Two historic preservation organizations in the County are collaborating to recognize Black History Month: The History Center of San Luis Obispo County and the South County Historical Society will host military historian Erik Brun to present a lecture, slide show, and walking tour entitled, “They Faced the Rising Sun: The 54th Coast Artillery Regiment On The Central Coast In WWII.” This unique presentation is offered Friday, February 18 at 2 pm at the Community Room in the City-County Library, 995 Palm Street in San Luis Obispo.

The 54th Coast Artillery Regiment deployed on the Central Coast in early 1942, with a battalion of two batteries of long-range artillery to protect our vital coastal oil terminals at Morro Bay and Port San Luis. As these Black soldiers arrived, they almost tripled the African American population in San Luis Obispo County.

The presentation will take about an hour and will also be available on Zoom for virtual attendees. Those attending will then take a short walk to two nearby sites where segregated USO Clubs entertained Black soldiers in World War II, at 879 Morro Street and in the 900 block of Higuera Street.

Erik Brun currently serves at Camp San Luis Obispo in the Californian State Guard’s Military Museum Command. He will be joined by Jim Gregory, author, well respected local educator and President of the South County Historical Society. The experience of Black soldiers during the War will also be explored by the session’s moderator, Leola Dublin Macmillan, Resource Development Specialist at United Way and a member of the History Center of San Luis Obispo Board of Directors.

Countywide protocols for protection from Covid-19 transmission will be applied; participants will be required to wear masks inside the Community Room and to observe social distancing.

For further information, please use the contacts named above or visit their respective web sites.