Naval Academy field house was dedicated in honor of the first African American graduate.

The new sports complex at the U.S. Naval Academy was dedicated Saturday 10 May 2008 in honor of the academy’s first African American graduate.

Retired Navy LCDR Wesley Brown graduated in 1949 and now lives in Washington. LCDR Brown was celebrated as a pioneer of racial justice as the Naval Academy opened the 140,000-square-foot sports complex.

The 81 year old resident of Washington, D.C. said using his name for the new $45 million field house is symbolic and indicates the Navy’s dedication to diversity. He said that the honor was “the most wonderful moment” of his life.

About 4 percent of the academy’s 4,000 current midshipmen are Black. The naming of the field house coincides with efforts to boost minority enrollment.

The $50 million Wesley A. Brown Field House is the new home of the Naval Academy’s track and field teams. It also will serve as the practice space for the football and women’s volleyball teams.

LCDR Brown is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and served in the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps.
(Navy Times)