A three color etching (22 "x 30"). This etching contains copies of original letters from Colonel Young's home files and also a copy of the front of Young's funeral service program.

African American’s “Hidden Legacy of Dignity” is what you have been viewing on this website. Colonel Charles Young and so many black Americans of his generation – both men and women - are the Americans of African decent whose shoulders Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks stood on. These are the all-but-forgotten people who paved the way for the Civil Rights movement. These black men and women represent a generation whose contribution to America have been seldom heralded…they represent a segment of America History that the most of our young people have never seen or head about. They linger on the margins of our national history books. But now - more than ever - is the time to bring them out of the shadows into our national consciousness so that their voices can be heard. For they are healing voices that can help us to build bridges across our racial divides.

Yes, we can heal the wounds of yesterday (we can heal our "Achilles Heel") and we must, so that our America of tomorrow can demonstrate to the rest of the world that we truly believe in the American creed that states that “All People are Created Equal”. Celebrating the diversity of people of different ethnic backgrounds is our strength in America and an example that we can set for the rest of the world. For if we cannot make racial equality a reality in today’s America, where else in the world can it work with such a diverse population? For if we fail our children and do not make racial equality a reality in today’s America, we are destined to become senseless casualties of personal wars against ourselves.

America, we need to wake up and look back because the past is always with us. Let us remove the blinders of our personal denial, and begin to look at one another with more understanding and less animosity for the continuance of hate is a self-destructive act.

Just remember that the "Nordic - Master Race" ideology of white supremacy upheld by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist organizations was not only anti-Black but also, especially, anti-Semitic. Additionally, they were also anti-all peoples of color including, Asians, Indians, Indigenous Australians, and Arabs. Their hate lists also includes Southern Europeans such as Portuguese, Greeks, Spanish, and Italians, in addition to eastern Europeans such as Slavs, Ukrainians and the Polish. All of these peoples were considered inferior by the "Nordic- Master Race" white supremacists. In addition, the term "Progressive Conservatism" originated from within the Klu Klux Klan "Credo."

Colonel Young’s story is one that will help us understand how we can all rise above the segregative thinking that has been crippling us for far too many years. His story can open us up to a serious dialogue about race for We must look to a future where mutual respect of one race for another becomes the norm. A future where we can become a nation that has constructed bridges of understanding between the racial divides. For there is truly only one true race, the HUMAN RACE. In today's global society, to believe in the myth of racial superiority or racial inferiority, is just as ridiculous as still believing that the world is flat.

Today, we are a nation at many crossroads…some roads lead to continued despair and hatred, but other roads lead to reconciliation, understanding, and hope. And we must understand that we are also a nation at many crossroads in the opinions of the peoples of the world.

Of course, to live in a racist society and not become a racist is no easy feat. However, I have just given you the life story of an American who did just that. For Colonel Charles Young remained loyal to both his country and to his race during one of the most racially charged periods in American history, and he chose not to hate. So let his life's story become a meaningful example for all Americans.