[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 22 (Thursday, February 3, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H923-H924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING ALTON ADAMS, SR.

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, today, I would like to honor Virgin 
Islander Alton Adams, Sr., and express my gratitude to the U.S. Navy 
for the creation of the Alton Augustus Adams Sr. Award for Emerging 
Composers.
  Adams, born in 1889 in the Virgin Islands, was the first Black 
bandmaster of the U.S. Navy and led an all-Black Navy band during a 
period of racial segregation.
  Adams played the flute and piccolo and composed songs such as ``The 
Governor's Own'' and ``The Virgin Islands March.'' In 1924, Adams 
toured the Nation with his band and won the esteem of fellow 
bandmasters, but his nomination for membership in the American 
Bandmasters Association was denied in 1936. Nearly 70 years later, he 
received the honor, in 2006, and has been recognized for his 
contributions.
  Composers recognizing the work of rising composers whose work 
reflects the legacy of this leader can receive the Alton Augustus Adams 
Sr. Award for Emerging Composers.
  I thank the U.S. Navy, and I thank Alton Adams. Have a blessed Black 
History Month.

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