Henry O. Flipper Foundation Inc. (HOFF) is a Louisiana incorporated 501(c)(3) Community Housing Development Organization, duly incorporated on April 1, 1999, in honor of Lt. Henry O. Flipper. Flipper, born as a slave, was the first African American to graduate from West Point Military Academy in 1877, and became the first duly commissioned black officer in the history of the United States regular army in 1878.
HOFF was created at the urging of Sarita King Cofield, great niece of Flipper in 1989 after President Bill Clinton posthumously pardoned Flipper of charges of conduct unbecoming an officer in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.
Since about 1977, the collateral descendants of Flipper have participated in West Point’s now annual Flipper Award Program by giving the award to the graduating cadet elected by his peers as worthy by having overcome great personal challenges to graduate West Point. From its inception in 1999, HOFF obtained support from the late Mayor Joe Sampite and a number of influential private local philanthropists to sponsor summer youth drama programs in the summers of 1999 and 2000.