Five Black History Facts I Recently Learned
A.P. U.S. History Left Some Things Out!
“Diversity makes you stronger,” emphasized Lt. General Leslie Smith. During the first day of Black History Month, I sat among black service people from different branches. I was not disappointed by my first attendance at the University of South Florida Institute on Black Life Annual Conference. The theme was Black Life in the Military: History, Struggles, and Moving Forward. Hooah, Ooorah, or Hooyah battle cries rang out, depending on the military branch, with over twenty speakers represented. Over the course of a full day, I could share my experiences growing up as part of a military family, the son of a veteran, and a career Department of Defense employee. At this event, I reflected on unchosen paths that could have led me to wear a uniform.
Learning never ceases, even on days like this. I’ll leave you with a few of the new gems of wisdom I absorbed.
Maverick and Goose did not look like the first Top Gun winners. In 1949, the U.S. Air Force in Las Vegas held the first Top Gun. It was called the Continental Air Gunnery Meet. 1969 was the beginning of the US Navy Top Gun School. The 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, composed of a team of four, were the first victors. They defeated other Air Force groups to win first place with a superior showing in the propeller plane category. 72 years later, in 2021, they formally recognized the Tuskegee Airmen as the winners of a ceremony at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
Formerly enslaved people founded Mound Bayou, Mississippi, in 1887. The welcome sign to the town states, “Mound Bayou, Mississippi. The Oldest U.S. All-Black Municipality. Founded by formerly enslaved people in 1887. Incorporated in 1898.” 5880.00 purchased 840 acres (about the area of Central Park in New York City) that have survived as a predominantly black town until the present.
Executive Order 9981, signed in 1948, ordered the desegregation of the military. Starting in 1775, black men fought in segregated units, and President Harry S. Truman enshrined equality with a stroke of his pen 173 years later. In 1953, they disbanded the last all-black unit and achieved full integration.
In 1866, a woman named William Cathay posed as a man to join the Civil War. Her name was Cathay Williams, and she later donned male attire again to join the famed 38th Infantry Regiment, better known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Historians believe she was the only black woman to serve in the regiment.
During World War II, the army tasked the 6888 with a mission to break the logjam of undelivered mail to the troops. 855 women made up most of the black all-female battalion. The army tasked the 6888 with a mission to break the logjam of undelivered mail to the troops. The all-volunteer force, which served in Europe, divided into four postal companies to fix the backlog of 17 million undelivered mail pieces.
Black history is US history. In school, from the first grade to AP US History in the 11th grade, what they teach you can kindly describe as hollow. There was an entire European history class that we took. I highlighted these five stories I learned about not in school but as a 44-year-old. I was sitting in a conference room at my alma mater, from which I graduated almost 24 years ago. So, I will say this:
America, do better with your history. We have woven a unique tapestry to become America as we presently exist. All three groups - immigrants, enslaved people, and natives - contributed to the founding of this nation.
