Black History Month Celebration

By Maudie Powell, NBCFAE Public Affairs Officer

The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center celebrated “Black History Month-2007” under the theme “From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas” on February 22. The celebration focused on Black History through music and featured students of chARTer Tech School of the Performing Arts (Somers Point, NJ).

National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE) Vice President Jamaal Lipscomb welcomed the Center employees and students and introduced Center Director Dr. Wilson Felder. In his comments, Dr. Felder acknowledged the accomplishments and impact of Blacks in America and recognized Dr. Condoleeza Rice, who serves as Secretary of State. He also stated the need to continue to expand opportunities for Black Americans, so that their accomplishments and impact will continue to expand. He declared that there is a need for more engineers, scientists and pilots in the Technical Center’s workforce.

Passenger safety depends on the capability and reliability of the National Airspace System (NAS) and the people who operate it. The characteristics of air travel are changing and the Technical Center has a critical responsibility for the next generation NAS that will accommodate technology evolution and increased air traffic volume. Dr. Felder encouraged the students and audience to recommend (or consider) the Technical Center as a future employer for those who possess the skills needed to build the air transportation system of the future. He connected the need to individual lives by asking the audience to imagine how it feels to be traveling in a plane. He also thanked the students in advance for sharing their talents as a means of educating the audience about the history of Blacks in America, acknowledging the vast range of their impact on American history.

Mr. Lipscomb commented that Black history has been an important part of American history since the initial arrival of Blacks in America. It has been the backbone of the Black culture that is both Black and American history. It is a history permeated with the struggles of overcoming hatred, bigotry and racism to instill justice, peace, righteousness, and non-racist attitudes and behavior in our home society.

When the chARTer Tech students took to the stage, they provided a history storyline complemented by a musical repertoire reflecting the impact of music in Black history. Blacks were physically separated from the native African land, but the homeland traditions and ties are retained in Black music, be it songs of spirit (spirituals), blues, jazz, or modern-day hip-hop. Black music was used to send messages as enslaved Blacks made escapes through the Underground Railroad; to express separation from loved ones and home (Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child); to plea for spiritual comfort and strength (I Need You Now); and to assert unyielding faith and determination as displayed by Mrs. Rosa Parks and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (We Shall Overcome).

Technical Center NBCFAE President, Kenneth Hitchens, presented the chARTer Tech School a letter of thanks and complimented the students and school for its talents and accomplishments.