An American Legion official from Hudson, Ohio resigned his leadership role Friday amid the backlash for muting a veteran’s microphone during his Memorial Day speech.
05.06.2021 - US, United States - Common Dreams Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter attempted to share the history of Memorial Day at an event in Hudson, Ohio on Monday, noting that freed black slaves played a key role in marking the holiday after the Civil War. Organizers cut his mic, saying Kemter s discussion of Black history was not relevant. (Image by screenshot)
A 77-year-old veteran Army medic accused organizers of an American Legion Memorial Day event of censoring him on Wednesday, days after his microphone was cut as he attempted to share how the holiday was originally celebrated by Black people who had been enslaved.
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The head of an American Legion post in Ohio stepped down after he cut a veteran’s microphone during a speech Monday referencing how Black people organized the earliest Memorial Day commemoration on record, according to the veterans group. Jim Garrison resigned after he was asked by Legion officials, the American Legion Department of Ohio said in a statement Friday. The veterans group said Garrison and Cindy Suchan, chair of the Memorial Day parade committee and president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, decided to “censor” retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter in a “premeditated” move. Kemter shared his Memorial Day speech in advance with Suchan, who asked him to remove a part of his speech, and he didn’t, according to the department.
Audio cut in Memorial Day speech
By Phil Keren - Akron Beacon Journal
In this image captured from Hudson Community Television, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter checks to see if the microphone is functioning after organizers turned off audio during a portion of his Memorial Day speech.
HUDSON, Ohio Organizers of a Memorial Day ceremony turned off a speaker’s microphone when the former U.S. Army officer began talking about how freed Black slaves had honored fallen soldiers soon after the Civil War.
A ceremony organizer turned off the microphone when the event’s keynote speaker, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter, began sharing a story about freed Black slaves honoring deceased soldiers shortly after the end of the Civil War.
HUDSON, Ohio (AP) â Organizers of a Memorial Day ceremony turned off a speakerâs microphone when the former U.S. Army officer began talking about how freed Black slaves had honored fallen soldiers soon after the Civil War.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter said he included the story in his speech because he wanted to share the history of how Memorial Day originated.
But organizers of the ceremony in Hudson, Ohio, said that part of the speech was not relevant to the program s theme of honoring the city s veterans.
Cindy Suchan, chair of the Memorial Day parade committee and president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said it was either she or Jim Garrison, adjutant of the American Legion Post 464, who turned down the audio, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.