HUDSON (AP) — The head of an American Legion post in northeast Ohio has stepped down after organizers of a Memorial Day ceremony silenced a speech about freed Black slaves honoring soldiers after the Civil War.
UPDATE 6/5/21 8:00 a.m.
American Legion leaders also suspended the post’s charter on Friday and are taking steps to close it.
The moves come in the wake of intense criticism over the decision to censor retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter at the ceremony in Hudson.
Organizers turned off the Kemter’s microphone when he began recalling how freed Black slaves honored fallen soldiers after the Civil War.
Kemter says he wanted to share the history of what led to Memorial Day.
But one of the event’s organizers in Hudson says that wasn’t relevant to the program’s theme of honoring veterans from the city.
Kemter’s microphone was cut for two minutes of his 11-minute speech.
He says he was disappointed, saying this was not the same country he fought for.