![]() We will continue to educate the value of diversity. “We are deeply saddened by this and stand in unity and solidarity with the black community and all peoples of race, color, religion, sex, and gender, so that those who are exclusive of such persons will know that this behavior is not acceptable in The American Legion, in our homes, our hearts, our communities, in private, public, or anywhere. The American Legion Department of Ohio concluded the news release by stating: Suchan had told the Akron Beacon Journal that the volume was turned down during part of Kemter’s speech because “it was not relevant to our program for the day” and the “theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans.” “These actions of Post 464, through its authorized representatives or officers in attempting to censor or suppress that portion of LTC Kemters’ speech and effectively doing so by reducing the speaker system volume, constitutes a violation of the ideals and purposes of the American Legion,” the release states. Suchan and Garrison “knew exactly when to turn the volume down and when to turn it back up,” the American Legion Department of Ohio release stated.īefore the event, Kemter gave a copy of the speech to Suchan, who asked him to remove the specific part of the speech about how newly freed black slaves first commemorated Memorial Day after the Civil War. Memorial Day 2021 from Hudson Community Television on Vimeo. Kemter's microphone is cut off at around the 50-minute mark. Watch the video of Kemter's speech in the video player below, as recorded by Hudson Community Television. Just before Kemter expanded on how the Black community paid tribute to Union troops, his microphone was cut off - which Kemter recognized - but he kept going and spoke louder. News 5 was provided an original copy of Kemter's complete speech. Still, her case is being handled by the American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio.ĭuring his Memorial Day speech, Kemter referenced historians from Harvard when he said, “Memorial Day was first commemorated by an organized group of freed black slaves less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered." ![]() “We discovered that the censoring that occurred at the Memorial Day Ceremony in Hudson, Ohio, sponsored by Hudson American Legion Post 464, was premeditated and planned by Jim Garrison and Cindy Suchan."Īmerican Legion officials told News 5 partner the Akron Beacon Journal that Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day Parade Committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, has not resigned. “The American Legion Department of Ohio does not hold space for members, veterans, or families of veterans who believe that censoring black history is acceptable behavior,” the release states. Barnard Kemter’s speech at Markillie Cemetery on Memorial Day, has also resigned as a post officer, and the American Legion has demanded that he resign his membership altogether. Jim Garrison, the Hudson American Legion’s post officer and the man who was discovered to have censored retired Army Lt. “Veterans have done everything we have asked of them during their service to this country, and this tarnished what should have been a celebration of their service,” the statement said.HUDSON, Ohio - According to an American Legion Department of Ohio news release, the Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion, whose post officer cut the microphone of a veteran as he spoke about Memorial Day’s connection to Black history during a speech on Memorial Day, has been suspended pending permanent closure. The decision to turn off the audio disrespected Kemter and all veterans, Hudson’s mayor and City Council said in a statement, which also said the city is committed to addressing issues of systemic racism and intolerance. “This is not the same country I fought for,” said Kemter, who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War. ![]() Kemter said he was disappointed that the organizers silenced two minutes of his 11-minute speech, during which he talked about how former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial. Kemter said he didn’t see the suggested changes in time to rewrite the speech and talked with a Hudson public official who told him not to change it. In the days before the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed the speech and asked Kemter to remove certain portions. We regret any actions taken that detracts from this important message.” “We salute LTC Kemter’s service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. “The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution,” the organization’s national commander, James W. The Ohio American Legion said Thursday that it was investigating.
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