FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The lives and accomplishments of Black war heroes, politicians, poets, inventors, athletes, entertainers and more were celebrated during a Black History Month commemoration Feb. 16 at the McNamara Headquarters Complex auditorium and gallery.
The gallery featured paintings, photographs, books and music from the personal collection of Gwendolyn Adams, the Defense Logistics Agency’s chief of protocol and special events.
“African American history and Black history is American history. I think that it’s relevant in that it should always be in existence,” Adams said.
The first commemoration since the pandemic also honored Civil Rights leaders, historic Black colleges and universities, and even Black love with photos of weddings and celebrations of Black DLA employees and their families.
Black History has been part of the fabric of America from the beginning, said Evelyn Prince, supervisory management analyst at DLA.
“This exhibit is really special because it’s not just showing historical figures and past history, it’s also showing our current DLA Black influencers and leaders who are right here at DLA or who recently retired or moved on,” Prince said.
At the exhibit, she learned that former DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams is now the president of Hampton University in Virginia, which is one of the HBCUs.
Some of the collection was especially personal for Adams and included displays highlighting her daughters Sydney, who is a professional illustrator, and Shelby, who was the first Black female student body president at George Mason University.
Shelby, who helped her mother set up the exhibit, is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She said its history is what appealed to her, and she wants to continue its legacy of service to the community.
“The history behind AKA and the majority of fraternities and sororities were all based on bringing Black people together at a time when there was much isolation during the early 1900s, when there was a lot of segregation, racism and bigotry,” Shelby said. “It was a place where African Americans could come together and pursue the changes that they wanted to see in the world by committing to service and scholarship.”
Facts about Black figures in history were on display in the auditorium, and a lunch celebrating Southern cuisine was served in the HQC Café during the event.
The commemoration was a joint effort by the DLA Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Office, DLA Protocol, and McNamara Headquarters Complex Morale, Welfare and Recreation.