Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News)- The 75th Anniversary of the Desegregation of the US Armed Forces took place in the National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University. Those who attended, celebrated the milestone and were able to speak freely about history and problems still present today.
Many Black veterans of the audience stood up and told stories about when they served, and struggles they had to conquer when not treated fairly.
One gentleman opened up about not receiving pay for four months, another expressed not being able to move up in rank, another said his and others like him had their mail delayed or just “lost.” All of this instances of misfortune just because of the color of their skin.
Authors Scott Pitoniak and Rick Burton, of the novel “Invisible No More”, attended the anniversary and were able to talk about a forgotten story that they brought back to surface.
“Invisible No More” is a novel about the first star Black student-athlete at Syracuse University. A dominant player in both basketball and football.
“Singh is the greatest athlete you’ve never heard of- and so much more,” Pitoniak and Burton wrote.
Singh joined the U.S Army Air Corps and was assigned to the segregated armed forces’ only pilots training program for African Americans: The Tuskegee Airmen
“He didn’t have full fledged rights as an American citizen, yet he gave his life for our country in which he didn’t have those full fledged rights,” Burton said.
Pitoniak and Burton express the enormity of stories yet to be told and yet to be heard. And that is clear even in the K.G Tan Auditorium of Syracuse.
