Montford Point Marines

Last Friday at Camp Lejuene in North Carolina, dozens of surviving members of the Montford Point Marines were in attendance for the first phase unveiling of the National Montford Point Marine Memorial. The “Montford Pointers” were the first Black Marines to join the military branch after an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt […]

Bob Motley is the only living umpire of Negro League Baseball. A shot-calling legend, Motley is known for his splits, lunges and dramatic calls at the plate. It was Motley who made the game-time decisions with Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks and Willie Mays on the field. Bob Motley was not only a Negro […]

Make a note of the day, date, time and place: 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, 2012, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.   It was there that the Montford Point Marines finally got their due.   The black men that were the first to serve in the United States Marine Corps were trained at a […]

My father should have been there. On Wednesday and Thursday at ceremonies filled with pomp and circumstance, the U.S. Marine Corps paid tribute to its first black Marines, awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor for a civilian. My father was one of those pioneers, men called Montford Point Marines after the crude, […]

WASHINGTON – The first African American Marines, also known as Montford Point Marines, will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony in Emancipation Hall of the Capitol Visitor Center today at 3 p.m.  They will also be the guests of honor at a parade hosted by the Commandant of the Marine Corps at […]