Staff Sergeant Spencer Logan
TOC has a diverse history, while some documentation remains limited prior to 1986. However, we are proud to celebrate the legacy of Spencer Logan, an executive board member and TOC chair from 1970-1971.
Staff Sergeant Spencer Logan worked for the Department of Army and retired from the National Institutes of Health. We do know he was married, lived in Annapolis, MD and was very active in the black community, particularly with the Boy Scouts. He grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was active in the Hi-Y Club (a high school organization connected with the activities of the YMCA. He was the first Negro in his HS honored by membership. (His obituary is available in The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/01/19/spencer-logan-former-jobs-deputy-at-nih/f373d832-cadf-4532-875b-f5b718d2730b/.) Spencer Logan also authored the book, “A Negro’s Face in America”.
Dick Indelicato, a former TOC Executive Board member and Spencer Logan Leadership Award recipient has provided us with insights as to why TOC named its most prestigious award after Spencer Logan. Dick writes:
Dick Indelicato
Former TOC Board Member
Spencer Logan was the Training Manager at the Department of Army, Office of the Secretary at the Pentagon when I met him in 1962. He was an African American and had been with the Army in field positions for most of this career with slow career progression. His big break, as he put it, was to come to Washington, D.C. as a GS-13. I was a Management Intern for the Army and he was the intern Program Coordinator. He was to all interns over several years a mentor, career coach and counselor. Every intern had a special bond and affection for him. He kept track of all interns and you would get a call from him a couple of times a year for updates on your career. He used that information to publish an informal newsletter for all the interns. He also had an annual summer cookout at his house in Annapolis for the interns and their families. I remember large numbers of interns, spouses and children turning out for the annual bash. It was great fellowship and networking. He was active in TOC until his death. He finished the last few years of his federal career at the National Institutes of Health as a GS-14. His first love was the Army Interns. He stayed in touch with all of us until his illness and death. After his death, TOC established the Spencer Logan Award. I was active in the TOC leadership and promoted the award. Spencer Logan represented the best of what human resource development is all about. He was a role model, friend, mentor career coach and counselor to all who came in contact with him regardless of race, color or gender. He is one of the five people I want to see in heaven.
The Spencer Logan Leadership Award is presented to senior trainers who, during their careers, (1) brought innovation and creativity to the human resource development/education community; (2) initiated actions that had an impact beyond their organizations; (3) contributed substantially to TOC, and (4) through their ethics, dedication, and leadership, served as role models for the training community.
Spencer Logan advocated for the integrated training of troops prior to the desegregation of the military under President Truman. Logan authored the book A Negro’s Faith in America in 1946. His book, written after WWII, was dedicated to all those by their efforts are trying to find the way to a better racial understanding. In his preface, he states, “This book is about my belief in America and my faith in the willingness of her people to accept the moral obligation of a democratic way of life.”
To quote Logan in 1946, “Our growing pains are in evidence. I know that the Negro will not for long be satisfied with a half crust, Nor will he necessarily shout out his desire from the housetop. America must look into the hearts of my people and understand.”
“I am an American. I want to be treated as an American.”
We are proud to celebrate Spencer Logan, an integral part of our organization’s history and an African American trailblazer.
Special thanks to former TOC Board Members Dianne Sutton and Chris King for providing details to support this article.