For release: 02/11/03
Release #: 03-023

NASA Marshall Center observes Black History Month in February

The Marshall Center is observing Black History Month with several special events. Upcoming is a ceremony Thursday featuring Dr. Sandral Hullett, a noted Alabama health expert. News media interested in covering these events should contact the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034.

What: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., marks Black History Month with a series of events designed to honor the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans. The theme for this year's observance is "The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections."

Events: 

"Tuskegee Airmen Experience": 1:30-2:30 p.m. CST, Feb. 12, Bldg. 4200, P110, the Marshall Center. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen -- the first African-American flying unit in the U.S. Army Air Corps -- will be shared with Marshall Center employees. Speakers are expected to include:

• Val R. Archer, who served in World War II as an aircraft maintenance technician for the 332nd Fighter Group and is currently executive secretary for the Atlanta, Ga., chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen;
• Wilbur G. Mason, a civilian storekeeper at Tuskegee Army Airfield during World War II, and currently a member of the Atlanta chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen; and
• Retired Lt. Col. Sydney J. Wolfe, former director of public affairs for the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, now serving the Atlanta chapter as chairman of the speaker's bureau.

The event is co-sponsored by The Boeing Company in Huntsville.

Lunch-N-Learn: 12-1 p.m. CST, Feb. 18, Bldg. 4200, P110, the Marshall Center. The event includes a discussion of the history, crafts, tribal customs and the use of natural resources in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa

Closing ceremony: 10:30 -11:30 a.m., Feb. 27, Bldg. 4200, Morris Auditorium, the Marshall Center. Dr. Sandral Hullett, chief executive officer of Cooper Green Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., will speak. Hullett also serves as medical director of the Jefferson Health System -- an association of medical service providers at Cooper Green Hospital and Jefferson Outpatient Care in Jefferson County, Ala. Hullett, an emeritus trustee of the University of Alabama, served 19 years on the university's board of trustees.

To attend: News media interested in covering these events should contact the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034. Media must report to Gate 1, Martin Road exit at South Memorial Parkway. Vehicles are subject to security search at the gate. News media will need two photo identifications and proof of car insurance. Visitor parking is available in front of Bldg. 4200 on the southwest side.

For supporting materials for this news release - such as photographs, fact sheets, video and audio files and more - please visit the NASA Marshall Center Newsroom Web site at www.msfc.nasa.gov/news.

For more information:
Media advisory
Diversity news Web site