Kate Larson Harriet Tubman & Women's Rights

History - Memorial Day Weekend - Blacks In The Military

Blessed Memorial Day Weekend

to the living and the beyond living too!

In honor of all military personnel 

who served in the name of making a better world,

here's a story of a few 

who are seldom mentioned 

compared to their acts of valor

BLACKS IN THE MILITARY

Excerpt from the book BLACK PEOPLE AND THEIR PLACE IN WORLD HISTORY, by Dr. Leroy Vaughn, MD, MBA, BLACKS IN THE MILITARY.

MEDAL OF HONOR MEN
THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND NAVY

Portraits of 15 African American soldiers and sailors

including Sgt. John Lawson, Milton M. Holland,

Robert A. Pinn, Sgt. Brent Woods, Powhatan Beaty,

Corporal Isaiah Mays,
Sgt. John Denny, James H. Harris,

Dennis Bell, Thomas R. Hawkins,
Sgt. William Carney,

Christian Fleetwood, Pvt. James Daniel Gardner,

Sgt. Alexander Kelly, and Sgt. Thomas Shaw

(Photo of Gen. Colin Powell right)

Television images of General Colin Powell in specific, and Black, well trained, energetic soldiers in general, are a great source of pride for most African Americans. These television images represent the fruits of over two hundred years of struggle by African Americans for equality, integration, and respect in the military service. There is probably no irony in American history more pointed than the American Black soldier fighting and dying for basic American democracy and freedom, while being denied most of those same freedoms at home and in the military since the founding of this country.

(Photo left: West Point Academy's first African American graduate - plus a whole lot more revealed in the book -  Henry Flipper)

Until recently African Americans begged for the privilege to fight and die for this country in hopes that a more equitable society would await them at the end of the war. However, Black soldiers and sailors were strictly prohibited from participation in virtually every American war until a severe manpower shortage made this country desperate. In 1792, laws were passed by Congress to exclude Blacks from the Army and Marines. The Marine Corp did not accept an African American for its first 150 years of existence, up to and including World War II, when White politicians and generals finally became desperate enough to encourage Black military participation. Black soldiers were frequently poorly trained, unequally paid and equipped, and forced to participate in all Black regiments with White southern officers in charge.

(Photo right: Tuskgee, Alabama, March, 1942. Members of the first class of Negro pilots in the history of the US Army Air Corps who were graduated at the Advanced Flying School as Second Lieutenants by Major General George E. Stratemeyer)

When Blacks were allowed to participate in American wars, they invariably performed exceptionally well. Over 5,000 African Americans, both slave and free, served in the army during the Revolutionary War, and almost all of them received their freedom in appreciation after the war. In fact, most northern states abolished slavery because of their contribution. The outstanding contributions of over 200,000 African American soldiers and sailors during the Civil War led to the 13th Amendment freeing all slaves.

(Photo left: Brigadier General Joseph E. Bastion pins the Distinguished Service Cross on Capt. Charles L. Thomas, 1945)

Between 1869 and 1890 Black soldiers in the West, nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers, won 14 Congressional Metals of Honor, 9 Certificates of Merit and 29 Orders of Honorable Mention while fighting Native Americans. President Theodore Roosevelt credits these same Buffalo Soldiers for saving his famous "Rough Riders" from extermination in Cuba during the Spanish American War of 1898.

(Photo above: Black Soldiers during World War I)

About 160,000 of the 200,000 African Americans sent to Europe during World War I were forced to work as laborers in unloading ships and building roads. The remaining soldiers were not even allowed to fight along side White American soldiers but rather were assigned by General Pershing to French Divisions. These Black soldiers had to fight in French uniforms with French weapons and French leadership until the end of World War I. Over 3,000 casualties were sustained by these Black soldiers, who subsequently were awarded over 540 medals by the French government including the Legion of Honor - for gallantry in action.

(Photo right: Brigadier General Benjamin Davis conducting close rifle inspection of the United States Colored Troops somewhere in England about 1942) The plight of Blacks in the military did not improve significantly until President Franklin Roosevelt and President Harry Truman made concessions to Black leaders in exchange for Black votes. On October 15, 1940, Roosevelt announced that Blacks would be trained as pilots, that Black reserve officers would be called to active duty, and that Colonel Benjamin Davis would be named the first Black Brigadier General.

In 1948, Truman was even more desperate for Black votes and issued Executive Order 9981, ending military segregation and demanding "equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." After two hundred years of struggle, African Americans can now look upon Black military men and officers with a great since of pride and accomplishment.

FIRST BLACK WEST POINT COMMANDER EMILY PEREZ

The first Black woman to serve as Corps Commander Sergeant Major at West Point.
Perez graduated in the top 10 percent of her class, out-ran many men, directed a gospel choir and read the Bible every day.
She also headed a weekly convoy as it rolled down treacherous roads,pocked with bombs and bulletsnear Najaf, Iraq.
As platoon leader, she insisted on leading her troops from the front. Shortly before shipping out to Iraq with the 204 Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, she flew cross-country to be a bone marrow donor for a stranger who was a match.
At 23, she was the 64th woman from the U.S. military killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. September, 2006.

BIBLIOGRAPHY - BLACKS IN THE MILITARY

Donaldson, G. (1991) The History of African-Americans in the Military. Malabar, FL: Krieger Pub. Co.

Foner, J. (1974) Blacks and the Military in American History. New York: A New Perspective Pub. Co.

Greene, R. (1974) Black Defenders of America: 1775-1973. Chicago: Johnson Publishing.

Langley, H. (1967) Social Reforms in the United States Navy: 1798-1862. Urbana, IL: University of IL Press.

Lanning, M. (1997) African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Gr.

Moebs. T. (1994) Black Soldiers - Black Sailors - Black Ink. Chesapeake Bay, MD: Moebs Publishing Co.

Mullen, R. (1973) Blacks in America’s Wars. New York: Pathfinder.

Nalty, B. (1986) Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military. NY: Free Press.

Rogers, J. (1989) Africa’s Gift to America. St. Petersburg, FL: Helga Rogers Publishing.

Wilson, J. (1977) The Black Phalanx: A History of the Negro Soldier.. New York Arno Press.

Zinn, H. (1980) A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

CIA Drug Ops Conspiracy-Unaired Documentary-Full Length

COINTELPRO: The FBI's War on Black America

Heroic Journalist Gil Noble - Rest In Press

Who was Gil Noble?


Gil Nobel was a courageous journalist who did for local news in New York what Edward R. Murrow did for network journalism.  He redefined the value of local journalism by presenting to the best of his ability the issues and solutions of the day.


He reported stories in context while diving deeply into anything he was interested in, and we followed his attention weekly for decades.


Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Noble


Gil Noble's retirement http://awbc-tv.com/node/208


Gil Noble's movie 


The Complete Malcolm X on DVD: http://malcolmxfiles.blogspot.com/

Documentary by Gil Noble on the intentional destruction of Black America by the FBI using infiltration, counter-intelligence programs and drugs. From Marcus Garvey to Paul Robeson to Martin Luther King to Malcolm X to Fred Hampton, to the Black Panthers to heroin and crack, the FBI has worked to destroy black people. Includes interview with Darthard Perry, Ex-informer for the FBI.

The Complete Malcolm X on DVD: 
http://malcolmxfiles.blogspot.com/

How the FBI Sabotaged Black America

Lynching, Black People - Cyber Reading by Maida Jones

When I heard the news of the murder of Trayvon Martin, I thought, what would Ida B. Wells do? If you do or don't know who Ms. Wells was, check out the reading above by Maida Jones from the book Black People And Their Place In World History.  This dynamic, insightful book is by Dr. Leroy Vaughn, MD, MBA, Historian, Honorary African Chief. Like Marcus Garvey said "Truth crushed to earth shall rise again."

The cold blooded murder, as revealed on the 911 tapes, friend and neighbors reports, of Trayvon Martin are only the latest in America's bloody history of lynching innocent people in the name of creating and maintaining racism in America. 


This situation is really a shame. When citizens are asked what would have been the arrest procedure if the racial identities of the two men involved were reversed, not an awakened soul in America responded, 'nothing different would have happened.' Yet, 'Where's The Outrage?  It is the most telling, though unintended admission of the understanding of the depth of racism we pretend not to know about. It is a sickness that must be rooted out now at the cause, the best way to solve any problem.


This situation, the execution of Trayvon Martin, demands volumes more than justice. This situation demands change at our most fundamental levels.  Who Are We? What Have We Done? How Do We Make Things Better For All?

The more we understand history, the easier it is to not repeat the mistakes of the past.  To the family, friends and supporters of Trayvon Martin, through the intense pain, thank you for your heroic actions. He is this century's Emit Till.

The bibliography and text are also posted below from the book, Chapter, After 1865 - pages 134-139. The book's $10 .pdf is available at Lulu, the paperback available at Amazon  

LYNCHING

Linkable books from Amazon.com

Adams. R. (1969) Great Negroes: Past and Present. Chicago: Afro-Am Publishing Co., Inc.

Appiah, K. & Gates, H. (eds.) (1999) Africana. New York: Basis Civitas Books.

Aptheker, B. (ed.) (1977) Lynching and Rape: An Exchange of Views. American Institute for Marxist Studies.

Aptheker, H. (1951) A Documentary History of the Negro People in the United States. New York: Citadel Press

Bennett, L. (1975) The Shaping of Black America. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co.

Bennett, L. (1988) Before the Mayflower. New York: Penguin Books.

Davis, M. (1982) Contributions of Black Women to America. Columbia, South Carolina; Kenday Press.

Duster, A. (1970) Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Franklin, J. & Meier, A. (eds.) (1982) Black Leaders of the Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Illinois Press

Franklin, J. (1988) From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Lerner, G. (ed.) (1973) Black Women in White America. A Documentary History. New York: Vintage Books.

Low, A. & Glift, V. (eds.) (1983) Encyclopedia of Black America. New York: Neal Schuman Publishers.

Sally, C. (1993) The Black 100. New York: Carol Publishing Group.

LYNCHING

Lynching is defined as mob execution, usually by hanging, without the benefit of trial and often accompanied with torture and body mutilation.  The usual scenario included a mob of up to 5,000 White men attacking a single, defenseless Black man and executing him for a crime he was never convicted of or even charged with in most cases.  Lynching is considered one of the most horrific chapters in African American history and is only exceeded by slavery in cruelty and savagery toward another human being.

Lynching Statistics

Years	Whites	Blacks	Total
1882-1891	751	732	1,483
1892-1901	381	1,124	1,505
1902-1911	77	707	784
1912-1921	50	554	604
1922-1931	23	201	224
1932-1941	10	95	105
1942-1951	2	25	27
1952-1961	1	5	6
1962-1968	2	2	4
Totals	1,297	3,445	4,742

Ironically, the term “lynch” is derived from the name of Charles Lynch, a Virginia planter and patriot during the American Revolution, who directed violence toward White British loyalists.  After the Civil War and emancipation, lynching became almost synonymous with hanging and torturing African American males.  Between 1882 and 1930 more than 3,300 Black male victims were hanged, burned alive, castrated, and mutilated by mostly southern White mobs who have never faced any charges for these criminal acts.  Coroners and law officials typically attributed the murders to “parties unknown.”  Most historians and sociologists agree that mob executions was really about social control and to maintain the status quo of White superiority and had little to due with crime control.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) could easily be called the mother of the anti-lynching movement.  She was the first of eight children born to slave parents in Holly Springs, Mississippi.  After emancipation, she attended several schools run by northern Methodist missionaries including Rust College.  In 1879, after the yellow fever epidemic claimed the lives of both her parents, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee with the younger children and accepted a teaching position.  Because of her great concern for racial injustice, Wells was invited to write for a local church paper.  As her fame increased, she was asked to contribute to several Baptist newspapers.  She eventually became editor and partner of the “Free Speech and Headlight” Baptist newspaper.

In 1892, the brutal lynching of three close friends in Memphis started Ida B. Wells on a militant, uncompromising, single-minded crusade against lynching from which she would never retreat.  Her three friends committed the crime of opening a grocery store, which successfully competed with a White grocer directly across the street.  For the crime of becoming too “uppity”, a large White mob took the three proprietors from their grocery store, tortured and killed them.  Ms. Wells wrote angry editorials in her newspaper encouraging Blacks to leave Memphis if possible and to boycott White businesses, which left several White companies including the newly opened streetcar line on the verge of bankruptcy.

Ida B. Wells decided to launch her anti-lynching movement on several fronts.  She first wanted to explode the myth that lynching was primarily to protect White women from rape by Black men.  She published detailed statistics on lynching, which demonstrated that less than one-fifth of the victims of lynch mobs were even accused of rape by their killers.  She said that racist southern White mobs “cry rape” to brand their victims as “moral monsters” and to place them “beyond the pale of human sympathy.”  She wrote that while Southern White men raped Black women and children with impunity, they considered any liaison between a Black man and a White woman as involuntary by definition.  She pointed out that children produced by White-Black relationships were called “mulatto” from the Spanish word for mule because racist Whites believed that mixed-race children, like the offspring of donkeys and horses, were an inferior breed that could not reproduce.  When Ms. Wells suggested in print that White women were often willing participants with Black men, a large White mob destroyed the presses of her newspaper and would have killed her had she not been visiting friends in New York.  Thomas Fortune invited her to stay in New York and write for the “New York Age”.  She was also allowed to exchange the circulation list of the “Free Speech” for a one fourth interest in the “Age” and immediately began to write a series on lynching.

The second approach of Ida B. Wells in her anti-lynching movement was to appeal to the Christian conscience of powerful non-southern Whites.  She published two pamphlets (“Southern Horror” in 1892 and “A Red Book” in 1895) in hopes that extensive statistical analyses of lynching would clearly point out that the southern rape fantasy was merely “an excuse to get rid of Negroes who were acquiring wealth and property.”  She pointed out that the same lynch mob that killed a Nashville Black man accused of visiting a White woman left unharmed a White man convicted of raping an eight year old girl.  Since Ms. Well’s viewed lynching as primarily an economic issue, she hoped that economic pressure from the “ruling-class Whites” could produce southern social change.  She began a lecture tour in the Northeast in 1892 and in 1894 she lectured in England where she helped organize the British Anti-Lynching Society.  Ms. Wells was able to effect a curtailment of British investment in the South by suggesting that this could influence American sentiment.  In 1895, Ida B. Wells toured the northern and western states organizing American anti-lynching societies.

Ida B. Wells told African Americans that her analysis of mob violence suggested that it abated whenever Blacks exercised “manly self-defense.”  In “Southern Horrors” she suggested, “a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every Black home.”  She also told Blacks that they must retaliate with their economic power.  She urged Blacks to boycott White businesses or to migrate to Oklahoma since Black labor was the industrial strength of the South.  She said: “The more the Afro-American yields and cringes and begs, the more he has to do so, the more he is insulted, outraged, and lynched.”

Since Southern courts would not punish lynching participants, Ms. Wells lobbied for legislation that would make lynching a federal crime.  In 1901, Ida B. Wells met with President William McKinley and pressed for his support with anti-lynching legislation.  However, she could not get McKinley or Theodore Roosevelt to support an anti-lynching bill that was introduced in Congress in 1902.  As one of the founding members of the NAACP in 1909, she made her anti-lynching campaign including anti-lynching legislation among the NAACP’s highest priorities.  The NAACP investigated specific incidents and published national statistics on lynching in an attempt to sway public support to put a stop to lynching.  In 1918, the NAACP was able to get Republican Congressman Leonidas Dyer to introduce a bill that subjected lynch mobs to a charge of capital murder for their actions.  The Dyer Bill passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate because southern Democrats never allowed the bill out of committee.  Congressman Dyer re-introduced the bill each year for the next ten years, but it never again passed either house.

As a result of the life-long crusade of Ida B. Wells against lynching, she became the inspiration for organizations throughout the country that opposed lynching.  For example, The American Civil Liberties Union, The Commission on Interracial Cooperation, and The Communist Party of the United States all played a role in the anti-lynching campaign.  Ironically, White middle class Southern women for whom lynching was suppose to protect, formed the Jessie Daniel Ames Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching in 1930.  In honor of her legacy, a low-income housing project in Chicago was named after Ida B. Wells in 1941; and in 1990, the U.S. Postal Service issued an Ida B. Wells commemorative stamp.  The “militant,” “uncompromising,” “outspoken,” and “fearless” Ida B. Wells can surely look back upon her life as a genuine success in helping to end one of the most horrific chapters in African American history.


End of book text. 


For more information on Black history you can obtain a copy of Dr. Vaughn's book for $10 in .pdf format at Lulu, the paperback available at Amazon