HistoryMaker Herbert Carter (fourth left) with the Tuskegee Airmen - 99th Pursuit Squadron members (L to R) including Lieutenant Herbert V. Clark, Leon Roberts, Willie Fuller, Allen Lane, Erwin Laurence and WM Campbell at a debriefing in Foggia, Italy (1944). |
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BLACK VETERANS
We Owe You a Debt of Gratitude
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General Colin L. Powell as a captain in Vietnam, 1963 (Reuters) |
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Black veterans are owed a special debt of gratitude. We do so on this Veterans Day. Their stories have been one of service to their country when often the United States did not protect them. “African Americans were present among the forces fighting in the French and Indian War and every war since the American Revolution.” [1] As former Secretary of State General Colin L. Powell (1937-2020) explained: “Blacks were always brought into military service when there was a need for additional bodies and blood. But when the conflict was over, then blacks were sent back into servitude. And it was the case in the Revolutionary War, where [President George] Washington had a number of blacks serving under him.
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"It was the case in the War of 1812 when black men were promised their freedom and property if they fought for their country. They didn't receive that. But nevertheless, they fought. And every war we've ever been in, blacks stepped forward because it was the one place they could demonstrate equality. They weren't slaves. They weren't being oppressed. They may be in segregated units, and they may not have gotten the same pay or rations or equipment as white soldiers, but nevertheless, they were able to show that they were as brave and courageous as any other group of Americans.” [2]
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Former Senior Archivist at the National Archives Walter Hill, Jr. (1949-2008), in his interview, provided important insights into the role of African Americans during our nation’s Civil War: “Over 200,000 black men served in the Union Army and Navy…There were over 25,000 black men who served in the Union Navy and the Union Navy was integrated…But in the Army, there was clearly a separate unit in the United States Colored Troops…And, of course, when the…Emancipation Proclamation comes out in January 1, 1863, it changed the whole complexion of the war…that this war really was about us. And then they had always believed that from the day one. But when they saw and saw those sons and husbands and boyfriends and men going off to fight for their freedom, because all those men who fought in the Civil War understood that, yes, they were fighting to save the Union, but they fighting for their their freedom of their families and themselves.” [3]
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Recruitment Poster published by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments, 1863 |
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Similarly, Ralph Tyler, CEO of Ralph Tyler Companies, remembered his grandfather’s experiences during World War I: “During World War I…they recruited a lot of African American troops to fight in the war, but there was no one reporting on what they were doing. Yet blacks were losing their lives and giving their lives for their country…and there was a lot of unsettled nerves particularly in the African American community about the use of black troops and how they were mostly just stevedores, not to belittle that, because that's certainly needed to get the supplies to the troops…In fact, one of them, my grandfather [Ralph M. Tyler… reported a lot more than was ever reported back here in the United States because the filtering department in the [U.S.] Army and in the Department of War didn't want information to get out about how African American troops who could not only fight battles and were heroic people in their own right in fighting this war, but the way they were treated by the people in France and other countries was completely different than how they were treated in the United States” [4]
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African American soldiers hold up the “Black Power” fist following the death of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 1968. (Bettman Archive) |
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Rudolph Brewington, co-founder of “Black Agenda Reports” told of the racial violence that erupted during the Vietnam War after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The day Martin Luther King was killed, April 4, 1968, I was in Vietnam. I was serving this country, on patrol and we came back and we heard that… Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been killed. And so, us black Marines got together to hold a memorial service and all of a sudden we heard this clank, clank, clank, clank, clank and it was Marines on an armored personnel carrier pointing weapons at us telling us to break up this unlawful and treasonous, that was the word, treasonous assembly, like what? We're here to give respect to Martin Luther King, Jr. And they pointed rifles at us and for a few days black and white Marines…were like aiming rifles at each other, the shots were fired at each other; they don't say that much about it but it happened. You know, and I came back from Vietnam angry, politicized.” [5]
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Racial violence and racial discrimination would continue once the black veterans returned to U.S. soil. Robert Green, former administrator at Michigan State University, spoke about the discrimination experienced by his father, Thomas J. Green, a black World War I veteran: “I heard…from my dad that he would never wear his uniform, either in the South when he returned from the war… because black soldiers, ex-soldiers were targets. There was the assumption that one, you've been abroad. Two, you were treated like somewhat of a man while you're in the military, and we want to make sure that we keep you in your place. So, my dad knew that, and that was verified by an incident that I think occurred about 1946. I recall reading about it as a kid in which a black Army soldier returning to the States… to the South--I can't recall the state--I think it was North Carolina--was lynched by a white mob because he had the audacity to wear the uniform of the United States of America as a soldier, even though he was a bona fide soldier, in the U.S. military, U.S. Army.” [6]
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Soldiers from the 369th Infantry Regiment (15th N.Y.), also known as the "Harlem Hellfighters," who earned the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. (Wikimedia Commons)
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Reverend Bill Lawson of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, further noted: “The veterans when they came back were thrown back in--into the same economic situation that they left. They had risked their lives for their country, but there were no new jobs opening up for them, no new income levels opening up for them. And so they felt raped. They felt that their lives had been risked and, and the country did not appreciate them very much, so there was a good deal of, of anger, there was a climate of anger.” [7]
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Curtis "Kojo" Morrow, age 17, before deploying for the Korean War, 1951 |
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For jewelry artist Curtis “Kojo” Morrow, a Korean War veteran, adjustment to civilian life was rough: “It was a slow adjustment for me. Hey, I stayed drunk for about two years, man…I worried the hell out of my family.” [8] Hamilton Cloud, II, former NAACP Image Awards producer, spoke of his father’s continuing nightmares and his not wanting his son to serve for the sake of : “He had nightmares about…Korea the rest of his life because it was so cold and you know sleeping in fox holes, not knowing if you were going to make it till morning, had an effect on all their psyches I'm sure for the rest of their lives… here was no way as he put it, that he was going to let me go to Vietnam and repeat the experience that he had had in Korea…he was prepared to take me to Canada if necessary, if I was drafted…” [9]
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For many African Americans, military service provided careers and opportunity: “My cousin had gone in the [U.S.] Army…My dad's other brother was in the [U.S.] Air Force.” stated John Heidelberg, owner of WVOL-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, and a United States Air Force Veteran: “We all felt like we should go to the [U.S.] military. And that was a way out. That was a job. That was an education, you could get out of the United States and visit other countries, so that was kind of…an escape from being out there in the woods in the country all your life. You'd get to go someplace and see other things.” [10] Business leader and former CEO of The Partnership Benaree P. Wiley spoke of her father, Carlisle Pratt as one such person: “My dad was in the service, and then went to a school called [Robert H.] Terrell [School of Law, Washington, D.C]…Terrell is a school that was for black veterans who had potential and hadn't had the opportunity to go to college. And I think it was kind of an accelerated program that also provided legal training.” [11] Former member of the Houston City Council Anthony W. Hall, Jr. explained the opportunities he received in the military: "It was one of the few significant American institutions where blacks had actually risen and could rise on the basis of some reasonable merit...and that's what it kind of represented for me." [12]
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However, even with the benefits of the GI Bill and other military benefits, transition back into civilian life is often difficult. Pharmacist and World War II veteran Augustine Davis (1917-2014) recalled going to a VA hospital and being diagnosed with vertigo: “I went into Togus, Maine VA Hospital. And they messed around with me almost a year…. And then they finally come up talking about they thought they were gonna have to probably do a frontal lobotomy. So here again one white guy was a young physician there at the VA Hospital in Togus. He came in there and said, "Davis, don't you let these guys mess you up." He said, "If I were you, I would just get up and get the hell on out of here." And he said, "You may be bothered with that condition for the rest of your life and just have to get used to dealing with it. Then again it may just go away. But don't let these guys mess your brains up talking about a frontal lobotomy." So that's what I did. I got up and got on...out of Togus, Maine.” [13]
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Togus, Maine Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Veterans Affairs) |
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Sergeant Major Carlton Kent was the 16th Sergeant Major of the United States Marine Corps, and the third African American to hold the rank |
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Unemployment and unfair treatment often have plagued black veterans. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that black veterans have an 8.4% unemployment rate, as opposed to 5.3% for all veterans, and 4.6% for white veterans. [14] Speaking about the War in Iraq, Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent of the U.S. Marine Corps, in his 2013 interview with The HistoryMakers noted: “The unemployment rate for veterans is very high right now. And as we draw down in this war, we're going to have more veterans transitioning…So we need to make sure that we take care of them. We have a moral obligation to take care of these great veterans because they have sacrificed so much over the last eleven, twelve years of this war, that we owe them that. I mean, I can't speak enough on that, that we have a moral obligation to take care of them.” [15] According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Minority veterans have a 44% higher risk of unemployment than non-minority veterans." [16]
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However, there are many examples of black veterans with successful post-military careers. They include former president of Hampton University William R. Harvey, Senior Vice President at Lockheed Martin Leo S. Mackay, Jr., astrochemist Emmett Chappelle, singer and activist Harry Belafonte, and members of Congress, such as former Representative Charlie Rangel and Representative Anthony Brown, recently elected as the first black Attorney General in the State of Maryland.
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To our black veterans, we salute and honor you because your service to our country was clearly “above and beyond the call of duty”. |
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Valor in the Face of Racism
The History of African Americans in the Military
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This one-on-one interview from 2020 features host and 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker in an animated and history-filled discussion with the first black captain at West Point and four-star General Vincent K. Brooks. Valor In The Face of Racism: The History of African Americans in the Military provides a rare opportunity for viewers to learn about the rich history of African Americans in the military—one that dates back to the founding of the United States and continues to today. Brooks hails from a family who boasts four U.S. Army Generals consisting of his father, brother and cousin and a history that can be traced back to the 1600s.
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The HistoryMakers Digital Archive
Presents
Stories from African Americans at War
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Stories from African Americans at War features General Colin L. Powell (1937-2021), Brigadier General Elmer T. Brooks (1932-2020), Lieutenant General Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (1932-2015), General Julius Becton, Jr., Alexander Jefferson (1921-2022), Colonel Norman McDaniel, Major General Alfred Flowers, The Honorable John Allen, Major Welton Ivan Taylor (1919-2012), Dabney N. Montgomery (1923-2016), Lanier W. Phillips (1923-2012), Master Chief Petty Officer Vincent Patton, III, Lieutenant Colonel Harry B. Johnson, Major General Marcelite Harris (1943-2018), and Lieutenant General Russel L. Honore.
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MAJOR GENERAL
MARCELITE HARRIS
Major General
United States Department of Defense
Interviewed March 21, 2012
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Let your reach far exceed your grasp. |
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Check out our YouTube for new content weekly. |
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RESCUE. PRESERVE. EDUCATE. |
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The HistoryMakers is the single largest collection of African American first person video oral history testimony in the world. Over nearly two decades, The HistoryMakers has assembled a collection of over 3,000 and growing interviews (10,000 hours of first person testimony), to educate the world about African American life, history, and culture. The HistoryMakers is a vitally important treasure trove of insights, career paths, role models, and perspectives. |
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Sign up for a HistoryMakers membership to get access to our full Digital Archive with over 10,000 hours of interviews.
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Your support goes towards maintaining and growing this important educational resource. Donate today.
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REFERENCES USED IN THIS ISSUE |
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[1] J. Evans & D. Lane, Integration in the Armed Services, The Anals of American Academy of Political & Social Science—Racial Desegregation, 78-9, (March 1956).
[2] Gen. Colin L. Powell (The HistoryMakers A2006.186), interviewed by Juan Williams, April 29, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Gen. Colin L. Powell talks about the history of African Americans in the U.S. military
[3] Walter Hill, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2003.254), interviewed by Larry Crowe, September 11, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 4, Walter Hill details African American military involvement during the Civil War
[4] Ralph Tyler (The HistoryMakers A2006.047), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 22, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Ralph Tyler describes his grandfather's experiences of World War I
[5] Rudolph Brewington (The HistoryMakers A2013.318), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, November 22, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 5, Rudolph Brewington remembers the conflicts between black and white troops in Vietnam
[6] Robert Green (The HistoryMakers A2004.095), interviewed by Larry Crowe, September 30, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 2, story 1, Robert Green describes the threats African American soldiers faced when they returned from World War I and II
[7] Reverend Bill Lawson (The HistoryMakers A2010.010), interviewed by Denise Gines, May 11, 2010, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 2, Reverend Bill Lawson talks about Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s role in the Civil Rights Movement
[8] Curtis "Kojo" Morrow (The HistoryMakers A2003.259), interviewed by Larry Crowe, November 3, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 9, Curtis "Kojo" Morrow describes the difficulties in recovering from the trauma of war
[9] Hamilton Cloud, II (The HistoryMakers A2011.036), interviewed by Larry Crowe, April 29, 2011, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, Hamilton Cloud talks about his father's and African American service in the Korean War, and his father's anti-war sentiment during the Vietnam War
[10] John Heidelberg (The HistoryMakers A2007.091), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 15, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 9, John Heidelberg explains his reasons for joining the U.S. military, pt. 1
[11] Benaree P. Wiley (The HistoryMakers A2005.027), interviewed by Robert Hayden, January 27, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 6, Benaree Wiley talks about her father's education
[12] The Honorable Anthony W. Hall, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2007.229), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 9, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 3, The Honorable Anthony W. Hall, Jr. recalls joining the U.S. Army
[13] Augustine Davis (The HistoryMakers A2002.100), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 9, 2002, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 2, Augustine Davis recalls averting a frontal lobotomy while at a Veteran's hospital
[14] "Employment Situation of Veterans--2021. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. 21 April 2022.
[15] Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent (The HistoryMakers A2013.052), interviewed by Larry Crowe, February 16, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 6, Carlton W. Kent talks about the transition of veterans into civilian life
[16] "Minority Veterans Report: Military Service History and VA Benefit Utilization Statistics." Office of Data Governance and Analytics, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, March 2017.
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