Black History Month grew from the ‘Negro History Week’, a brainchild of American Historian Carter G. Woodson and well-known African Americans. Every U.S. president has formally designated February as Black History Month since 1976 to lift consciousness in regards to the position of African Americans within the nation’s historical past.
African Americans have performed a major position in making the U.S. what it’s in the present day. They have been an energetic a part of the U.S. Armed Forces, and this Black History Month, we keep in mind the efforts, commendable service and accomplishments of the U.S. Navy’s First Black Officers who paved the way in which for future generations.
Training U.S. Navy’s First Black Officers- The Backdrop
The determination to coach Black Naval Officers resulted from a 4-year marketing campaign which began together with the struggle preparations. In 1940, President Franklin D Roosevelt referred to as upon the United States to turn into an arsenal of democracy and to defend democratic beliefs.
Civil rights leaders and activists questioned how the U.S. may preach these beliefs when discrimination existed in its personal Navy. Hence, from 1940 to 1944, hundreds of African Americans beseeched congressmen to let Black males serve equally within the U.S. Navy.
From 1893 onwards, African Americans have been solely allowed to work as Messman or Culinary Specialists and Retail Service Specialists or Steward jobs, which segregated them from the Navy group. They couldn’t turn into commissioned officers.
Though the primary black officer of the Army graduated in 1877 from West Point and by the Second World War, the Army had a black General; the Navy suspended the enlistment of Blacks from 1919 to 1933.
A month after the Pearl Harbour assault, the Navy’s General Board met in Washington and mentioned coaching African Americans for common service scores. In the 18 months that adopted, hundreds of African Americans have been skilled to turn into quartermasters, machinists and electricians.
Though some limitations have been eliminated, a major one remained. By the top of 1943, there have been nonetheless no Black Navy Officers, given there have been 60,000 black males within the Navy, and 12,000 extra have been coming into each month.
The First Black Navy Officers- ‘The Golden Thirteen’ & Their Legacy
As political strain elevated, 16 black candidates have been picked from the ranks to bear officer coaching at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois underneath the steerage of white officers.
Their journey was absolutely not a straightforward one. There have been hundreds of blacks within the Navy, and if any have been ever to adorn an officer’s uniform, command a naval ship or lead white males into battle, then these 16 males needed to succeed.
These 16 males, who have been the kids and grandchildren of slaves who had seen their relations getting bodily and emotionally abused or denied employment and equality due to their pores and skin color, needed to show that blacks may command and lead and that that they had all of the qualities to put on the gold stripes.
Sam Barnes, one of many 16 males, recounted that many hoped they’d fail, however they did their greatest regardless of the nice duty positioned upon them. There was loads of tools which may help their coaching, however they may not use any of it.
They skilled individually from different sailors, drilled and ate alone and even lived in their very own barracks in a segregated part of the station. Hence, equal alternative didn’t imply equal therapy. In later interviews, they recounted how a few of their instructors weren’t curious about whether or not they discovered something in any respect.
However, this made them work even more durable. Though presupposed to be in mattress by 10:30 p.m., they sat collectively within the lavatory with flashlights, revising the day’s classes and getting ready for the approaching classes. They coated the home windows with sheets so no person would see the sunshine coming from the room.
Despite the 20-hour days, the racism and the ridicule they have been subjected to, they maintained their calm. They have been conscious that shedding their mood may gasoline the prevalent concept that black males didn’t possess the manner required for command.
As the coaching neared completion in March 1944, they scored grades, in contrast to no different officer class in historical past. Their marks have been so good that many in Washington couldn’t consider it, and so they have been compelled to take the exams once more, scoring even larger the second time, incomes a collective 3.89 out of 4.0 for your complete course.
They all handed, however solely 13 obtained commissions, 12 as ensigns and 1 as a warrant officer and no official clarification was given for this determination. Hence, although this group scored larger than another class, that they had the identical go fee as a mean class of white officer candidates.
These first black officers have been concerned in working drills, giving lectures on venereal illnesses, and patrolling waters off the California coast. Combat was out of the query, and although they have been ignored, they stored their heads excessive. One was William Sylvester White, who recalled, “We were the forerunners. What we did or did not do determined whether the program expanded or failed.”
Two months later, the Navy commissioned 10 extra males, and so they proved simply as succesful as the primary 13. However, the achievements and exhausting work of the primary 16 males have been by no means appreciated, and for a very long time, they have been known as ‘those black naval officers.’
By the top of the Nineteen Seventies, the Navy lastly recognised them as an emblem of racial integration, progress and pleasure. Their first reunion was in Berkeley, California, in 1977, the place Captain Edward Sechrest, a Vietnam veteran, coined the time period “Golden Thirteen”.
On this event, the lads got here head to head with their legacy. They had by no means seen dozens of black officers in the identical room earlier than, and now they have been being greeted by black lieutenants, captains and even an admiral who thanked them for his or her exhausting work and sacrifice.
Among these 13 males was Charles Byrd Lear, the one one appointed as a warrant officer and who grew to become the primary African American Chief Warrant Officer.
Though not part of the Golden Thirteen, Vice Adm.Samuel L. Gravely Jr was the primary African American to be commissioned by means of the U.S. Navy’s V-12 Program, the predecessor of in the present day’s Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.
He enlisted in 1942 and entered this system after the boot camp at Great Lakes. His 36-year profession represents many firsts for African Americans.
Gravely was the primary African American to serve on a combating ship as an officer, the primary to command a Naval Ship, the primary fleet commander and the primary to turn into a flag officer, lastly retiring as a Vice Admiral.
He served on the usPC-1264, a World War II Navy Ship with predominantly Black Crew Members. He was the communications officer on the battleship USS Iowa through the Korean War, and in 1961, he commanded the destroyer USS Theodore E. Chandler. He retired in 1980, and in 2010, the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer USS Gravely was named after him.
John W. Lee Jr. was the primary Black commissioned Navy officer who achieved this historic feat in 1947. His private mission was to assist different Black servicemen get the identical alternatives that he did.
He was born in 1924 and entered the Navy in 1944. After he left the boot camp, he was admitted into the V-12 Officer Candidate Program at Indianapolis’ DePauw University and graduated as an Ensign.
He additionally served within the Korean War and was assistant navigator for the USS Kearsarge. He was part of many struggle and help missions onboard the USS Toledo and USS Wright. Lee grew to become the commanding officer of the Oceanographic Detachment Two division in 1960. He grew to become the Lieutenant Commander earlier than his retirement in 1966. He died on the age of 85 in 2009.
Alfred Masters was the primary African American Marine. He was enlisted within the USMC in 1941 in Oklahoma City. His first coaching camp was at Montford Point in North Carolina.
As a part of the 52nd Defense Battalion, he was deployed to Majuro within the Marshall Island Group and Guam within the Marianas. By 1944, he grew to become a Technical Sergeant within the Commissary Branch. His fellow marines mentioned he was stern however honest and knew methods to lead. After his return to the States, he was discharged in 1945 and returned to his household.
In his later years, he taught agriculture, labored in labour-intensive occupations, and returned to farming his personal land in Vado, New Mexico. He fought for his rights and people of others round him. He died in 1975.
Born in 1936, William Goines grew to become the primary African American Navy SEAL. He enlisted within the Navy in 1955, and in 1957, he was one of many 13 males who accomplished the coaching. When John F. Kennedy created the primary 2 SEAL groups in 1962, he was among the many 40 males chosen to hitch the second workforce. He served three excursions within the Vietnam War and even led a Vietnamese unit as soon as. He retired in 1987 as a Master Chief Petty Officer after 32 years of commendable service.
On twenty eighth May 1983, Pete Tzomes grew to become the primary African American to command a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Houston. He was adopted by six others, and the designation of Centennial Seven recognised their accomplishments as they have been the primary African Americans to command submarines within the first 100 years of submarine service.
Born in 1944, Tzomes needed to be a Marine Corps Pilot, however he was brief, so he determined to pursue a profession within the submarine drive. He graduated in 1967 and obtained his fee as an ensign. He was part of many shore excursions and was honoured with many awards, such because the 1991 Black Engineer of the Year Award, for his efforts to steer the Navy’s equal alternative applications into the twenty first century.
Wesley Anthony Brown was the primary African American to graduate from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1949. He was nominated for admission and appointed to the Academy by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
He retired as a lieutenant Commander in 1969 after 20 years of service within the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps, the place he was engaged in constructing houses for army service members in Hawaii, wharves within the Philippines, roads in Liberia, a desalination plant in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and a nuclear energy plant in Antarctica.
He was bestowed with the American Theater Ribbon and World War II Victory Medal and recognised with the 2009 National Society of Black Engineers Golden Torch Legacy Award-First Honoree.
The First Black Women Naval Officers
Women additionally made large contributions to the Armed Forces. Michelle Howard, born in 1960, grew to become the primary African American Woman to captain a Navy Ship, the USS Rushmore, in 1999.
She entered the U.S Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1978 and have become one of many seven Black girls within the class of 1363 college students. After graduating in 1982, she served onboard the submarine tender USS Hunley until 1985. She was additionally the primary lieutenant aboard the USS Flint and served as the chief officer of the USS Tortuga.
April D. Beldo, born in 1964, was the primary girl and the primary African American in a number of Navy positions, together with the primary feminine Commander Master Chief of the plane service USS Carl Vison in 2009 and the primary feminine Command Master Chief for recruit coaching.
From 2012-13, she was the Force Master Chief for Naval Education and Training Command. In 2013, she grew to become the Fleet Master Chief for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education till her retirement in 2017.
Lillian Elaine Fishburne, born in 1949, was the primary African American girl to turn into a Rear Admiral within the U.S. Navy. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton and promoted in 1998. She retired in 2001.
The firsts nonetheless proceed. In February 2023, Captain Janet Days grew to become the primary Black Woman to take command of the world’s largest naval base by turning into the 51st commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk. The 6,200-acre set up is house to 63 ships, 188 plane, and over 67,000 personnel.
Today, African Americans represent round 13% of the U.S. inhabitants, and solely 8.1 % of Naval Officers are black, per a 2019 report by Congressional Research Service.
Conclusion
In this text, we mirrored on the journey of the U.S. Navy’s first black officers, who paved the way in which for future generations regardless of dealing with discrimination and racism. They have been courageous individuals who served the nation with dignity and distinction.
The Golden Thirteen took brave steps and broke down racial limitations that had lengthy barred black Americans from attaining management positions within the U.S. Navy.
The world has come a good distance since then. However, it is very important keep in mind the sacrifices of those trailblazers who made immense contributions to the Armed Forces and didn’t settle for the established order.
So, this Black History Month, we keep in mind all of the black officers who fought for his or her rights. Their legacy tells us what males can obtain after they rise up towards injustice.
You may additionally prefer to read-
- 10 Smallest Aircraft Carriers within the World
- 8 Major U.S East Coast Ports
- 10 Major Indian Navy Vessels
- 10 Major Ports Of Greece
- 10 Titanic Captain Facts You Might Not Know
Disclaimer: The writer’s views expressed on this article don’t essentially replicate the views of Marine-Salvage. Data and charts, if used within the article, have been sourced from accessible info and haven’t been authenticated by any statutory authority. The writer and Marine-Salvage don’t declare it to be correct nor settle for any duty for a similar. The views represent solely the opinions and don’t represent any tips or suggestions on any plan of action to be adopted by the reader.
The article or pictures can’t be reproduced, copied, shared or utilized in any type with out the permission of the writer and Marine-Salvage.
Do you’ve gotten data to share with us ? Suggest a correction
Latest Maritime Knowledge Articles You Would Like:
Who are Houthis & Why are They Attacking Ships in Red Sea?
10 Interesting SS American Star Facts
10 Interesting Facts About the Gulf of Finland
11 Busiest Shipping Lanes In The World
10 Major Gulf of Oman Facts
10 Top Eco-Friendly Cruise Ships
![Houthis millitant]()
Who are Houthis & Why are They Attacking Ships in Red Sea?
![ss american star wreck]()
10 Interesting SS American Star Facts
![northern shores of the Gulf]()
10 Interesting Facts About the Gulf of Finland
![Panama Canal]()
11 Busiest Shipping Lanes In The World
![U.S. Navy’s First Black Officers]()
Remembering U.S Navy’s First Black Officers During Black History Month 2024
![ancient trade routes,]()
10 Major Gulf of Oman Facts
Subscribe To Our Newsletters
By subscribing, you conform to our Privacy Policy and will obtain occasional deal communications; you may unsubscribe anytime.
Web Stories
About Author
Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid author, possessing immaculate analysis and enhancing abilities. Author of a number of educational papers, she has additionally labored as a contract author, producing many technical, artistic and advertising items. A real aesthete at coronary heart, she loves books slightly greater than anything.
