The Coast News, Nov. 9, 2012

NOV. 9, 2012
Carlsbad bestows
honor on resident
By Christina Macone-Greene
CARLSBAD — A loud
applause erupted inside the
Carlsbad City Council
Chambers as Willie E.
Marbrey, a retired Master
Sergeant of the Marine
Corps, accepted his sp ecial
recognition on Nov 6. Mayor
Matt Hall pr esented
Marbrey with a pr oclamation
and was delighted to
congratulate Marbrey in
person.
Recently, Marbrey, a
Carlsbad resident, was
awarded the Congressional
Gold Medal, the most prestigious
honor for an
American.
The Congressional Gold
Medal underscored
Marbrey’s early years in the
military branch. In 1945,
when he enlisted, he was
sent to the segregated basic
training depot, Montford
Point in Jacksonville, N.C.
“During this initiation
period, black Montford
Point Marines endured
many hardships and injustices,
while serving their
country,” Hall said.
“Following basic tr aining,
Mr. Marbrey was assigned to
a Replacement Dr aft
Company and spent man y
years at Montford Point. He
continued on in the Marines
for 24 years, serving a tour
in Vietnam and at man y
other duty stations throughout
the United States and
Japan.”
Previous reports and
articles have described how
African American soldiers
at Montford Point endured
severe discrimination, while
their living conditions were
bleak. Caucasian drill sergeants
were relentless with
their ridicule and prejudice.
“The drill ser geants
weren’t nice, let’s put it that
way,” said Marbrey, 85.
Marbrey recalled an
experience when he became
ill with lesions in his eyes.
His camp didn’t have a specialist
so he w as sent to
another place f or medical
attention. “They sent me to
the ‘white camp’ by bus and
there was only one other
person on that bus, ”
Marbrey said. “We were
halfway inside the base a nd
this young kid came to me
and said, ‘(N-word) get in
the back of the bus. ’”
Marbrey continued, “There
wasn’t a soul on that bus but
just he and I — but I
thought about it and said to
myself, ‘Anything I am going
to do is going to be wr ong,’
so I went to the back of that
bus.”
Despite the discriminatory
hardships, the African
American soldiers pushed
forward and ser ved their
Willie E. Marbrey was recently
awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal. Marbrey was recognized
at the Carlsbad City Council’s Nov.
6 meeting for his prestigious honor.
Photo by Christina Macone-Greene
country in pursuit of patriotism.
It’s estimated that
between the y ears of 1942
and 1949 w ell over 20,000
men were stationed and
trained at Montford Point.
“Due to the r ecognized
accomplishments of the
Montford Point Marines, not
only have those individuals
been awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal,
our nation’s highest civilian
honor, but their history will
be taught to future generations
of Marines,” Hall said.
Throughout his car eer,
Marbrey was stationed at
numerous bases including
Quantico, Okinawa, Middle
Camp Mt. Fuji, Pearl
Harbor, Camp Pendleton,
and Da Nang in Vietnam.
Marbrey retired in
1989.
Looking back, Marbrey
said, it was the camaraderie
“of all us black guys to stick
together” that kept them
going even through the
roughest of times. And
today, many of these soldiers
still keep in touch and
the support for one another
remains.
Marbrey said that he
hopes the lesson people
learn from hearing the
Montford Point stories is to
be more sincere and kind
towards others.
“It’s an honor to gi ve
this Congressional Gold
Medal recipient this proclamation,”
Hall said. “It is
men like Mr. Marbrey who
helped keep us safe and he
truly has earned this gold
medal.”
By Jared Whitlock
COAST CITIES —
Encinitas artist Man uelita
Brown wants to cr eate the
sculpture of her dreams.
Finding funding for the
project, a tricky endeavor in
this economy, is the only thing
that stands in her way. Her
solution? Join the crowdfunding
trend.
Brown, a longtime sculptor,
once looked solely to private
donations, foundations
and government grants for
her pieces. Due to a down
economy, those sources of
funding have largely dried up,
but a new one has emerged.
Like so many artists in
the last fe w years, Brown
recently turned to
Kickstarter, a national crowdfunding
website where local
artists and entrepreneurs can
ask friends, family and
strangers to finance their
projects.
“Kickstarter has been a
blessing for people — a real
alternative for artists,” Brown
said.
Since mid-October, 32
people have pledged roughly
$3,900 to Brown’s vision — a
life-size sculpture of
Sojourner Truth, a former
slave who became an abolitionist
and w omen’s suffragette.
Like all Kickstarter projects,
funding is an all-or-nothing
proposal within a set time
frame, meaning Brown won’t
get anything if her project
fails to reach the $18,000 she’s
requesting by Nov. 17.
“I’ve been humbled by
support and hope I can get
there,” said Brown, who plans
to donate the statue to a park
or school should she secure
enough funding.
Another reason Brown
chose crowdfunding: She’ll
have total cr eative control
over her project. Those who
pledge to Kickstarter projects
aren’t given a stake of the
project and don’t share in any
profits (if there are any); however,
they receive “rewards”
in exchange for support — in
Brown’s case that means a
disc of photo graphs documenting
the sculpting process
for those who provide $25, or
on the higher end, a small
THE COAST NEWS
Artists, entrepreneurs ride crowdfunding wave
bronze sculpture specially for
people who contribute $2,500
or more.
Brown said she’s proud of
past commissions and grateful
to those who pr ovided
funding. But money from outside
groups or individuals
sometimes requires compromising
on her artistic vision.
“I wanted to do this one
my way, and I’m happy people
are buying into m y idea,”
Brown said.
Like Brown, Carmel
Valley filmmaker Pierce
Kavanagh wanted to create
something entirely of his own
mind, and Kickstarter has
helped him do just that.
Kavanagh’s first
Kickstarter raised more than
$16,000, which is $7,000 more
than he originally requested
for “What the Sea Gives Me,”
a documentary that will highlight
those with a lifelong connection
to the ocean.
Kavanagh said he w as
reluctant to try Kickstarter,
because he “didn’t want to
ask for a handout.” But he
came around to the idea of
crowdfunding when he realized
most donations w ere
small and backers got something
in return.
“Seeing people support
independent filmmakers is
amazing,” Kavanagh said,
adding with a laugh: “Small
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