On Monday night, a wrong more than 60-years-old was righted in the gym of Mountain View Lutheran Church. The Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America recognized the achievement of 75-year-old Samuel Lynn Jones who became an Eagle Scout at the age of 15, but was denied public recognition. The reason? He did not come from a model African-American home according to a white scoutmaster. Jones was raised by a single mother in public housing.
"I literally just shut down on it. I didn't try to figure it out. I didn't try to study it. I didn't try to fight for it," Jones said of being denied the public recognition. However, the lessons Jones learned through Boy Scouts (leadership, accountability, responsiblity) stuck with him throughout his life.
"We never went on vacation as my mother was determined to pull us out of the projects. The Boy Scouts gave me the opportunity to achieve my dreams and complemented my mother's mandate that 'we were going to make it, through discipline, grit and hard work,'" Jones said.
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