Pres. Obama closed his commencement address to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy today by telling cadets the story of racist, murderous “white mobs” that destroyed African America businesses back in 1921.
Obama told the audience of how the first African-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard was victimized by the white mobs when she was six year old:
“And I want to leave you with a story that captures the persistence and the patriotism that this work requires, because this is a nation made up of folks who know how to do hard things. Down in the front row is Dr. Olivia Hooker.
“In 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when she was just six years old, her African American community was attacked by white mobs -- it was a horrific racial incident. And hundreds of innocent African Americans were killed. The mobs destroyed her father’s clothing store. They looted her house. They even burned the little clothes for her doll.
“And Olivia could have given in to bitterness. She could have been pessimistic about her country. Instead, she made it better. So in World War II, she enlisted as a SPAR, becoming the first African American woman in the Coast Guard. (Applause.) As a yeoman in Boston, she served with distinction. By the time the war was won, she was discharged, she was a petty officer second class.
“With the GI Bill, Olivia earned her master’s, then her doctorate. She has been a professor and mentor to her students, a passionate advocate for Americans with disabilities, a psychologist counseling young children, a caregiver at the height of the AIDS epidemic, a tireless voice for justice and equality. A few months ago, Olivia turned 100 years old.
“So, Olivia, you’re going to have to tell us you’re secret. She’s still as sharp as they come, and as fearless.”