John Newton is a retired E4 Petty Officer in the Navy. In this segment, he shares why he would advise a young person to consider a career in the American military.
learn more*Samora Machel was born on this date in 1933. He was a Black African politician and revolutionary. Samora Moisés Machel was born in Gaza Province, Mozambique, to a family of farmers. His grandfather had been an active collaborator of Gungunhana. Under Portuguese rule, his father, like most Black Mozambicans, was classified as “indígena” (native). He […]
learn more*Alfred Masters was born on this date in 1916. He was a Black soldier. He was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma, and earned a B.A. in education at Langston University. Masters was one of the first Black members of the American Marine Corps. At his swearing-in on June 1, 1942, in Oklahoma City, he had his […]
learn more*Jerry Rawlings was born on this date in 1947. He was a Black Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician. Jerry John Rawlings was born in Accra, Ghana, to Victoria Agbotui, an Anlo Ewe from Dzelukope, Keta, and James Ramsey John, a British chemist from Scotland. His father never lived with him and his mother and […]
learn moreWallace Collier was an E8 sergeant in the United States Army during three wars. In this segment, he shares part of his military experiences.
learn more*Menelik II was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black African king of Shewa and Emperor of Ethiopia. Menelik was the son of the Shewan Amhara king, Negus Haile Melekot. He was born in Ethiopia, where, as a boy, he enjoyed a respected position and received a traditional church education. In 1855, […]
learn more*Charles Walter David Jr. was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black sailor. David served as a Steward’s Mate in the United States Coast Guard and died of pneumonia after rescuing other sailors from the frigid North Atlantic. He was assigned to the USCGC Comanche during World War II, where he was […]
learn more*Andrew Frazier’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1743. He was a Black enslaved laborer and soldier. Born at the Manor of Morrisania, New York, Frazier served in the Revolutionary War first as a “waggoner” or wagon driver, then as a “waiter” or body servant to Colonel Morris Graham and was at the Battles […]
learn more*Joseph McNeil was born on this date in 1942. He is a Black retired military officer and college activist. Joseph Alfred McNeil was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He grew up in Wilmington and was president of his parish’s Catholic Youth Council. McNeil attended Williston Senior High School, a Black school, where instructors taught their […]
learn more*The Sixth Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry, was formed on this date in 1898. Also known as the ‘Sixth Immunes,’ they were mustered into service that summer and served their term of service in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Sixth was one of ten volunteer infantry regiments authorized by President McKinley during the […]
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