Viewing Friday February 1, 2013 from 1PM until 8PM with a Special Military Honors from 6PM until 8PM at the Stinson Northwest Chapel Located at 16540 Meyers Road at the John Lodge Fwy. Funeral Services will be Saturday at 11AM at Mt. Hebron Baptist Church with a 10:30AM Family Hour. Interment: Acacia Park Cemetery.

A lifetime of breaking racial barriers culminated last summer when Earl Fisher Hood Sr. joined his fellow Marines in Washington, D.C., for an honor long overdue.
Mr. Hood and other members of the Montford Point Marines, the nation's first African-American Marines, were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.
"For him, it was all about equality," said Mr. Hood's son, Earl Hood Jr.
Mr. Hood, who lived most of his life in Detroit and was affectionately known as "Pops," died Jan. 24 at age 90. He had prostate cancer.
Mr. Hood was born the fifth of eight children in Chipley, Ga. His family moved to Ferndale in 1926, becoming the first black family in their neighborhood. About a month later, someone burned a cross on their front yard.
"Whenever he saw racism, whenever he saw someone looking down on them, he wanted not to run from them, but be in their company and earn their respect," Hood said. "I learned this from my father: You don't let racism anger you. You allow it to motivate you."

Mr. Hood was the first black captain of the cross-country track team at Lincoln High School in Ferndale, according to his family. He signed up for the U.S. Marine Corps in 1944, two years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt cleared the way for African Americans to join the Marines.
Mr. Hood and other men were trained in a segregated camp at Montford Point at Camp Lejuene in North Carolina. They were initially not allowed to participate in combat and endured other prejudice, Hood said.
"Their white counterparts would have to run 5 miles (in boot camp). They would have to run 10," Hood said.
After his military service, Mr. Hood trained to be a machine repairman and tool-and-die setter. He worked at Ford and Chrysler. Later, he became involved in various business ventures, from a pool hall to gas stations, before creating C&H Auto Parts in 1970 in Detroit. It was the first supplier of Chrysler aftermarket parts owned by an African American, Hood said. Three years later, Mr. Hood founded the Black Auto Parts Association.
Mr. Hood was married 61 years to his wife, Gloria. Together, they had four children – Arlene Maxwell, Rachelle Hood, Earl Hood Jr., and Carl Hood – and raised two daughters, Nanette Mixon and Nancy Watson, from Mr. Hood's first marriage. The couple also adopted a son, Carl Arrahman.
In 1980, C&H Auto Parts became Hood's Car Care Clinic, which is today owned by Earl Hood Jr. In 1987, Mr. Hood opened Hood's Cleaners, a business that also remains in the family.
Mr. Hood served as a trustee and deacon at Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church. He was also one of the founders of the Men Who Dare, a scholarship organization.
Gloria Hood died in November. Mr. Hood is survived by his children, 11 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation is 1-8 p.m. Friday, with a special military ceremony beginning at 6 p.m., at the northwest chapel of Stinson Funeral Home, 16540 Meyers Road in Detroit.