The crew of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) celebrated Black History Month Feb. 24, in a ceremony at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego.

The event recognized the achievements of African American service members, raised awareness of Black History Month, and celebrated the heritage committee’s theme of, “Honoring the Past, Securing the Future.”

Members of the heritage committee read biographies of notable African American heroes, including John Henry Turpin, a survivor of the USS Maine disaster in 1898; the “Six Triple Eight,” an all-African-American group of 824 enlisted women and 31 officers who cleared a two-year backlog of mail for Americans stationed in Europe; and the U.S. Army 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, an all-African-American unit that served in World War II.

This was followed by remarks from the guest speaker, Operations Specialist 3rd Class Allen Favian, who shared reflections on several African American Navy veterans and groups.

“One of our greatest strengths is our diversity,” said Favian. “Our vast cultures, religions, race, genders, and orientations give us a distinct advantage that many other militaries don’t have. We have the ability to draw on those differences and look at problems from multiple perspectives. Never forget, we fight together as a unified Navy. Our unique experiences and perspectives make us stronger and more cohesive.”

Favian says he joined the heritage committee in part because he felt it was his responsibility to bring awareness to different cultures and give each an accurate representation. He feels honored that his fellow members felt he was able to properly represent his culture.

“I think the heritage committee does a good job of refreshing everyone on things they may not know or should know about other cultures,” said Favian. “I want to make sure that nobody feels unrepresented, and that everyone feels like, no matter where they came from, they’re accepted, and everyone is a valued member of the military.”

The commanding officer, Capt. G. S. Thoroman, concluded the ceremony by reading from the biography of retired Rear Adm. Earl Gay, who he said was a personal mentor to him. He also offered his support for African-American Naval heroes past and present.

“I think the title, honoring the past, is truly important from a service perspective,” said Thoroman. “Some of the examples that were given; those sailors grew up in a different Navy than we’re in today. A lot of those sailors could not serve like we serve today; they had limitations based on the time that they served.”

Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Choyau Troutman, heritage committee coordinator and diversity coordinator for the ship oversaw the event.

“A lot of coordination actually goes into this ceremony,” said Troutman, “even though the ceremony is at max 45 minutes. Our first priority is mission, so to find the time to get everybody on the ship together is an amazing feat to get it done month after month.”

Troutman has served on the committee for two years and puts on ceremonies for various groups and cultures throughout the year. He takes pride in his efforts to create an environment where there is diversity and inclusion.

“The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to Black History Month,” Troutman said, ”but in our actual ceremony we talked about a lot of black excellence among military members from the past even up until today.

"For me it gives a time of reflection on the past achievements of African-Americans, because I think in today’s fast-moving age, we sometimes don’t take time to look at the past and look at the things that got us to this point.”

Black History Month is observed nationally during the month of February.

USS Bonhomme Richard is in its homeport of San Diego.

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