s life is a remarkable story of insistence, achievement, injustice, and ultimately vindication. Born enslaved on March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia, Flipper rose from the restrictions of slavery to become the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. His accomplishments extended far beyond military service; he later became a respected engineer, surveyor, author, translator, and government official.

After the Civil War, Flipper’s family settled in Atlanta, where education became central to his future. He attended schools established for African American children by the American Missionary Association and later studied at Atlanta University. In 1873, Congressman James C. Freeman of Georgia nominated Flipper for admission to West Point. He entered the academy that July.

Flipper’s four years at West Point were extremely difficult. Because of racism, he experienced harassment and almost complete social isolation from many of his fellow cadets. Nevertheless, he succeeded academically and graduated on June 14, 1877, ranking 50th in a class of 76. His graduation represented a historic breakthrough for African Americans in the United States military.

Trending

Pres. Biden Gives Gov. Newsom Thumbs Up on School Vaccine Mandate as Under-17 Cases Spike

Commissioned as a second lieutenant, Flipper was assigned to the 10th U.S. Cavalry, one of the famed African American regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers. At Fort Sill in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, Flipper served as an engineer, surveyor, construction supervisor, quartermaster, and commissary officer. One of his most lasting engineering accomplishments was a drainage system that eliminated pools of stagnant water around the fort and helped reduce mosquito-breeding areas. The system became known as “Flipper’s Ditch,” and portions of it remain associated with Fort Sill today.

Flipper’s promising military career ended abruptly in 1881 when he was accused of embezzling commissary funds. A court-martial acquitted him of embezzlement, but convicted him of conduct unbecoming of an officer. The Army dismissed him in 1882. The circumstances surrounding his punishment would later be widely regarded as unjust and influenced by the racial discrimination of the period.

Rather than allowing his dismissal to define his life, Flipper built an extraordinary civilian career. He became a civil and mining engineer and surveyor, working extensively throughout the American Southwest and Mexico. He established an engineering office in Nogales, Arizona, became knowledgeable about Spanish and Mexican land law, and later worked for the federal government, including service connected with the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior.

Flipper died in Atlanta in 1940, but efforts to restore his reputation continued for decades. In 1976, the Army changed his dismissal to an honorable discharge. Then, on February 19, 1999, President Bill Clinton granted Flipper a posthumous presidential pardon.

Today, Henry Ossian Flipper is remembered because his life helped open doors for generations of African American military officers, engineers, and public servants who followed him.

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group

By Carla Thomas

After remaining closed for more than two decades, Tyrone Carney Park reopened Thursday Aug 27, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a $5 million investment in recreation, wellness and community space in East Oakland.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston, city leaders, community partners and residents gathered at the half-acre park, located at 10501 Acalanes Drive, to commemorate its long-awaited revitalization.

“Revitalizing and reopening Tyrone Carney Park strengthens the Town by expanding youth programs, supporting job training, and improving public health,” said Lee said. “Oakland is on the move, fulfilling our promise to build a safer and more vibrant East Oakland.”

The mayor said she thought the sculpture designed by Dana King was beautiful and that the event was emotional for her being the daughter of a veteran. 

“I know the Carney family, and it was wonderful to see Deborah and the entire Carney family there. It was wonderful to see where seniors, youth, and everybody can enjoy a beautiful safe park in Sobrante Park with Tyrone’s legacy.”

Led by Oakland Public Works, the improvement project added four play areas, two fitness-equipment areas, paved walking paths and a circular central plaza with ornamental paving. Improvements also included a lawn, wrought-iron perimeter fencing, new gates, extensive landscaping and a memorial honoring the park’s namesake.

Trending

[ENCORE] Explore the Impact of Snoring and Sleep Apnea with Dr. Yasmina Ahmed

The city contracted with Beliveau Engineering Contractors for structural improvements and Dillingham Associates for landscaping.

Originally opened in 1968, the park closed in 2002 and remained inaccessible for more than 20 years. Its restoration grew from a multiyear collaboration between the City of Oakland, East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative (EONI) and Sobrante Park Advisory Council.

Community advocacy by EONI helped secure funding through Proposition 68, California’s 2018 Parks and Water Bond. Additional financial support came from Oakland Capital Improvements Impact Fee funds and a California Strategic Growth Council Transformative Climate Communities grant.

Houston said the reopening represented more than the physical restoration of a neighborhood park.

“It reflects our commitment to investing in East Oakland, honoring one of our hometown heroes, and creating a safe, welcoming place where families can gather, children can play, and community can thrive,” Houston said. “Tyrone Carney’s legacy of service will continue to inspire generations through this park.”

The park was named in honor of Carney, an Oakland resident and U.S. Marine Corps private first-class who died while serving in Vietnam on June 9, 1968. He was 20 years old. Before entering military service, Carney participated in the Boy Scouts of America and Youth for Christ.

His first cousin, Deborah Carney, remembered him as a man committed to service.

“Tyrone Carney was a God-sent man,” she said, recalling his words: “ ‘May the works I have done speak for me, when I am resting in my grave and there is nothing else to be said.’”

Oakland Public Works Director Liam Garland said the department was honored to help realize the community’s vision for a safe and welcoming green space.

Myka Hammock, director of Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development, said the park’s tree canopies, play structures and memorial would inspire community youth while providing opportunities for wellness, recreation and connection.

The Sobrante Park Advisory Council and Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation, both key stakeholders in the redevelopment, will continue serving as stewards of the reopened park.

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group

By Haiti Action Committee

Haiti Action Committee condemns killings in Haiti and demands the Trump Administration stop deporting Haitians back to Haiti

Heavily armed, paramilitary death squad Viv Ansanm on Sunday, Aug. 23, carried out

another major massacre in the Kenscoff commune in the hills outside of Port-au-Prince. The

death squad attacked survivors of previous violence who were sheltering in a church in one of

the villages.

Many people in the church were killed, along with people in their homes. Women and young

people were targeted in particular. Community sources have provided different estimates of the

number of people killed, but they range from 40 to over 70 people. Women were raped, and

dozens of people were additionally taken hostage; they remain captive with imminent threats to

their lives.

According to local officials, this attack was announced by the paramilitary death squad at least

two weeks before it occurred. The police and government authorities were made aware of the

Trending

165 Beanie Babies Donated to Cannabis Dispensary’s Toy Drive

threat, but once again failed to provide protection, as has been the case in many other

massacres. The population is furious over the obvious collusion between the U.S.

-installed puppet government and the death squads.

Kenscoff has repeatedly been targeted by Viv Ansanm as it seeks to consolidate its control of

the commune and expand control into the adjacent Petionville region of Port-au-Prince.

Other massacres by paramilitaries, armed with weapons from the United States, have likewise

continued across Haiti in recent weeks, notably Gresye south of Port-au-Prince, a village in the

Akaye region north of Port-au-Prince, and Dessalines and other towns in the agricultural center

of the Artibonite region.

In another shocking incident in Ohio, Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian college student. died by suicide Monday morning after losing his legal immigration status and receiving a GPS ankle monitor from immigration authorities,

It was 8 a.m., and he was sitting inside his car on the side of the interstate highway, struggling with the shame of being forced to wear an ankle monitor by immigration officials.

Bel, a student at Wright State University, said he had been bullied at school and felt “humiliated” by the device.

“I told him to come home so we can talk,” Bel’s father said in a statement. “Around 11 the police showed at my door to report that my son threw himself under a truck.”

Bel stepped into oncoming traffic and died from his injuries, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. His family blamed the humiliation brought on by the ankle monitor he had been wearing since July.

Meanwhile in Haiti, there are now 1.5 million people internally displaced by violence and more than 5.8 million people on the brink of starvation.

These are the conditions into which the Trump regime is attempting to deport 350,000 Haitians

who have had their TPS (Temporary Protected Status) in the US revoked.

Haiti Action Committee urges people to call or email their senators to demand they

immediately pass Senate Bill S.4814 to extend TPS for Haitians! The House has already passed a version of this bill, H.R. 1689.

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group