First Black To Graduate Finally Gets His Due
Original story by John Milburn (AP)
Stoically enduring hate and harassment to become the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Henry O. Flipper probably never saw it coming.
Born a slave in Thomasville, Georgia in 1856, Flipper was West Point's first brother to endure four years of hardships actually receive his commission.
He graduated in 1877, just 12 years after the Civil War.
At Fort Davis, Texas, in 1881, Flipper's career took a dire turn when white commanders accused him of embezzling $3,792 from commissary funds. Flipper initially discovered the funds missing from his custody and concealed their disappearance from superiors, hoping the money would return.
He was court-martialed, acquitted of embezzlement but convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer, and dishonorably discharged. Later, Flipper would write in a letter to a congressman that the crime "of being a Negro was, in my case, more heinous than deceiving a commanding officer."
Althoug he went on to a successful civilian career as an engineer and expert in Spanish and Mexican land law, wrote several books and worked as a special assistant to the U.S. interior secretary, Flipper spent decades unsuccessfully trying to clear his name.
His family continued the fight after his death in 1940. In 1976, an Army board commuted Flipper's dismissal to a good conduct discharge, concluding that his conviction and punishment were "unduly harsh and unjust."
In 1999, President Clinton granted him a full pardon.
The Army took another step in honoring his legacy Friday with the dedication of a bust of him at the Buffalo Soldier Monument at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Sometimes we get discouraged when we comes across stories like the one here about how we are losing our boys.
Our faith is restored, however, whenever we rediscover hero's like Henry Flipper. Thank you Black man. HOOAH!