Another article spotted in my local
newspaper “Professor’s book
recalls all-black Navy band” recently caught my eye.
During Black
History Month we are frequently reminded of some of the landmark moments of the
Civil Rights era. Just like with
genealogy research, not all advancements (or big moments) were made (occurred)
in the spotlight or in expected ways.
Much that happens in the world is by individuals or small groups taking “one
step at a time” which in hind-sight ends up being momentous.
In this case ... “a
Naval pilot training school opened at the UNC-CH, The late Frank Porter Graham,
then the school’s president, and members of the Roosevelt administration,
decided to recruit an all-black band [B-1] to play at the school.” At the time, blacks were only allowed to
serve the Navy as mess men and stewards.
An online exhibition
by the University
of North Carolina
The
precedent-setting all-black Navy Pre-Flight School
band was designated as the official band for the Chapel
Hill cadets in 1942. Until that time, the Navy had only assigned blacks
as mess hands and cooks. During its time in Chapel Hill ,
the band played for flag-raising ceremonies, regimental reviews, wartime
rallies, and social occasions.
This was the start of the Navy becoming integrated after blacks were
banned from serving after WWI. It started with a band, a vibrant and necessary
part of Navy life. “The Navy now recognizes the members of B-1 as the ones who
integrated its ranks.”
In your family tree, did you have family members who were instrumental
in breaking a “racial barrier?” If so, please tell us about them and what they
did.
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