b'Hank Bolden has Earned his Degreefrom BlackMansStreet.today animals. 4,000 feet in the air. Blinding light. Without explanation, Bolden andIntenseheat.Adeafeningsound asamonstrousmushroomcloud otherBlackmenwereorderedto A t 86, Hank Bolden finally earnedmarch miles into the desert and getbillowedbeforethem,21,500feet his degree from the Hartt Schoolinto a trench. Looking at the otherhigh.attheUniversityofHartfordafteryoungmensurroundinghim,heYou could see bone in you from serving in the Army in an all-Blackrealized they all had two things intheexposure.Youcouldseeyour unitthatwaspurposelyexposedcommon: They were all Black, andskeleton, he said.to radiation from a nuclear atomicnoneofthemhadanyideawhatBoldenandtheothermenwere bombblast."Theywantedtoseewas coming next. orderednevertotellanyonewhat how live soldiers would stand up toThey tell you to cover your eyes,theyexperienced.Thegovernment radiation," said Bolden.herecalled."Weweredressedinestimatedthatbetween400,000 Hisoutfitwascomprisedof800fatiguesandwerejust2.8milesand550,000servicemembers men. President Harry Truman abol- fromgroundzerooftheatomicparticipatedinnucleartestsheld ishedall-Blackunitsin1954andbomb drop." between 1946 and 1992. The tests 1955, but Bolden said racism per- After a countdown blared throughwerepartofaneffortthatwas sisted nonetheless.aloudspeaker,therewasabriefknown as Operation Teapot.OnFebruary18,1955,Bolden\'smoment of unsettling silence. Then,Boldensufferedfromcanceras troops were ordered to the NevadaitcameaMark6nuclearbomba result of radiation exposure, but DesertTestSitewheretheArmydropped from a B-36 airplane flyingmany of the other soldiers died of conductedtestswithsoldiersandcancer,neverknowingthatthey might have been helped by the gov-ernment to secure needed medical care.President Bill Clinton established the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation and issued a formal apol-ogy to the atomic bomb veterans on October 13, 1995.Many atomic veterans had no ideaYou could see bone the order to keep secret what theyin you from the hadexperiencedhadbeenlifted anddiedofcancerwithouteverexposure. You could tellingtheirdoctors.ButBolden discovered this news by reading thesee your skeleton.Internet. OnSunday,May14,2023,the now 86-year-olds goal was achieved and celebrated at the XL Center in Hartford.HenryBolden,summacum laude, a voice boomed as applause filledtheair.Inacapandgown,diploma with honors. His children, Bolden smiled as he walked onstagegrandchildren, and wife of over 63 toaccepthisBachelorofMusicyears, Cynthia, cheered proudly.COLORADO SPRINGSBODY OF CHRIST NEWS JULY 2023 follow us onfacebook 13'