Question: What do a 17 year old, a U.S. Coast Guard, and Black History Month all have in common?

Answer: ...Well, it's not something you would find on Jeopardy!

It all began three years ago with Chioma Uzoigwe, a student from J.H.S 226 in Queens. She had to write a paper on a famous African-American for Black History Month. Instead of following the crowd and choosing the normal heroes (Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, etc.), she chose U. S. Coast Guard Capt. Michael Healy.

Michael Healy was born in 1839 to a white Irish immigrant planter in Georgia and a slave mother. From 1892 to 1895, he saved Eskimos in Alaska from starvation by ferrying more than 500 reindeer from Siberia, along with people to help train the Eskimos to become better farmers. Chioma found this to be very heroic and decided to start a letter writing campaign. She requested that a vessel be named after Michael Healy. Eight hundred of her fellow classmates agreed and joined Chioma in her crusade. The U.S. Coast Guard also liked the idea and contacted her, promising that the ship would be finished by 1997.

As promised in 1997, Chioma Uzoigwe and her family were invited down to New Orleans for an all expense paid trip to watch the launching of "The Healy". This event took place on November 15, it was also named a holiday in Alaska. Several of Michael Healy's descendants, the Senator of Alaska and his wife, and several members of the U.S. Coast Guard attended this historic event, as well as many others.

"The Healy" is currently being used for naval research in Alaska until the year 2000; when it will hopefully be completely built and used as Alaska's largest ice-cutting ship.

When Chioma was asked about how she felt about all of the media attention, she calmly replied "I was overwhelmed by all the press but wasn't nervous. It took lots of luck and good timing."

   Mike and Lamont interviewing Chioma

Michael Healy

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