Spc. Ndubuisi Okolo, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, originally from West Africa told the audience what African American history meant to him. From his West African perspective he suggested that the celebration of black history goes beyond skin color and racial barriers. "America was built on that ever true and enduring ideal that anyone is free to aspire to the highest levels of attainment in life irrespective of skin color, gender, the circumstances of birth, family pedigree, creed or neighborhood," said Okolo during the black history celebration held at the Forward Operating Base Marez dining facility in Mosul, Iraq, on Feb 18.