Black History

Henry Ossian Flipper: A Trailblazer’s Journey from Injustice to Honor

The name Henry O. Flipper shines as a symbol of resilience and triumph over adversity. Born to enslaved parents, Isabella and Festus Flipper, on March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, his early life was marked by the dark shadows of slavery. However, Flipper’s indomitable spirit and thirst for knowledge led him on a path that would make him a trailblazer in breaking racial barriers

Published

1 year ago

November 3, 2023

Oakland Post

Henry O. Flipper was a West Point graduate, engineer, surveyor and translator and policy adviser to a U.S. Senator on Mexican politics and a prolific writer who chronicled various aspects of his careers. Wikipedia image

By Tamara Shiloh

After the Civil War, Flipper’s education was supported by the American Missionary Association. He later attended Atlanta University, becoming the fifth African American to receive an appointment to the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1873. His enrollment came at a time when white cadets held prejudiced attitudes, making the environment hostile for African Americans. Despite the challenges, Flipper endured, graduating in 1877, thus becoming the first African American to achieve this monumental feat.

His experiences at West Point, both the triumphs and tribulations, were documented in his 1878 book, “The Colored Cadet at West Point,” shedding light on the discrimination he faced and the determination that carried him through.

Following graduation, Flipper was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served with the 10th Cavalry, an African American unit known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

However, his promising career was unjustly derailed in 1881 when he was framed by white officers on charges of embezzlement while stationed at Fort Davis, Texas. Though found not guilty of the major charge, he was still dishonorably discharged, casting a shadow over his reputation. Undeterred, Flipper devoted the rest of his life to fighting for the restoration of his good name.

As a civilian, Flipper’s talents extended far beyond the military realm. He excelled as an engineer, surveyor, and translator, showcasing his proficiency in Spanish by translating critical texts on Mexican tax, mining, and land laws. His work took him to Mexico, where he served as a mining engineer for over a decade.

When he returned to the U.S., he worked for Senator Herbert Fall, advising him on Mexican politics. When Fall became Secretary of the Interior in 1921, Flipper worked with him in Washington, D.C.

Two years later, Flipper traveled to Venezuela where he worked as an engineer in the oil industry, retiring eight years later in Atlanta.

He wrote his memoirs in 1916, offering a candid account of his life, which would later be published posthumously in 1963 as “Negro Frontiersman: The Western Memoirs of Henry O. Flipper.”

The efforts of his descendants were rewarded in 1976 when the Department of the Army finally granted him an honorable discharge, posthumously restoring his good name. In the same year, a bust of Flipper was unveiled at West Point, immortalizing his legacy. President Bill Clinton granted him a full pardon in 1999, a testament to his enduring impact on American history.

He died in 1940, and was initially buried in a cemetery near Atlanta, but his remains were exhumed and again laid to rest in his native Thomasville in 1978, where the post office was named in his honor.

Today, West Point awards a commendation in his name to the graduating senior who demonstrates exemplary leadership, self-discipline, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024

Published

6 days ago

November 30, 2024

Oakland Post

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Black History

Emeline King: A Trailblazer in the Automotive Industry

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company. Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 26, 2024

Oakland Post

Transportation designer Emeline King. Photo courtesy of Emeline King.

By Tamara Shiloh

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company.

Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

King’s fascination with cars began during her childhood. Growing up, she was captivated by the sleek designs and mechanical complexities of automobiles. She loved playing with toy cars and considered it an insult if anyone gave her a doll.

King pursued her interest in cars by studying at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. There, she improved her skills in transportation design, gaining the technical expertise and artistic vision she needed to break into the male-dominated industry.

However, her true inspiration came from her father, Earnest O. King, Sr., who worked for Ford as a Fabrication Specialist. She remembered the father-daughter trips to the auto shows, and the Saturday mornings with the famous Black sculptor, Oscar Graves, who her father assisted in some of his commissioned art works.

She said Graves would mentor her in clay relief sculptures. She was always fascinated by the smell of clay that was a constant in his studio.

However, it was her ﬁrst visit to her father’s job that became the catalyst for King to want a career in transportation design. At the company’s annual employee Christmas parties, she got the chance to meet his co-workers and learned about the roles they played in the auto industry. It was a chance to see some great cars, too.

Her career at Ford began in the 1980s, when women — particularly women of color –were scarcely represented in the automotive industry. King’s role at Ford was groundbreaking, as she became the first African American woman to work as a transportation designer at the company.

At Ford Design, she worked on the Ford Mustang SN-95’s interior. She also made several design contributions on other vehicles, too, including the interior components of the 1989 Thunderbird, the 1989 Corporate Steering Wheel, the 1989 Thunderbird Wheel/Wheel cover design program, the 1990 Thunderbird Super Coupe, the 1993 Mach III, the 1994 Mustang, to name a few.

King also served three foreign assignments: Turin Italy; Koln, Germany; and Brentwood, Essex, England — designing Ford cars for Europe.

Leaving Ford after about 25 years of service and along with her many speaking engagements, she wrote an autobiography about being Ford’s first female African American transportation designer titled, “What Do You Mean A Black Girl Can’t Design Cars? She Did It!”

She’s quoted as saying, “I’m now so proud to have written a book that I hope will inspire young girls and boys to never give up. To influence them so that they can stay focused and alert, and so they never look back. There are mentors who are placed in our lives to serve as our ‘Bridges to Destinations’ and allow us to cross over them to reach our dreams. Hoping they gain inspiration from my book, my motto for them is simple: ‘OPPORTUNITY IS NOW, SO GRAB IT! IF I DID IT, SO CAN YOU!”