U.S. military members and civilians at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (CLDJ), attended a grand finale of activities February 26, 2010 at the camp's 11 Degrees North facility to culminate the celebration of Black History Month.

The camp's Multicultural Heritage Committee produced a night filled with songs, speeches, presentations, and dance; each highlighting African-American contributions throughout history.

Camp Lemonnier Commanding Officer, Captain William Finn, gave opening remarks emphasizing the more than 70,000 African-Americans currently serving in the Navy with distinction. "We are a great military and we are a great nation because of our diversity," Finn said.

During the celebration, Lieutenant Commander Salewa Oseni, a Expeditionary Medical Facility staff surgeon, highlighted pioneers such as Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the first successful open heart surgery, and Charles Richard Drew, who applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II.

Army Major Yvonne Unigwe, the humanitarian assistance officer for the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion, presented African-American music, showcasing it as a successful medium to bring people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds together throughout history.

"The event had a lot of pieces but the entire [multicultural heritage] committee really pulled together in making this a very successful program," said Petty Officer 1st Class Crystal Campos, the Multicultural Heritage Committee president.

The audience became active participants during the activity titled "Who am I?" Attendees were given an opportunity to call out the name of nine famous African-Americans whose personal achievements were read aloud including Harriett Tubman, Carl Brashear and Bill Cosby.

To conclude the event, hundreds of service members and civilians locked arms for a "Unity Walk" across the camp conjointly with others representing U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), based in Stuttgart, Germany. (See related story at http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=4083& and http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=4084&. Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/africom/sets/72157623406775353/ to see photos of AFRICOM's unity walk.)