This oral history anthology provides insight into the history of the African American officer experience in the U.S. Marine Corps. In the personal accounts of the 21 officers included that cover 60 years of service, the reader comes to understand how these men and women succeeded individually and also gains considerable historical perspective on the progress of integration in the Marine Corps. This project grew from two sources. One is the emphasis that the current Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James F. Amos, is putting on educating the Corps on the proud tradition of diversity in the service, an effort that has been staffed by Lieutenant General Willie J. Williams, the director of Marine Corps Staff. The other source was my conversations with Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin Sr. about the need for a broader understanding of the contributions of the pathbreaking Marines who established, built, and carried on the African American presence in the officer corps (as he explains in more detail in the preface). Generals Williams and Gaskin contributed their own stories to this volume. The stories of the key pathbreakers that are included in this collection add flesh and blood to the historical literature, providing an intimate understanding of the struggles and triumphs as these individuals and their colleagues, both black and white, worked to overcome societal prejudices for the ultimate improvement and strengthening of the Corps.
Chapter 1 - Roots in Jim Crow and Civil Rights America * Chapter 2 - The Formative Years, 1950s-1960s * Chapter 3 - The Vietnam Era, 1960s-1970s * Chapter 4 - The Big Push—A Turning Point * Chapter 5 - Dealing with Race—The 1970s * Chapter 6 - Reaping the Rewards—Into the 1980s * Chapter 7 - Leveling Out—The 1990s * Chapter 8 - New Century, New Conflicts and Challenges
