Product Description

This book, the first to focus on the integration of the Gulf Coast, is Dr. Gilbert R. Mason's eyewitness account of harrowing episodes that occurred there during the civil rights movement. Newly opened by court order, documents from the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission's secret files enhance this riveting memoir written by a major civil rights figure in Mississippi. He joined his friends and allies Aaron Henry and the martyred Medgar Evers to combat injustices in one of the nation's most notorious bastions of segregation.

In Mississippi, the civil rights struggle began in May 1959 with "wade-ins." In open and conscious defiance of segregation laws, Mason led nine black Biloxians onto a restricted spot along the twenty-six-mile beach. A year later more wade-ins on beaches reserved for whites set off the bloodiest race riot in the state's history and led the U.S. Justice Department to initiate the first-ever federal court challenge of Mississippi's segregationist laws and practices. Simultaneously, Mason and local activists began their work on the state's first school desegregation suit. As the coordinator of the strategy, he faced threats to his life.

Mason's memoir gives readers a documented journey through the daily humiliations that segregation and racism imposed upon the black populace -- upon fathers, mothers, children, laborers, and professionals. Born in 1928 in the slums of Jackson, Mason acknowledges the impact of his strong extended family and of the supportive system of institutions in the black neighborhood. They nurtured him to manhood and helped fulfill his dream of becoming a physician.

His story recalls the great migration of blacks to the North, of family members who remained in Mississippi, of family ties in Chicago and other northern cities. Following graduation from Tennessee State and Howard University Medical College, he set up his practice in the black section of Biloxi in 1955 and experienced the restrictions that even a black physician suffered in the segregated South. Four years later, he began his battle to dismantle the Jim Crow system. This is the story of his struggle and hard-won victory.

Gilbert R. Mason, M.D., continues as a practicing physician in Biloxi. Although a life-long Democrat, he served as a school-desegregation adviser to the Republican administration of President Nixon, as well as a friend, adviser, and appointee of several Mississippi governors.

James Patterson Smith is an associate professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has published in numerous periodicals, including the Journal of Negro History and the Journal of Mississippi History. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

MS Gulf Coast Primer
If you live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and are interested in the Civil Rights movement, this is a must read.

Must read Civil Rights history
This was an excellent read for an in-depth look into the civil rights struggle in the south. From a black doctor's perspective, the book gives the reader a different look at many events in Mississipi that led to integration and equality, and what was sacrificed to attain what we have today.
The book also gives the reader an intimate look into Dr. Mason's life from childhood to the civil rights era, but not beyond. This book would have been better if more information on Dr. Mason had been included. Hopefully, James Patterson Smith will update the forward now that Dr. Mason has passed, and tell us more about what this book is missing, and perhaps add a brief history of his life after the 60's and 70's. (much has been left out.) I would like to have seen Dr. Mason expand upon his own secondary theme of maintaining morals and ethics to reveal a true struggle between his personal life, his political life, and the lives impacted by his choices, good and bad; the legacy Dr. Mason left to ALL of his children was only hinted at in the secondary theme,(much as this sentence does).
Though little long-winded in parts, this is an excellent study of Black history in the south.

A physician of all seasons
Dr. Gilbert Mason has written a book which not only stands as an important literary stone in the foundation of the civil rights movement, but also as a window into the humanity and "higher calling" of being a physician.As a white physician in Mississipppi, I was riveted when I read this book.The hardship which was endured by African Americans during this era is unimaginable, and it was only a generation ago.With eloquence and thouroughness Dr. Mason leads us through the origins of the civil rights movement specifically as it occurred in Biloxi MS. The racial hatred and violence which opposed his nonviolent protests and the fledgling Biloxi chapter of the NAACP is laid out for the reader with very good clarity.When I read this book, the secondary theme also jumped out at me, which was his constant pusuit of being a physician , specifically maintaing high degree of ethics, morality, and care for all patients black are white during this period of tribulation.I highly recommend this book to all. ... Read more

Product Description
Nearly 900 African Americans fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima, but accounts of their service have gone largely unrecorded. This book seeks to correct that omission for the sake of the brave Americans who served and for the sake of a more inclusive American history. Eleven veterans contribute their memories and experiences, starting with their youth in the Depression, their enlistment, the battle itself, and their experience of returning to a nation that continued to treat them as second-class citizens. Appendices include a history of the Montford Point Marines, a history of the Army's 476th Amphibian Truck Company, a chronology of the Battle of Iwo Jima and a task organization chart for the participating U.S. forces. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Iwo Jima From an African American's POV....
While some 900 persons of color fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima, we rarely, if ever hear any accounts from these brave souls. Hopefully, this book is a step in changing this.

The author, a retired Marine interviewed 11 veterans who were there. But it goes beyond that. These 11 former Marines (who were some of the 1st people of color in the Marine Corp. as they didn't allow Blacks to join until 1942) tell of their life growing up, when they joined, their experience in boot camp & 4 even offered an extended account of their stay in Iwo Jima. All talked about their life post-World War II (only 1 stayed in the Marines, making a career out of it). Near the end of the book, there's a day by day account of major events in the Battle of Iwo Jima as well as info on the units that most of the Black Marines that were there were in.

Because of the racist attitudes of the time, Blacks trained separately from Whites & were often assigned to support units rather than being in the front lines. (A copy ofPresident Truman's executive order 9981 which began the desegregation of the armed forces is at the very end of the book.) Still, all the interviewees were proud of their service despite the double standards of racism at the time. Overall the stories these men tell are very interesting, & hopefully we'll see more accounts from Afro Americans who have served in World War II.
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Product Description
This is a comprehensive record of the 761st Tank Battalion, the first African American armored unit to enter combat. Assigned at various times to the Third, Seventh and Ninth armies, the “Black Panthers” fought major engagements in six European countries and participated in four major Allied campaigns, inflicting 130,000 casualties on the German army and capturing or destroying thousands of weapons, despite severe weather, difficult terrain, heavily fortified enemy positions, extreme shortages of replacement personnel and equipment, and an overall casualty rate approaching 50 percent. Richly illustrated and containing many interviews with surviving members of the 761st, this work gives long overdue recognition to the unit whose motto was “Come Out Fighting.” It recounts the events that in 1978—33 years after the end of World War II—led to the 761st Tank Battalion’s receiving a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive. Also described are the efforts that resulted, in 1997—53 years after giving his life on the battlefield—in the Medal of Honor being posthumously awarded to Sergeant Ruben Rivers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Magnificent Portrayal Of America's First African American Tank Unit!
Author Joe Wilson Jr. whose father fought with the 761st Black Panther Battalion during World War Two, has written a splendid book about America's first African American tank unit to see combat during the war.During the the beginning of the war, black soldiers were serving their country not on the front lines, but in secondary roles as cooks, laundry and logistics crews, and mail handlers.Out of neccessity, African American soldiers were finally given the chance to fight, and although they fought segregated from White troops, they were at least finally given the chance to prove themselves in battle just like their white counterparts.All too often they were stigmatized as being not smart enough or unable to handle the stress of battle.Air units like the Tuskegee Airmen and Armored units like the 761st tank Battalion proved that the African American soldiers and airmen were more than formidable foes for the enemy.The "Black Panthers", fought in many major engagements across Europe, inflicting as many as 130.000 casualties against the German army.They fought with valor, and suffered a 50% casualty rate, as they punched their way to Berlin, with their M4 Sherman Tanks.In 1978, the whole unit finally received long overdue recognition, as they were awarded the presidential Citation, and Sergeant Ruben Rivers received the Medal Of Honor posthumously for valor on the battlefield.This generously illustrated pictorial history not only brings the reader to the front lines of battle, but draws a vivid picture of the stereotypical discrimination that these young men had to endure on the homefront, before they ever had a chance to fire a shot at an enemy who was threatening the entire world.I highly recommend this book to all who wish to relive the history of some brave American Tankers who gave of themselves and asked for nothing in return.I dedicate this review to the late Dorie Miller USN cook, who without training, manned a deck machine gun on a damaged ship, and destroyed two Japanese Zero's during the Day Of Infamy at Pearl Harbor Dec 7th 1941.He was the first African American of the war to be awarded the Navy Cross for valor by Chester W. Nimitz commanding Admiral USN.

The 761st ...A true group of US heros
Here is a book that reads like a screenplay waiting to happen. A book that will make you ask; "Is that the way it really was for some US Army GI's willing to serve and die for thier country?" Read`about the true accounts of the men that fought and died in their segregated tank battallion of the US Army in WWII. Get to know the names of some of the soliders of the 761st and learn about their enemies, tatics, and battle plans for fighting the war against aggression in the Europe and fighting the war against prejudice both in the United States and on the bloody battlefields of WWII. Read about the exploits and heroics of the 761st tank battallion that will both shock you and make you proud of some US Army GI's that stood up to their country and for their country. This book will inspire you to greater goals indeed.

Absolutely inspiring
The heroics and heroes described in this book should be made into an inspiring movie for all Americans, in fact, for all human beings, to be proud of. ... Read more

Product Description
First time in paperback: An all-encompassing chronicle of African Americans' in the armed forces of the United States.

From the birth of the United States, African American men and women have fought and died in defense of a nation that has often denied them many fundamental rights of citizenship. Now Gerald Astor has chronicled their efforts and accomplishments in this critically acclaimed survey. From Crispus Attucks, first casualty of the American Revolution, to fighters on both sides of the Civil War, Astor moves to the postwar Indian campaigns and the infamous Brownsville riot. He also documents the prejudices and grievous wrongs that have kept African Americans from service-and finally traces their ascent to the highest levels. The Right to Fight is a groundbreaking contribution to American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book
This book was needed for a class. I have found it to be a great dipiction of African American history. If you need a great source for research, this would be it.

A couple of remarks
This is a readable and graphic history, mostly from the vantage point of the common soldier. Politics in the larger sense are frequently neglected. A glaring example of this neglect is the brief and flippant coverage of President Harry Truman's actual order to desegregate the US Armed Forces, the Executive Order 9981, issued in July of 1948. This seems to me to have been the single most important event in the entire saga, yet the author dismisses Truman in three pages, mostly quoting old letters which demonstrate, surprise! that GiveEmHell Harry used coarse language (in private) when talking about racial demographics, as he did when talking about everything else (in private). Readers who are looking for an account of what led up to this decision, which Truman knew could lose the Deep South in the tight upcoming election * will need to look elsewhere. The book "Foxholes and color lines : desegregrating the U.S. Armed Forces", by Sherie Mershon and Steven Schlossman (John Hopkins, 1998) has an entire chapter on this decision which so infuriated the white South and proved to be so important in the Civil Rights era.
Another deficiency, unfortunately not unusual these days, is the complete lack of notes. There is a bibliography, but who knows where a particular fact may have come from?
A good resource, but far from comprehensive.

* he did lose the Deep South; four states to a fellow who, though he was sworn to uphold the rule of law, was known to invite adversaries in public debate out onto the street to settle their differences, and, though not officially taking an oath to do so, loudly proclaimed that he would fight with all his might against "mixing", as it was then called, forbidden interaction that could ultimately lead to miscegenation. As it happened, the wowser who gained South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi (plus an anomalous single Electoral Vote in Tennessee) but, to history's gratitude, lost the United States, had himself been guilty of miscegenation. With progeny to prove it.

Definitive work on an area that has been grossly overlooked
The subject that Gerald Astor has chosen to write about, depicts the continuing saga of a group of people that has been the subject of more studies then any other group in America. In a methodical and comprehensivemanner the author gives us a chronological history of Black American andhistoric accomplishments of the black soldier. From the American Revolutionto the Persian Gulf Astor paints a picture through interview and analysisthat cuts away the bias that has been the hall mark of the manner that thissubject has heretofore been treated. His anecdotal passages add a sense ofthe social and cultural times that are germain to the periods of history hewrites about.The story of the first American Hero, Sgt Henry Johnson ofAlbany NY in WWI and the Montford Point Marines in WWII are of exceptionalimportance in this work. All to often these men and their significantcontribution that helps to keep the fabric of America strong are grosslyoverlooked! This book is a must for African American HIstory, MilitaryHistory and American History buff's in general. ... Read more

Product Description
By the end of World War II, many black citizens viewed service in the segregated American armed forces with distaste if not disgust. Meanwhile, domestic racism and Jim Crow, ongoing Asian struggles against European colonialism, and prewar calls for Afro-Asian solidarity had generated considerable black ambivalence toward American military expansion in the Pacific, in particular the impending occupation of Japan. However, over the following decade black military service enabled tens of thousands of African Americans to interact daily with Asian peoplesencounters on a scale impossible prior to 1945. It also encouraged African Americans to share many of the same racialized attitudes toward Asian peoples held by their white counterparts and to identify with their governments foreign policy objectives in Asia.In Black Yanks in the Pacific, Michael Cullen Green tells the story of African American engagement with military service in occupied Japan, war-torn South Korea, and an emerging empire of bases anchored in those two nations. After World War II, African Americans largely embraced the socioeconomic opportunities afforded by service overseasdespite the maintenance of military segregation into the early 1950swhile strained Afro-Asian social relations in Japan and South Korea encouraged a sense of insurmountable difference from Asian peoples. By the time the Supreme Court declared de jure segregation unconstitutional in its landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, African American investment in overseas military expansion was largely secured. Although they were still subject to discrimination at home, many African Americans had come to distrust East Asian peoples and to accept the legitimacy of an expanding military empire abroad. ... Read more

Product Description
The first regular army regiments of African Americans were authorized by Congress in July 1866, and African American soldiers have played an important role in the conflicts of their country ever since. These brave men fought not only tirelessly against the enemy, but also against prejudice and discrimination within the armed forces, striving to be given the chance to show their worth and fight for their country. Their efforts culminated in the integration of the armed forces, starting in 1946.

This book covers the history of African-American soldiers, from the American Civil War and their initial involvement on the western frontier during the Plains Wars, where they were nicknamed "Buffalo Soldiers" by their Native American enemies. It then examines their role during the age of "American Imperialism," campaigning across Cuba and Mexico before distinguishing themselves in the trenches of World War I. Finally, it examines their participation in World War II, where almost half a million African Americans fought and died for their country and the subsequent desegregation of the armed forces. Accompanied by color illustrations and rare photographs, the text chronicles the actions of these units, their uniform and appearance and how they were to eventually overcome discrimination and prejudice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

More textbook then novel
If, like me, you thought this was something more than a textbook you will, like I was, be very disappointed.

I don't know what it is but, I've been trying to find a good book to read about America's Black soldiers and have yet to find one that's any good.This one reminds me of a schoolbook - lot's of dates and statistics but nothing meaty to read about.I'm thinking about trying the book by William Leckie, perhaps it will be a more interesting read.

At any rate, if you're looking for a good reference book, this will probably be a good place to start however, if you're interested in reading about life history, take a pass.

Useful But Limited Source
As a junior high school social studies teacher, I found "Buffalo Soldiers" interesting but frustrating.Reading the review above (about the book consisting of 3 shorter titles republished as one) explains something of the uneven nature of the text -- but it does not amend the faults.The coverage of African American military units is uneven (most badly regarding black sailors).The illustrations (both B&W photographs and colorful paintings of uniforms & equipment) are excellent.However, there are no maps (in a text that refers to many specific sites & routes on several different continents).I personally enjoyed the book, but I hesitate to recommend it for school purchase because of its limitations.The topic is too important to treat carelessly.

African Americans at War!
England's Osprey Publishing has a habit of taking books on a similar subject from their various series, combining them and then marketing that as a new product. For example, Henry Sakaida's IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY ACES was grafted on to his JAPANESE ARMY AIR FORCE ACES to produce ACES OF THE RISING SUN. Not all of these 'graftings' worked as well as the Sakaida volume. BUFFALO SOLDIERS combines three different Osprey "Elite" series' titles yet the combination produces a perfectly fine overview of African Americans in service to their country.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS combines "Elite" #107 BUFFALO SOLDIERS, 1866-91; #134 BUFFALO SOLDIERS, 1892-1918; with #158 AFRICAN AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II. The first two were written by Ron Field; the last by Alexander Bielakowski. Thus there is a consistency in BUFFAO SOLDIERS missing in other Osprey 'grafted' titles. Likewise all three were produced to the same standard "Elite" format of text, illustrations and artwork.

Whether you're interested in the African American experience fighting in the Civil War, campaigning against Indians in the Wild West, pursuing Pancho Villa, charging up San Juan Hill, battling in the Aisne-Marne offensive or piloting a P-51 on bomber escort, BUFFALO SOLDIERS will provide a good, basic, well-illustrated overview of those events. History buffs and students writing reports alike should enjoy this look at African Americans in action. Highly recommended.

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Product Description
A thorough, in-depth study, first presented as the author'sPh.D. thesis (U. of Michigan, 1978). Begins with the origins of black soldiers in the Americas and continues with discussion encompassing blacks in various military and non-military roles, black allies of white armies, blacks on British ex ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Armed African Americans Defend the Americas
Armed African Americans have defended the Americas since the beginning of America. They helped to build the military forces in almost all the countries of the New World just as African Americans helped build the infrastructures and cultures in this hemisphere. Their positive military contributions have generally been ignored or downplayed just as minority forms of resistance have been generally overplayed by both historians and the popular culture.

In war most blacks have reacted with motives as complex as those of the whites, Indians and Europeans who led them or fought alongside or against them. This book explores the impact of blacks on war and war on blacks, who served in every kind of military unit and engagement, displaying loyalty, courage and skill often superior to that of white troops. Slave soldiers were often treated equally and honorably in much of the Americas long before the U.S. got around to employing them in the military or integrating them in units. The social, political and psychological effects of arming slaves gave freedom and social mobility to many, breaking down barriers of class, caste, race and color and fostering equality and emancipation in most colonies. Instead of turning their weapons on their masters or the slave system, as some modern ideologues would wish us to believe, the armed slaves nobly and effectively fought for their colonies and homes, demonstrating their human qualities before color, race or African origin. The military turned out to be perhaps the most liberating and egalitarian institution in racial terms, as it still is generally. Liberation through loyal arms stands sentimental ideologies on their head, but the historical evidence speaks for itself. The history of the black soldier is compelling and controversial, but it can help both our understanding of race relations in the past and our commitment to heal the present. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first book to document thoroughly the lifestyle and collective experience of the many thousands of black sailors during this time period. Numerous illustrations in the form of original charts, tables, crew lists, and customs records support the text. In a penetrating study, the author unveils the enormous contribution made prior to the Civil War to the nation's economy, prestige, and power by black Americans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Black Sailors: Afro American Merchant Seamen and Whalemen Prior to the Civil War
Putney has put together an impressive amount of factual data on this subject. Her research is comprehensive and well annotated. The extent of her sources provides for a compelling and credible read. A fascinating subject particularly for those pursuing African American studies. She has taken a rather obscure topic in the scholarly annals and given it well-researched attention. ... Read more

Product Description
This detailed history of the many achievements of African-American guardsmen in U.S. history from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries fills an important gap in our knowledge about the involvement of African American militias in wartime and peacetime service. Using extensive primary and secondary sources, this account describes the establishment of African American militia groups in 1877, their role in the Spanish American War and in quelling civil disturbances and disasters up to 1914, their service in World Wars I and II and in the years between the wars, and their reorganization and integration into the National Guard in 1949 and 1950. ... Read more

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Since achieving independence in 1960, Nigeria has suffered through a civil war, the overthrow of elected governments in repeated military coups, and severe economic crises. This study looks at the country's economic development under these conditions and in light of Nigeria's status as a Third World nation with an economy largely dependent on foreign capital and international markets. Focusing on state economic policy, Ohiorhenuan assesses Nigeria's development as a dependent capitalist economy under military rule and identifies both the factors that promote this type of development and those that constrain it. ... Read more

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This study describes events and decisions that led to increased American involvement in the Nigeria/Biafra War of 1966-1970--a complex period during which the U.S. was attempting to withdraw from involvement in Vietnam. Domestic and international pressures that resulted in dichotomous U.S. policies are examined and reasons for their longevity are analyzed. Increased U.S. public and private relief for Biafra is compared to the present African famine situation. Fifteen helpful tables and figures and 3 maps complete this distinguished contribution to African Studies literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Biafran Genocide
I do not really wish to write a review as such. However, I would like to correct the impression that have always been attached to what happened in Nigeria between 1967-70. What happened was not a civil war.The war wasn't a civil one, it was actually a genocidal war against a people who had refused to participate in the corruption that went on at the time in Nigeria. Of course, since the collapse of Biafra, the true nature of things inNigeria have become clearly known by those of us in this country who have no way of knowing goes on in that part of the world. This is the impression that I got reading this book? ... Read more

Product Description
McGuire's study places Judge Hastie's role in proper historical perspective. He demonstrates that although Hastie is largely ignored in the published literature he did more to effect changes in the placement, training, and promotion of black soldiers than any other single individual in the history of the American armed forces prior to World War II. Throughout, McGuire makes liberal use of primary sources and comments from soldiers and other key figures to reinforce his arguement. ... Read more

Product Description
In this book James Westheider explores the social and professional paradoxes facing African-American soldiers in Vietnam.Service in the military started as a demonstration of the merits of integration as blacks competed with whites on a near equal basis for the first time.Yet as the war in Vietnam progressed, many black recruits felt isolated and threatened in an institution controlled almost totally by whites.Consequently, many blacks no longer viewed the military as a professional opportunity, but an undue burden on the black community. ... Read more

Product Description
y history of the United States, "The African-American Soldier" portrays the struggles of the courageous men and women who secured the right of black Americans to fight for their country--a country that provided them with nearly two centuries of discrimination. This account of the road to racial equality in the military tracks progress and setbacks as well as dramatic firsts for African Americans. ... Read more

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For many of the 200,000 black soldiers sent to Europe with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, encounters with French civilians and colonial African troops led them to imagine a world beyond Jim Crow. They returned home to join activists working to make that world real. In narrating the efforts of African American soldiers and activists to gain full citizenship rights as recompense for military service, Adriane Lentz-Smith illuminates how World War I mobilized a generation.

Black and white soldiers clashed as much with one another as they did with external enemies. Race wars within the military and riots across the United States demonstrated the lengths to which white Americans would go to protect a carefully constructed caste system. Inspired by Woodrow Wilson’s rhetoric of self-determination but battered by the harsh realities of segregation, African Americans fought their own “war for democracy,” from the rebellions of black draftees in French and American ports to the mutiny of Army Regulars in Houston, and from the lonely stances of stubborn individuals to organized national campaigns. African Americans abroad and at home reworked notions of nation and belonging, empire and diaspora, manhood and citizenship. By war’s end, they ceased trying to earn equal rights and resolved to demand them.

This beautifully written book reclaims World War I as a critical moment in the freedom struggle and places African Americans at the crossroads of social, military, and international history.

Customer Reviews (1)

A critical chapter in American history, beautifully written!
Freedom Struggles superbly situates African American politics in the context of global white supremacy in the World War I era, a critical period in African American history for which surprisingly few book-length studies exist. Lentz-Smith demonstrates how the Great War transformed the on-going black freedom struggle by exploring issues of manhood and violence, citizenship and agency, and how domestic and international events reshaped black visions of political possibility. In the process, she moves deftly between the realms of high politics and grassroots action and connects them to broader themes of gender, empire, nationalism, and Pan-Africanism.

A gifted writer and master of the pithy phrase, Lentz-Smith tells this story primarily through the eyes of black soldiers and their activist allies. Nearly 400,000 African Americans served during the war and all of them negotiated the paradox of fighting Woodrow Wilson's "war for democracy" in a segregated military. The ordinary black soldier, Lentz-Smith argues, was both an "emblem" and "agent" of change. How that change developed in relation to African Americans' sense of the nation and soldiers' performance of black manhood in local and international venues lies at the heart of this investigation. Soldiering in exchange for full citizenship had long anchored the political strategies of black men. Yet those who retained romantic visions of what their service in the Great War might mean, personally and politically, found themselves quickly disillusioned by the rampant discrimination and abject working conditions they encountered. At the same time, World War I offered black soldiers the chance to imagine alternative cosmopolitan identities and solidarities beyond national borders. The broader significance of this moment, Lentz-Smith insists, goes beyond their particular success and failures. Rather, it rests in the ways black veterans of the Great War applied the lessons learned and thereby bequeathed strategic legacies to the next generation who would lead the struggle during and after World War II. Lentz-Smith's engaging and accessible narrative makes an important contribution to American history.
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Product Description
Although African American soldiers and sailors have fought in every U.S. war from the War of Independence to the War on Terrorism, their contributions are rarely and, at best, erratically recorded in encyclopedias of American military history. Most Americans would be hard-pressed to name even a few of the many heroic black servicemen, who have distinguished themselves in the annals of military history. While a public figure like Colin Fowell is well known, and many people are now aware of the black regiment depicted in the movie GLORY, few have heard of David Lamson, When he was close to sixty years old, this African American captain of a small local militia successfully routed British reinforcements near concord at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Even fewer know about the "buffalo soldiers" (as African American cavalry units were once called) who rescued Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders in the famous battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. This book is teeming with essential information that has been overlooked in other references.

William Weir's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY is designed to provide long overdue recognition to the outstanding accomplishments of hundreds of African American servicemen. More than three hundred entries will not only delineate the achievements of individuals and military units, but will also highlight important, often forgotten battles, wars, legislation and policy, organizations and movements, and historical incidents.

Thoroughly researched and historically accurate, with numerous illustrations, this comprehensive and substantive reference work is written to be accessible, engaging, and informative for all readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Long Overdue
I live out in the west where the Buffalo Soldiers (so called by the Indians because the tightly curled hair of the soldiers matched that of the buffalo). When I picked up the book I first looked for and found stories of the famed 24th Infantry Regiment, one of the black regiments founded right after the Civil War of mostly veterans and freed slaves.

From there I found myself fascinated by the stories of individual African Americans in military service. It is clear that the colored, then negro, then black, then African American soldiers have more than earned their place in the sun. I can only hope that this book shines that light. ... Read more