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  • People--African Americans
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  • Bibliography
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African Americans in the U.S. Navy: A Bibliography

Overviews:

Bennett, Lerone, Jr. Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America. 5th ed. Chicago IL: Johnson Publishing, 1982. OCLC 9176380.

"Black American In the Navy." All Hands 634 (Nov. 1969): 2631.

"Black Heritage From the Days of Columbus to the Present." All Hands 656 (Sep. 1971): 1417.

Campbell, D'Ann. "Bibliographic Essay: Women in the Military." Choice 31, no.1 (Sep. 1993): 6370.

Davis, Lenwood G. and George Hill. Blacks in the American Armed Forces 17761983. A Bibliography. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. OCLC 10996754.

Donaldson, Gary A. The History of Afro-Americans in the Military. Malabar FL Krieger Publishing, 1991. OCLC 22381284.

Franklin, John Hope and Alfred Moss, Jr. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, 6th ed. New York: Knopf, 1988. OCLC 15550175.

Green, Robert E. Black Defenders of America 1775-1973. Chicago IL: Johnson Publishing Company, 1974. OCLC 703223.

Hailey, Leonard W. "The Role of Black Sailors In the Major Wars of America." All Hands 679 (Aug. 1973): 5561.

Hine, Darlene Clark. Black Women in White, Racial Conflict and Cooperation in the Nursing Profession, 1890-1950. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989.0CLC 19130898.

Hope, Richard O. Racial Strife In the U.S. Military: Toward the Elimination of Discrimination. New York: Praeger, 1979. OCLC 5491621.

MacGregor, Morris J., Jr. Integration of the Armed Forces 1940-1965. Washington DC: US Army Center for Military History, 1981. OCLC 7501802.

MacGregor, Morris J., Jr. and Bernard C. Nalty. Blacks in the Military, Essential Documents. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1981. OCLC 7596972.

Miller, Vickie Gail. Doris Miller: A Silent Medal of Honor. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1997. [Juvenile literature]

Nalty, Bernard C. Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military. New York: Free Press, 1986. OCLC 13092757.

Nelson, Dennis D. The Integration of the Negro Into the Navy 1776-1947. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young, 1951. OCLC 1285355.

Ploski, Harry A. and James Williams. The Negro Almanac: A Reference Work On the African American. New York: Gale Research, 1989. OCLC 22276065. [See "Black Servicemen and the Military Establishment" pp. 829-912].

Quarles, Benjamin A. The Negro in the Making of America. 3d ed. New York: Collier Books, 1996. OCLC 34189280.

Schneller, Robert J., Jr. Blue & Gold and Black: Racial Integration of the U.S. Naval Academy. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2008.

____. Breaking the Color Barrier: The U.S. Naval Academy's First Black Midshipmen and the Struggle for Racial Equality. New York: New York University Press, 2005.

Seeley, Charlotte Palmer, compiler, Virginia Purdy and Robert Gruber, revised. American Women and the U.S. Armed Forces: A Guide to the Records of Military Agencies In the National Archives Relating to American Women. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992. OCLC 24698658.

Sharp, John G. ed. The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869. Washington, DC: Navy Department Library, 2007.

Whetstone, Marc. "The Story of Four Ships and the Men They Honor." All Hands 673 (Feb. 1973): 1015. [Jesses L. Brown, Dorie Miller, Leonard Roy Harmond and George Washington Carver].

The American Revolutionary War:

Greene, Lorenzo J. "The Negro in the Armed Forces of the United States, 1619-1783." Negro History Bulletin (Mar. 1951): 123.

Jackson, Lether P. "Virginia Soldiers and Seamen in the American Revolution." Journal of Negro History 27 (Jul. 1947): 247287.

Quarles, Benjamin A. The Negro in the American Revolution Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1961. OCLC 272669, 488265 and 35008081.

The Quasi War with France:

Logan, Rayford W. "The Negro in the QuasiWar 1798-1800." Negro History Bulletin (Mar. 1951): 128.

The War of l812:

Altoff, Gerard T. Amongst My Best Men: African American and the War of 1812. Put in Bay, OH: Perry Group, 1996. OCLC 34459064.

Dudley, William S. ed. The Naval War of 1812, A Documentary History, Volume I, 1812. Washington DC: Naval Historical Center, 1985. OCLC 12834733.

Green, Lorenzo J. "The Negro in the War of 1812 and the Civil War." Negro History Bulletin (Mar. 1951): 133.

Langely, Harold D. "The Negro in the Navy and Merchant Service 1789-1860." Journal of Negro History. 52 (Oct. 1967): 273.

The Civil War:

Aptheker, Herbert. "The Negro in the Union Navy." Journal of Negro History 32 (Apr. 1947): 169200.

Brooks, Constance V. Names on Record: a Journal Featuring Virginians of African Descent. Washington, DC: C.V. Brooks, 1998. [Contains lists of African Americans serving in Union Navy]

Gibbs, C. R. "Blacks In the Union Navy." All Hands 695 (Dec. 1974): 5561.

McPherson, James M. The Negro's Civil War: How American Negroes Felt and Acted During the War for the Union. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1982. OCLC 23478422 and 8494958.

Quarles, Benjamin A. The Negro in the Civil War. Boston MA: Little Brown, 1953. OCLC 936674, 72592 and 436348.

____. "The Abduction of the 'Planter'." Civil War History 4, no.1 (Mar. 1958): 510.

Sterling, Dorothy. Captain of the Planter: The Story of Robert Smalls. New York: Doubleday, 1958. OCLC 494720.

Valuska, David L. The African American in the Union Navy, 1861-1865.; New York: Garland Publishers, 1993. OCLC 27011904.

World War I:

Miller, Richard. "The Golden Fourteen, Plus: Black Navy Women in World War One." Minerva 13 (Fall/Winter 1995): 713.

____."A Yachtsman's Tale." AII Hands 851 (Feb. 1988): 2830.

Scott, Emmett. Scott's Official History of the American Negro in World War. Chicago: Homewood Press, 1919. OCLC 1192364.

Sweeney, W. Allison. History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record In the Battle Zones of Europe, Including a Resume of His Past Services to His Country In the Wars of the Revolution, Of 1812, the War of the Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico,. Chicago: Cuneo Henneberry Co., 1919. OCLC 3723395.

World War II:

African Americans and WWII. Washington DC: Association for the Study of Afro American Life and History, 1994. OCLC 32979930.

Akers, Regina T. "A Very Special Tribute."Pull Together 33 (Fall/Winter, 1994): 9.

____. "Female Naval Reservists During World War II: An Historiographical Essay." Minerva 8 (Summer 1990): 5561.

Allen, Robert L. The Port Chicago Mutiny. New York: Warner Books, 1989. OCLC 18383070.

Campbell, D'Ann. Women At War With America: Private Lives In a Patriotic Era. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984. OCLC 10605327.

Dalfiume, Richard M. Desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces. Fighting on Two Fronts, 1939-1953. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1969. OCLC 2345.

Davis, John W. "The Negro in the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard." Journal of Negro Education12 (Jul. 1943): 345349.

"Doris Miller: First U.S. Hero of World War II." Ebony 25 (Dec. 1969): 132138.

Dunn, James A. On Board the USS Mason, The World War II Diary of James A. Dunn. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1996. OCLC 33818781.

"First WAVES Win Praise." Headlines 1 (Feb. 1945): 18.

Gravely, Samuel L., Jr. "A Few Beers Ain't All Bad." Naval History 7, no.1 (Spring 1993): 1213. [Memories of the V12 Program by Vice Admiral Gravely, who became the Navy's first black admiral in 1971.]

"How About Navy Pilots?" Crisis 49 (Oct. 1943): 295.

Kelly, Mary Pat. Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995. OCLC 31435674.

Litoff, Judy Barrett and David C. Smith. We 're in this War, Too. World War II Letters American Women in Uniform. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. OCLC 28890537

Meuller, William R. "The Negro in the Navy." Social Forces (Oct. 1945): 110-115.

Miller, Richard E. The Messman Chronicles: African American in the U.S. Navy, 1932-1943. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2004. [For other minorities service as messmen see the index for Chinese Messemen," "Guamanians (Chamorros)," "Japan: citizens as U.S. messmen," and "Philippines."]

Murray, Florence, ed. The Negro Handbook 1946-1947. New York: Current Books, 1947. OCLC 12739618.

Poulos, Paula N., ed. A Woman's War Too. U.S. Women in the Military in World War II. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. OCLC 33818542.

Purdon, Eric. Black Company, The Story of Subchaser 1264. Washington DC: R. B. Luce, 1972. OCLC 258118.

Riddick, Lawrence D. "The Negro in the United States Navy During World War II." Journal of Negro History 32 (Apr. 1947): 201 219.

Schneider, James G. "'Negros Will Be Tested: FDR." Naval History 7, no.1 (Spring 1993): 1115. [Navy V12 training program].

"Segregation for WAVES, Even in New York City." AfroAmerican (4 Nov. 1944): 1.

Stillwell, Paul, ed. The Golden Thirteen. Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1993. OCLC 26856103.

Post WWII:

Brown, Wesley A. "First Negro Graduate of Annapolis, Tells His Story," Saturday Evening Post 221 (25 Jun. 1949): 2627, 111.

"Ship Shape: Josephine Delores Rosa Is the First Negro WAVE to Get Sea-Going Duty." Our World 9 (Feb. 1954): 58, 6061.

Taylor, Theodore. The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown. New York: Avon Books, 1998. [Brown was a Navy aviator during the Korean War.]

Weems, John E. "Black Wings of Gold." United States Naval Institute Proceedings 109, no.7 (Jul. 1983): 3539. [Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the Navy's first black pilot, in squadron VF32 on board USS Leyte during Korean War]

"Women in Uniform." Ebony 18 (Dec. 1962): 6267.

Vietnam War Era:

Acthison, Jerry and Martin, Gary. "Captain Joan Bynum...A Matter of Setting Goals." All Hands 745 (Feb. 1979): 1419.

Field, R. L. "Black Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy." United States Naval Instinte Proceedings 99, no.4 (Apr. 1973): 2836.

Guttridge, Leonard F. Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. OCLC 25409042. [Includes racial disturbances on USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation

Halloran, Richard. "Trail Blazer in Navy: Samuel Lee Gravely Jr." New York Times (28 Apr. 1971): 21. [Biography of Gravely, the Navy's first black admiral].

"Jesse Brown Largest Ship Named for Black American." Jet 43 (22 Feb. 1973): 9.

"Navy Charter On Race Relations and Equal Opportunity" AII Hands 651 (Apr. 1971): 46.

Powers, William M. "Squadron Commander." All Hands 665 (Jun. 1972): 2631. [Biography of Commander Fred W. Richardson Jr., Commanding Officer of VF 194].

"Profiles of the Fleet,: Now He's Exec of NROTC at Prarie View, All Hands Looks Back 10 Years.' " AII Hands 689 (Jun. 1974): 5859.

Rowan, Carl. "The Navy's Search For Blacks." Washington Star (16 Oct. 1970).

"Samaritans On Wings: Black Nurse in Vietnam." Ebony 25 (May 1970): 2627.

"Shepard and a Negro Named Admirals." New York Times (29 Apr. 1971): 21. [Samuel L. Gravely Jr., Navy's first black admiral].

Sherwood, John Darrell. Black Sailor, White Navy: Racial Unrest in the Fleet during the Vietnam War Era. New York: New York University Press, 2007.

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Report by the Special Subcommittee on Disciplinary Problems in the U. S. Navy. 92d Congress, 2d sess., H.A.S.C. 92-81 OCLC 623058. [Includes descriptions of racial incidents on USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation in 1972.].

"U.S. Navy's First Black Admiral." Newsweek 79 (10 May 1971): 63.

Wadell, Bernard. I Am Somebody: The True Story of a Black U.S. Navy Frogman. Boston: Quinlan Press, 1986. OCLC 13360386.

Zumwalt, Elmo R. On Watch: A Memoir. New York: Quadrangle, 1976. OCLC 2072340.

Post-Vietnam:

Longo, James. "Blacks Break Barriers to Grow in Rank." Navy Times (25 Jul. 1988): 1216.

"Navy Chaplain Carolyn Higgins." Norfolk Journal and Guide (12 Feb. 1980): 1.

"Navy Gets its First Black Women in Medical Corps." Jet 48 (29 May 1975): 24.

"Navy's Efforts to Combat Racism." Atlanta World (4 Sep. 1979):

"Networking Boosts Black Officer Ranks; Pace Still Slow." Navy Times (1 Aug. 1988): 8, 10, 16.

"Salute to Blacks in the Navy." Baltimore AfroAmerican (6 Mar. 1982): 16.

The Persian Gulf War:

Haywood, Richette L. "Should Moms Go to War?" Jet 79 (4 Mar. 1991): 610.

"The Montel Williams Show." Washington Afro-American (10 Aug. 1991): B7.

Randolph, Laura B. "The Untold Story of Black Women in the Gulf War." Ebony (Sep. 1991): 100107.

Post-1991:

Katz, Jeffrey G. "The Boss in Profile, the Leader of the Blues." The Hook 23, no. 3 (Fall 1995): 2024.

"Navy's 'Gray Eagle' Says Farewell to the Navy." Sea Services Weekly 22 (Nov. 1996): 8. [Vice Admiral Walter Davis, Jr. retires]

Oladeinde, Patricia. "African-Americans in the Navy." All Hands 946 (Feb. 1996): 3641.

Pailthorpe, Robert. "Blue Angels Get New CO." All Hands 934 (Feb. 1995): 10.

Price, Chris. "Black Achievers in Today's Navy." All Hands 899 (Feb. 1992): 415.

Stiehm, Judith Hicks, ed. It's Our Military, Too!: Women and the U.S. Military. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1996. OCLC 33667214.

Swenson, C. J. "Lt. David Robinson Speaks to Youngsters." Henderson Hall News (4 Sep. 1992): 6.

Unpublished Sources at the Naval History and Heritage Command:

US Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. "The Negro in the Navy." Washington DC: 1947. [US Naval Administrative History of World War II #84, Navy Dept. Library.]

"Women's Reserve." Washington DC: 1946. [US Naval Administrative History of World War II #88A and 88B, Navy Department Library.]

Information about African Americans in the Navy is scattered among the following collections in the Operational Archives: the Immediate Office Files of the Director of the Navy Nurse Corps [30 boxes]; Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women (WAVES papers) [34 boxes]; Records of the Special Assistant for Women's Policy, Bureau of Naval Personnel [22 boxes]; Navy Department Press Releases in the World War II and Post 1 January 1946 Command Files; and Personal Papers.

Unpublished Sources at the Naval Institute:

The Naval Institute's oral history collection includes John W. Lee, the first black officer commissioned in the regular Navy; six members of the Golden Thirteen: Samuel E. Barnes, George C. Cooper, William S. White, Graham E. Martin, John W. Reagan and Frank E. Sublett, Jr.; and interviews with the first WAVES officers and civilians involved with the WAVES program (2 vols.). Contact the U.S. Naval Institute for further information on purchasing oral histories from their collection. 

Published: Fri Oct 21 11:35:49 EDT 2022