blacks in the military

Robert Smalls first made history by escaping slavery by pretending to be a white ship’s captain, and sailing a boat to freedom during the American Civil War. Smalls was born April 5, 1839 to his white slave owner father, Henry McKee, and his mother Lydia Polite, a slave McKee owned who was also a member […]

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was an all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, whose main function was to ensure mail delivery to troops fighting in World War II and to boost morale. Nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” the battalion’s motto was “No Mail, No Morale.” In 1944, Mary McLeod Bethune used her deep […]

Clifford Alexander Jr. has held several prominent government positions and made history by being appointed as the first African-American Secretary of the U.S. Army. The New York City native was born September 21, 1933. Alexander embarked upon his undergraduate studies at Harvard College, graduating in 1955. He later graduated from Yale Law School in 1958 […]

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — The class of cadets preparing to jubilantly toss their caps in the air at the U.S. Military Academy’s graduation ceremony Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that’s a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point’s Long Gray Line. West Point remains mostly white and mostly male. The […]

The late Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley made history in 1945 as an officer for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, also known as the Women’s Army’s Corps (WAC). Earley became the highest-ranked Black woman officer during World War II and today is her birthday. Charity Edna Adams was born December 5, 1918 in Kittrell, N.C., […]

Police responding to a shooting at a mall in Alabama apparently shot and killed the wrong person -- a Black man -- leaving the suspected gunman at large following an episode that left two other people wounded on Thanksgiving night.

Maj. Robert H. Lawrence’s life was tragically cut short just months after he made history. After being named the first Black astronaut by the U.S. Air Force in June 1967, Lawrence died in a plane crash in December of that year just ahead of a possible journey to the stars. Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was […]

With flags flying high all across the nation this Independence Day, a new dawn is on the horizon for students at the United States Military Academy. Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams was named the first Black commander in West Point’s 216-year history, and had the honor of leading the class this past Monday (July 2). […]

During World War II, the United States Navy remained the last military branch to resist the admission of Black soldiers and volunteers. On this day in 1945, Phyllis Mae Dailey became the first Black nurse inducted into the Navy, setting the course for another history-making mark. Dailey attended the Lincoln School of Nursing in New […]

Dr. Olivia J. Hooker turned 102 years of age this past Monday and in this same month in 1945, she made military history. Dr. Hooker became the first African-American woman to join the United States Coast Guard after being rejected by the United States Navy. Hooker was born February 12, 1915 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. At […]

On this day in 1941, the War Department bent to the pressure from Black activists, forming an all-Black combat pilot division. The 99th Pursuit Squadron whose pilots received training at Tuskegee became one of the squadrons that became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Resistance to the formation of the 99th was expected, and they were […]

Colonel Charles Young was a highly-decorated member of the U.S. Army that went on to achieve a number of firsts. Despite enduring extreme racism as a student at the West Point Military Academy, Young became the first Black man to achieve the rank of colonel and was also the first Black military attaché for Liberia. […]