More on Mr. John N. Brown (26 Jul 10)

I spent most of my day today taking images of military personnel — mostly Army, for that’s who’s paying my bill for being here — interacting and working with Scouting personnel. I will put them all onto a CD and provide them to Michele, the person tasked with gathering up those images for the Task Force’s public affairs team.

However, I did sit down and had one of the best conversations between a Black volunteer and myself at the BSA’s VIP area at Jamboree headquarters. I was originally there to take images of the Task Force Commander as he came by to officially say “hello” to those his Joint Task Force of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coasties, Airmen and civilians were supporting for the next two weeks.

After the General left, John Brown wanted to talk with me. I was not disappointed.

Who, you may ask, is John Brown? Here’s his bio, provided by John (and which I’ve added some items because, well, you can’t be a Black man involved in Scouting at the regional or national level without knowing this excellent gentleman and fellow Eagle Scout!)

John has been in Scouting for several decades. He has given his time, energy and expertise by serving on NINE National Jamboree staffs, 16 National Order of the Arrow Conferences, and three World Jamborees. He was the Scoutmaster for the Chicago Area/Central Region contingent at the World Jamboree in Japan.

The BSA has recognized this man for his dedication and devotion to the program and to youth by presenting him with several awards. He earned his Eagle Scout medal, the God and Country medal and several other awards as a youth member of Troop 1542, chartered to the Woodlawn AME Church in Chicago. He was selected by his lodge to become a Vigil Honor member. He received the District Award of Merit, the Silver Beaver Award (for service to youth on a local Council basis) and the old East Central Region awarded him the Silver Antelope Award (for service to youth on a regional basis). John is also a holder of the Order of the Arrow’s Distinguished Service Award and the Order of the Arrow’s Founders Award.

A Wood Badge holder, John is also a life member of the National Eagle Scout and Philmont Staff Associations. I knew John first as a member of the Urban-Rural (now called the ScoutReach) Committee but many probably know him as a member of the BSA’s National Advancement Committee.

In addition to all of this, he is a deacon and member of New Faith Baptist Church, in Matterson Illinois; he was a teacher for many years in the Chicago Public School system and even served for a period of time in our armed forces.

As John and I talked, I knew that we had a lot of shared experiences growing up. We both bit our tongues at outright and hidden racism. We were both uncontrollably excited when we went camping for the first times in our lives, at a great personal risk because back in our times, Blacks did not go out into the woods to “camp” and “be in the outdoors” — not without some sort of protection against those evil folk who would rather see a black kid dead than to be in Scouting.

He can recall — with great accuracy seeing how he is almost 80 years old today — the first Blacks to receive some of Scouting’s highest and most coveted awards. He shook hands with many of them.

This is also a man who just by his personal enthusiam, WANT YOU to be a part of Scouting today. He told me that too many Black kids are put off by much of the trappings of Scouting — but they WANT TO BE SCOUTS, just like he wanted to be a Scout so bad he could TASTE it.

I felt the same way.

As I told him about my Ordeal and how I literally cried myself to sleep — not out of fear but out of pride and happyness, he told me “I can hear it in your voice, Mike. You keep that story close to your heart — and when things get tough, you use that to get over it.”

He asked me if I was a Vigil Honor member, and I told him, “No sir, I’m not.” He simply said “You’ll get there some day…” and smiled at me.

What got us talking? Him asking me about Schabish Gmund and Germany? He said that he was stationed in Germany with an Army field artillery unit — 499th. I asked him “Hardt Kaserne or Bismardt Kaserne?”

“You know EXACTLY where it is…” he exclamed. “Yes, sir, I was just there about a year ago. Took some photos. Bismardt is completely gone but Hardt is now a center for wayward youth.”

He was telling me about the experiences he had — and then we had to break it off because I was not really supposed to be in there unless I had “a mission”. When I showed him the press pass to take military photos, he then found his classmate and close friend Norvalle Carter. We went outside the VIP tent area and stood around for another hour trading stories and sharing how truly special it is to be Black and in Scouting.

I promised to come back in a Scouting uniform later in the week — I have two days off — and to take photos with the two of them AND to ask them both if they would not mind signing a poster illustrating a “reunion” of Scouts then and now….

This day was SO GOOD I could not go to sleep when I returned back to my hotel room…I stayed up almost all night long, writing and saving my thoughts of this day.

Then the power went out in my room and I lost it all. A reminder to myself: BACK UP EVERYTHING FREQUENTLY!!

Thank you, Mr. John Norman Brown, for being an EXCELLENT role model for me and every other Black or Brown or Orange or Beige or White kid!!