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Culture fest culminates African American Heritage Month

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Carissa Wolff
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Team Andersen celebrated African American Heritage Observation Month in style with a culture fest hosted by the base's African American Heritage Observation Month committee at the base exchange Feb. 21.

Nearly 200 Team Andersen volunteers came together to spread knowledge of African American culture through several events during this year's culture fest. The events included a fashion show, a presentation by the Guam Greek Council, poetry reading, singing performances, dance performances and various history presentations.

The event also featured several information booths with topics ranging from health information to African American entrepreneurs.

"As a diverse branch of the military, it's important to know co-workers' backgrounds and history," said Maj. Spring Myers, 36th Medical Operations Squadron and African American Heritage Observation Month Committee Chairperson. "Knowing this kind of information fosters better communication and interpersonal skills in an office setting. This is one of the reasons the committee worked hard to give Andersen a glimpse into African American culture."

In addition to providing events geared to adults, the committee also focused on children by hosting a Learnabration event at Andersen Elementary School Feb. 20. About 30 volunteers taught students African American culture and history in the fields of science, sports health, art and more.

"Learnabration was an opportunity to expose children to the different aspects of African American heritage," said Maj. Robert Crable Jr., a Learnabration volunteer. "The activities were hands on, which allowed the children to absorb more of the information."

While the culture fest culminated Andersen's African American History Observation Month, other events the committee hosted were the Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Breakfast, the Martin Luther King Jr. 5K, the Martin Luther King Jr. Golf Tournament, movie showings at Andersen's Outdoor Movie Night events in February, and essay and art contests.

"I'm really happy about the support from the base the committee has [received]," Major Myers said. "It's really rewarding in the sense that some people who have never came in contact with our culture, now know a little about it due to the culture fest held here."