• African American Heroes at Omaha and Utah Beaches on D-Day in WW2

    African American Heroes at Omaha and Utah Beaches on D-Day in WW2

    D-Day and African American Soldiers Most people believe there were no Blacks among the Allied soldiers who hit the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Historical researcher Linda Hervieux relates a conversation she had with a U.S. Army Museum archivist who stated flatly, “There were no black men at D-Day.” That archivist was wrong. There were…

  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Silent Black Judge

    Perry Mason: The Case of the Silent Black Judge

    How Perry Mason Helped Change a Nation If you watched the Perry Mason program during its original network television run (1957 – 1966), you saw a series in which all of the principle parts were played exclusively by White actors. Yet, with one subtle casting decision, the show helped to break down racial barriers in…

  • Robert Smalls: A Civil War Hero’s Fight for Racial Equality

    Robert Smalls: A Civil War Hero’s Fight for Racial Equality

    One day, some years after the Civil War, a frail, elderly woman came to the house at 511 Prince Street in Beaufort, South Carolina, and as she had done innumerable times before, went in. She was Jane Bold McKee, and she had lived in this house with her husband, Henry McKee, for many years. But…

  • First Black Female Naval Officers: Frances Wills, Harriet Pickens

    First Black Female Naval Officers: Frances Wills, Harriet Pickens

    Frances Wills and Harriet Pickens For Frances Wills and Harriet Pickens, December 21, 1944, was one of the most exciting days of their lives. It was the day they were commissioned as officers in the United States Navy. It was also the day they stepped into history as the first African-American women ever to receive…