Community impact: This cultural recognition Matters...

WHY THESE COLLABORATIVE EXPLORATORY WORKS MATTER:

Collaborative Cultural Research Projects - Project 1 Release November 2024 

My Research activities with the National Organization of Retired State Trooper, Inc. (N.O.R.S.T.) during the past four years have focused on two major cultural historical projects that unearth, examine and honor many unseen voices of First-Generation African American State Troopers who have singularly paid an incomprehensible price for their persistence, courage and unyielding public service during the chaos of a segregated society between 1957-2022. 

Ret. Sgt. David Washington, N.O.R.S.T -Trooper Research Vision & National Leadership

Under the guidance and vision of Ret. Sergeant, David Washington, President of National Organization of Retired State Troopers, Inc. (N.O.R.S.T.), it has been a phenomenal honor to discover and tell only a fragment of fearless African American Retired State Trooper stories, in their own words. Remarkably, the work ethic of each Trailblazing First-Generation African American State Trooper has left us with transformative wisdom to share for all time. 

What Retired African American State Troopers Research Has Taught Me

For four years, I have closely looked into the eyes of more than 350 Retired African American State Troopers, conducted ethnography research surveys and participated in countless hours of personal interviews, to learn about their valuable life-hour moments of law enforcement service spanning 65 years from 1957-2022. 

We Are Learning & Acknowledging Stories of Our African American Heroes

Although, this is only another beginning for their stories across the median, I now know, who they are, and recognize that many Retired African American State Troopers are rapidly entering in their mid-seventies to early eighties. 

A Sense of Urgency - Tell Them Now and Later

This recognition leaves me with an ongoing sense of urgency to act with each telephone call, email or random inquiry I receive from retirees, families and friends. Consequently, each day, I carry with me, a chillingly unsettlingly level of knowledge about the magnitude of mistreatment, disrespect and dehumanizing treatment Retired African American State Troopers have endured that is unknown to the public, to current in-service Troopers and to many retiree Trooper families. 

This remote binded-strength of Retired African American State Troopers experiences has created energies of fundamental Trooper excellence and culture thats yearn to find a way out into the public consciousness for review, and to help us become better in our relationships and service to others in the community. 

Retired Troopers Carry Unspoken Scars and Pains Of Value...

More deeply, I listened to state by state similarities in each Retired African American State Troopers circumstances, felt the harshness of their lingering pain many years later and know the unspoken scars that remain inside their person from the pervasive dehumanized treatment of their era. It is a sickening feeling that makes you wonder how they survived. 

Collectively, it took the herculean courage of each Retired African American State Trooper and an unyielding will of survival that refused to be denied, all at great personal, emotional and physical costs, to succeed. 

"I Watched Them Cry..."

More strikingly, on occasion, I also watched or heard them cry...! The intrinsic effect of these rare emotional moments with Retired African American State Troopers will certainly last forever in my memories.

Families Don't Know Retired African American State Trooper's Experiences...

From my own experiences in law enforcement, I recognize that family members or friends of Retired African American State Troopers rarely have the opportunity to talk in depth about or celebrate the positive ground-breaking accomplishments of their mothers, fathers and relatives, beyond acknowledging the "first" to be hired. 

N.O. R.S.T. is A Family of Voices For Honor...

Consequently, N.O.R.S.T., through its experiential research projects, is talking today as a voice for families, relatives and friends of Retired African American State Troopers to share their  sociologically-rich law enforcement experiences: Selfless-Giving Spirit, Sacrifice, Hard Work, Service Excellence, Awareness, Survival, Respect, and Community-Engagement That Changes Lives.

N.O.R.S.T. is Aspirational For Today...

N.O.R.S.T.'s sharing matters to many people we may never know, yet we are confident that the experiences of Retired African American State Troopers and their valuable legacies of being real "touchable" people in each community is highly relevant and necessary as aspirational guiding characteristics to address the social challenges and complexities of today.

Being first, is to be greatly celebrated by all on every occasion possible, and such an achievement is certainly sufficient for Black History Month. 

N.O. R.S.T. A Step Toward Respecting Individual Social Value Today...

However, going beyond first, is the path my collaborative cultural research projects have taken with input from many sources. This visual conceptual perspective examines the true experiential wealth of Retired African American State Troopers, lifelong enrichments that reside in their service excellence, transferable social knowledge of diverse peoples, their understandings of the changing human condition and provides us with the highest comparative instances of review available today for bringing about immediate public transformations of valuable thoughts, reasonable police practices and advancing engagement in a society that once again values individuals, individual liberties and lawful expressions of individual freedoms for all. 

I encourage you to Watch the video trailer below for the upcoming release of the N.O.R.S.T. website honoring "Unseen Voices Across The Median".

The N.O.R.S.T. website release in November 2024 shares the hidden histories and experiential wisdoms of First Generation African American State Troopers who persisted onto success in a segregated society in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and other Southern states.

N.O.R.S.T. Project 1 Trailer Release : 

https://vimeo.com/909740595?share=copy 

We welcome your comments and continuing support.

Patrick J. O'Guinn, Sr., Esq . Is A Principle at the O'Guinn Law Firm In Columbia, Maryland. www.oguinnlaw.com His Practice Focuses on Maryland High Net-Worth Divorce, Custody and Support Cases; Wrongful Death Bus and Auto Accidents; Estate Administration, and Estate Probate Litigation, the pervasive areas of social legal challenges of our time. 

Connect With Patrick J. O'Guinn, Sr. On LinkedIn Today And Learn How You Can Win In A Relentlessly Chaotic Society...