Director's Message February 4, 2022

From government to military, from medicine to law, from business to nonprofit, arts, education, sports, science, religion, philanthropy and more, Black Americans are, in many ways, the bedrock of VA, our communities, and this great nation.

And this month—Black History Month—has an important story behind it.

More than a century ago, in 1912, historian Carter G. Woodson received his doctorate in history at Harvard, becoming the second Black American, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to earn a Ph.D. from that university.

Woodson established Black History Week a few years later to commemorate and celebrate the many contributions Black Americans have made to our nation. Black History Week was observed for the first time in February 1926.

For many years, Black History Week was celebrated during the second week of February, to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The week was expanded to a month in 1976, as part of the United States Bicentennial. Ever since, presidents have proclaimed each February as National Black History Month.

This year’s Black History Month theme is “Health and Wellness,” and illustrates the relevance of Black History Month to us all.

February is a time for all Americans to remember and recognize the service and sacrifice of Black Americans throughout our history.

Here at VA, it’s particularly important that we recognize their contributions to our military—from the American Revolution to today—and their enormous service to our country.

Crispus Attucks, who was Black and Native American, is believed to be the first person to die in the Boston Massacre of 1770. The sacrifices of Attucks and others sparked the American Revolution. Abolitionists and their allies would use Attucks’ valor as a symbol against the scourge of slavery.

The colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island enlisted Black Americans in their militias and in the Continental Army—helping to win the Revolution.

During the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment fought valiantly on Morris Island, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, to help preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Because of the 54th Regiment’s courage and notoriety, more Black Americans enlisted in the Union Army.

By 1865, nearly 200,000 Black Americans had served, representing nearly 10% of Union Soldiers. The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment not only fought the Confederacy, but also fought for equal pay and against discrimination by our government.

During World War I, more than 400,000 Black Americans served in combat, many in segregated units. One of them, the “Harlem Hellfighters,” served on the front lines for six months with the French Army.

More than 170 Hellfighters received the Legion of Merit for their individual actions, and the entire unit was awarded the Croix de Guerre, France’s highest military medal.

Two decades later, more than one million Black Americans served during World War II. Many of us are familiar with the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed aviators and combat fighters. But they were not the only heralded unit of Black Americans in World War II.

The Army’s 761st Tank Battalion, nicknamed the “Black Panthers” after the unit’s distinctive insignia, was assigned to General Patton’s Third Army—at his request.

The unit fought with courage and bravery in numerous engagements, including the Battle of the Bulge, critical to defeating the Nazis and winning the war.

Members of the 761st received one Medal of Honor, 11 Silver Stars and nearly 300 Purple Hearts. The battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its gallantry.

The successes and accomplishments of Black troops during World War II blazed a trail for desegregation of military units.

In July 1948, President Truman signed the executive order desegregating the Armed Forces and requiring equal treatment and opportunity—without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.

But these ideals were neither widely practiced nor immediately accepted across the military ranks. Black troops who had defended America’s freedoms through their service abroad often suffered discrimination and violence at home. Vestiges of discrimination exist even to this day.

The 1960s proved to be the beginning of a turning point for Black service members. During the Vietnam War, troops of all races finally fought shoulder to shoulder.

In subsequent decades, the military made more progress, and Black troops’ service and sacrifices helped spearhead change—for all minority communities.

The selfless sacrifices of those Black Veterans and service members have made this country what it is today.

And yet, it’s important to recognize that from the American Revolution to this very day, those Black soldiers and Veterans—who fought for us, for our freedoms, for our nation—were asked to fight for freedoms overseas that they themselves did not yet enjoy here at home.

In many ways, and in many places, those fights against racism, against injustice—for true equity and equality—continue to this day.

We must all do our part to end those fights at VA.

It’s our job to serve Black Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors every bit as well as they have served our country—by delivering timely access to the world-class health care, benefits, and lasting resting place they deserve.

It’s our job to not only right the wrongs of the past, but to act now to right the wrongs of the present.

And it’s our job to remember and respect those Veterans who risked and gave their lives to defend this nation, to better this nation, and to serve this nation—even when this nation didn’t serve them back.

Now, while recognizing that the fight for equality in America is far from over, we can—and should—also celebrate the great strides we have taken.

From the abolition of slavery, to the right to vote, to the end of Jim Crow and passage of the Civil Rights Act, to the election of the first Black President, Vice President, and the appointment of the first Black Secretary of Defense, we have come a long way.

But we still have a long, long way to go.

So, to honor our Veterans’ sacrifices, let us all continue working to make our American ideals of equality a reality, and striving toward that more perfect Union.

Let us recognize and appreciate not only our Black colleagues at VA—but the entire diversity, inclusion, and equity movement who represent the amazing public servants who make VA the great department that it is.

And, most of all, let us fight like hell to serve all our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors who have fought for us. Please, serve everyone with equal honor, fidelity, and compassion, because the United States of America is a quilt of many colors and fabrics. Our Veterans, Black, White, Men, Women, Gay, straight; all- because they deserve the very best, and we can never, ever, give them anything less.  That is our honor. This is our duty, and we must never fail in this mission. May God Bless our Veterans, those in uniform and their families, caregivers, and survivors. Any May God Bless our great country.

Not just today, not just this month, but every day.