Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow airmen and guardians. Today I’d like to start out by telling you a story…
In the 1930s there was once a boy named Henry who lived with his family in Talulla, Louisiana. One morning, Henry woke up to find his father gone. Henry was the oldest of 6 children which was important because his mom, Katie, didn’t have an education or any chance of getting a well-paying job where they lived in Tallulah due to racial and gender barriers. So without a Father in the house, Henry soon realized that he had to step up and bring in money to help his family survive as the oldest child. He dropped out of school after the 6th grade and started working at the same mill as his father did before his disappearance. He later found out that his father, Henry, Sr., was run out of town by a lynch mob who was set on hanging him for not minding his place as a negro in the community.