Suchan told the Akron Beacon Journal Kemter’s remarks were “not relevant to our program for the day,” adding that he’d been asked to modify his speech but declined to do so. He initially believed the audio difficulty was the result of a technical issue. About halfway through his 11-minute speech, Kemter’s mic was cut.Īccording to Kemter, while the first national commemoration of Memorial Day has been attributed to a ceremony that took place on May 3, 1868, at Arlington Cemetery, where both Union soldiers and Confederates were buried, Harvard archives of newspaper clippings and handwritten notes revealed that Black Americans also played a crucial role in early Memorial Day traditions.Īs Kemter explained that Memorial Day traditions first began when freed slaves conducted a ceremony on May 1, 1865, his mic was cut. Col. Barnard Kemter to apologize for cutting his mic as he spoke about Black people’s role in the origins of Memorial Day during a May 31 speech at an event intended to honor Hudson veterans. Garrison reportedly called retired Army Lt. She is also being asked to give up her membership and has not specified whether she or Garrison turned down the audio of the speech.Īccording to a release from the state Legion office, “They knew exactly when to turn the volume down and when to turn it back up.” (Photo: Jaxson Reid/Twitter)Īccording to the statement, Garrison has resigned as post officer and the Legion has demanded that he resign his membership altogether.Ĭindy Suchan, who chairs the the Memorial Day Parade Committee and is the president of the Hudson chapter, has not resigned but her case is being reviewed. Garrison and Suchan also are being asked to make a “formal apology” to the city of Hudson, all American Legion organizations, its members, veterans and people of all backgrounds, Heller said.Cindy Suchan has been asked to give up her membership in the American Legion. Heller said Suchan also is being asked to give up her membership in the auxiliary.Īn official with the American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio told the Beacon Journal they were meeting Friday to discuss Suchan, but declined further comment. Suchan has not resigned, but Heller said her case is being handled by the American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio. Col Bernard Kemter, US Army (Ret.) during his Memorial Day speech hosted by American Legion Post 464 of Hudson, Ohio.” …Both Garrison and Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day Parade committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, had been asked by Friend to resign after the state office’s investigation determined the two “intentionally censored Lt. So far, no members of Hudson Post 464 have reached out to Department to fight for this post, that I am aware of.” “I don’t believe they will get members to show, much less vote, to keep the post open at this point,” Heller said late Friday afternoon. “We are in communication with the members via email, phone and mail, about the status of their post. She noted the Hudson post has 58 members. Heller said the Hudson post has 60 days to respond to the formal complaint that the state Legion provided to them. …The American Legion Department of Ohio’s executive board members who attended a Friday morning meeting unanimously backed Friend’s decision to suspend the Hudson American Legion charter, said Suzette Heller, the state Legion’s department adjutant. “Effective immediately, Department Commander Roger Friend has suspended Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464 Charter pending permanent closure,” stated a news release issued by the American Legion Department of Ohio Friday afternoon. “Upon demand, Jim Garrison has also resigned as a Post Officer and we have since demanded that he resign his membership altogether. The American Legion Department of Ohio does not hold space for members, veterans, or families of veterans who believe that censoring (Black) history is acceptable behavior.” The charter of Hudson’s American Legion post was suspended as its leader resigned Friday after a veteran’s mic got cut while he spoke about Black Americans’ role in the history of Memorial Day… You can read more about what happened and watch a video of the full event here. It was later determined that the local Legion Post’s adjutant Jim Garrison had been involved in the silencing. However, when he began speaking of the role of African Americans in creating Memorial Day his mic went silent. Kempter was the keynote speaker at the event and he had been warmly received by the local crowd watching the traditional ceremony. Bernard Kemter at a Memorial Day commemoration in Hudson, Ohio when he described an 1865 ceremony in which thousands of former slaves memorialized Union soldiers who died in a Charleston Confederate prison has resulted in the suspension of the charter of the American Legion Post behind the silencing. The decision to cut-off the mic of retired Lt.
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