JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, February 5, 2009 15


Dr. Carter G. Woodson's impact


on Black History Month


From the NAS lax MEO
Office
D r. Carter G.
 Woodson lived
 and wrote in a
time when America con-
sidered itself to be Anglo-
White. African Americans
were kept apart from the
rest of American soci-
ety. At best, they were
treated as second-class
citizens. Woodson, in com-
bating such degradation
and to promote the value
of African American his-
tory, began to publish in
1916, the Journal of Negro
History.
 The observation of "Negro
History Week" began in
1926, an initiative led by
Woodson, to recognize the
contributions of African
Americans to our country
and foster a better under-
standing of the African
American experience.
 He chose the second week
of February to coincide with
the birthdays of abolition-
ist Frederick Douglass and
President Abraham Lincoln,
two people who had a dra-
matic affect on the lives of
African Americans. The
observation was expanded
to include the whole month
in 1976, and has since
become commonly referred
to as Black History or
African American History


Month. It is celebrated and
recognized as a Department
of Defense national obser-
vance.
 What is most telling in
his work is his book, The
Mis-Education of the Negro
(1933), in which he renders
information about his expe-
riences with some of his
fellow "educated negroes."
He decried that some of his
fellow African Americans
would not buy goods and
services from black busi-
nessmen, because the edu-
cated African American was
taught the black person had
no value.
 Educated African
Americans went back
to their community `ill-
equipped to teach each
other, for they acquired a
disdain for their own; thus
they became "mis-educat-
ed."
 Woodson saw the edu-
cation that the African


American practiced in his
time as oppressive. He
believed in self-reliance as
a major component of self-
respect, making the black
person rise above their situ-
ation by their own merit,
and developing the African
American's natural gifts
whatever they maybe. By
being self-reliant and self-
respecting would the black
race be contributors to
American society and solv-
ing American problems? He
believed the! beginning for
the African American had
to start with self-worth.
 The American culture
and the military have made
quite a transformation since
Woodson published his,first
book in 1916. President
Harry S. Truman imple-
mented Executive Order
9981 in 1948, which deseg-
regated the military. Today,
the image of America is not
a monolithic white-only
culture but a multicultural
pluralistic society.
 Instead of melting other
cultures into the melting
pot to form one preferred
culture,- America has
become.a nation in which
the various cultures are
appreciated for themselves
to enhance our country.
Now the American dream is
open to all persons of vari-
ous nationalities, races, cul-
tures and creeds.


ASK THE TAXMAN


By Bob Johnson
Special Contributor


No matter what you.
 hear, the Economic
 Stimulus Payment
you received last year is
not taxable. The reason
you have to put it on your
2008 tax return is to deter-
mine if you received the
correct amount. You can go
to the web site: www.irs.
gov and have the amount
you were entitled calcu-
lated or you can make
an appointment at the free
VITA (Voluntary Income
Tax Assistance) Tax Center
for military taxpayers in
Building 13 at the NAS
Jacksonville main gate.
. To avoid delays in your
refund, -ensure that you
have the-correct amount
you received listed on your
return. Visit the Recovery
Rebate Credit Calculator
if you have forgotten the
amount of your rebate.
You would have received
a Notice 1378 telling you
what your rebate was and
if it was applied to other
debts.
 Do not forget your Leave
and Earnings Statement as
of December 2008. This is
real important if you are
planning on filing Schedule
A for itemized deductions.
 The deductions for state
and local sales taxes have
been renewed and you can
take the sales tax deduc-
tions on non-taxable
income. Also, you can add
the amount you paid in
sales tax on an auto, truck,


motorcycle, etc., on your
return.
 Veterans, you can also use
the non-taxable VA benefits
for additional deductions.
Remember, you must item-
ize to take this deduction.
Bring your information and
let us see which is best for
you.
 If your school failed to
complete Form 1098 show-
ing payments made to the
school on Line 1, check with
the school and have them
issue you a letter or some
other document showing
the correct payments made
to the school that qualify.
You can speed up the pro-
cess by bringing proof of
payment, such as cancelled
checks.
 Remember, without this
proof, we are unable to pro-
cess your return with the
correct amount of credits.
If you are audited, you
would be required to pro-
vide this proof at that time.
Be ahead of the game and
get the information togeth-
er in advance.
 The VITA Tax Center is
free to active duty military,
dependents, retirees and
any other personnel with
valid military ID cards. If
you have a question for the
VITA Taxman, please email
abraham.vigo@navy.mil
and the answer will appear
in the Taxman column in
the next issue of Jax Air
News.
 The NAS Jax VITA Tax
Center is open Monday,
Wednesday and Fri'day


from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
Tuesday and Thursday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1
p.m. Call 542-8039 to make
an appointment.


 RADIO CONTROL
 HEADQUARTERS
 cARS BOATS PLANES *eTRAINS


&


CERTIFIED


4-r