It was a warm day on June 11, 1975, when my sister Barbara and I joined fellow Roosevelt High classmates for our graduation ceremony at the Kennedy Center. At 1:00pm, the Rough Riders made history as the first DC public high school to hold their ceremony there. It was a big deal! The Kennedy Center had been newly built in 1971 and Roosevelt was the first! But other big things were happening in the world around us that year! DC achieved Home Rule in January. The Vietnam War had just ended in April with the Fall of Saigon. Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen launched Microsoft the same month. We got jolted by JAWS on the big screen -- and on the small screen Sanford and Son had us rolling on the floor. Our radios and turntables were blaring Earth, Wind & Fire’s R&B/Soul chart topper "Shining Star". And we were busting a bunch of crazy dance moves including ‘The Bump’ -- while likely wearing bell bottoms and platform shoes! Rough Riders 4Life!