Judged based on the color of their skin.
Via Defense Gov
Prominent African-Americans from all walks of life have served as a bridge between the past and today, as well as a bridge to the future, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said here Feb. 6.
The Air Force served the host of the 10th annual Stars and Stripes recognition dinner, an event that recognizes top-performing African-American military and civilian leaders in the armed forces.
The dinner is held concurrently with the Black Engineer of the Year Award, or BEYA, STEM conference, now in its 29th year. STEM is shorthand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Drawing from Oprah Winfrey’s Role Models
Speaking before an audience of active and retired service members, as well as members of the defense contracting community and college students, James drew on a quote from television personality Oprah Winfrey, who once said her success has come from the stories of history-making African-American women she calls “bridges.”
Among those women are Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Madame C. J. Walker and Fannie Lou Hamer. […]
During the Stars and Stripes event, senior African-American leaders from each military service were recognized for outstanding performance. Those recognized include:
— Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., director of operations, Strategic and Nuclear Integrations Headquarters, Ramstein Air Base, Germany;
— Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jacob P. Dunbar, installations and mission support chief enlisted manager, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida;
— Arthur G. Hatcher Jr., director of communications, Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana;
— Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Bertram Providence, command surgeon for U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina;
— Marine Corps Lt. Col. Nick I. Brown, commander of Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan;
— Navy Capt. Cedric E. Pringle, director of Senate liaison, U.S. Navy Office of Legislative Affairs; and
— Coast Guard Capt. Kenneth D. Ivery, chief of the Surface Forces Logistics Center, Norfolk, Virginia.
The Stars and Stripes recognition dinner is not associated with the Stars and Stripes news service.