CHAPTER 1

WHERE WE'VE BEEN

God is my strength and power, and He makes my wayperfect.

—2 Samuel 22:23

No people come into possession of a culture without havingpaid a heavy price for it.

—James Baldwin

I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But getused to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours;my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used tome.

—Muhammad Ali, 1975

A wise man once said, "If you don't know your history, you're boundto repeat it." Let's face it, knowing the origin of your people and theirmany accomplishments is vitally important, because it creates prideand defines culture within a people by serving as an example of what ispossible. Most will agree that the history of African Americans is likeno other ethnic group in America. We were the only people deliberatelybrought to this country for the sole purpose of servitude. You may bewondering, What about the thousands of free people who lived in Americaas free citizens or indentured servants? At the start of the RevolutionaryWar, it is reported that there were over five hundred thousand blacksliving, earning a wage and owning land like their white neighbors. Atthe time of the American Revolution, many African Americans hadbeen living alongside white colonizers for about one hundred years withlittle to no problems.

They took pride in their land and belongings, and they were justas committed to freeing themselves from British rule as their whiteneighbors. You might be wondering, Then what happened? I do not wantthis book to be just another lesson in history, but one that illustratesthe leadership and tenacity blacks demonstrated throughout America'sturbulent past. As a professional military officer, I highly recommendthat you know your history! You need to understand that black historyis American history, and you need to know the stories of Peter Salemand Crispus Attucks from the Revolutionary War, all the way throughto our recent heroes from the Global War on Terrorism. You need toknow about the blacks who fought in every war since the RevolutionaryWar, the 5,000 blacks who supported the Confederacy, and the 186,000blacks who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

Blacks have fought in every major military conflict in which Americahas ever engaged. It is imperative that you take time out and learn thestories of the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen. I don't rememberlearning of any of these details while in high school or during collegeundergraduate training. It took me coming on active duty and seekingout this knowledge on my own by holding conversations with otherblack officers and investing time in the library to fill this void.

As a child growing up in the 1960s and '70s, I watched war movieswith my father, and even though I knew my grandfathers and fatherfought in World War II and Korea, respectively, we never saw blacksplaying a significant part in war movies, so I knew that account wasnot accurate. My brothers and I would ask my father about what it waslike being in the army and having the opportunity to live in foreigncountries and fight in wars. I can clearly remember him talking aboutthe exotic foods and the friends he made during this period of his life.All of these stories made a huge impression on me at an early age andcreated a deep desire to serve in the military.

What you need to remember about your history is that blackAmericans have always answered the call to their nation's defense.Throughout the United States of America's history, the governmentturned its back on black Americans. But these brave people continuedto gallantly serve because they had dreams and visions of a betterfuture. We need to remember that formal education was not allowedfor these blacks during the first two hundred years of their existencein this country. Blacks had a definitive purpose for serving in ourmilitary; they desired a better life. Any life was better than living inbondage or working for meager wages in unfair living conditions. Theprevailing thought of the day was: if you are going to die, then die forsomething. Which would you prefer, dying as a slave or as a military manserving your country and being known for holding a recognizable andrespectable profession?

American Revolutionary War, 1775 – 1783

Let's take a quick look back and see how African Americanscontributed to developing this country. Did you know that more blacksactually fought for the British Army and the American colonials? Blackstypically sided with whoever promised freedom for their service. TheBritish actively recruited slaves and promised to reward them withtheir freedom at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Historywrites that blacks played an active role five years before the AmericanRevolution began. On March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks confronted acrowd of angry British soldiers while leading a group of colonists thatwere protesting the laws of England. The British soldiers, led by PrivateHugh Montgomery of the British regulars, fired on the colonist, killingAttucks and four other white settlers. These five men were buried inthe first integrated grave in the New World, which is located in BostonCommons, Massachusetts.

We all know that the Continental Army eventually won the warand defeated the British and that slavery continued. George Washingtoninitially prevented blacks from serving in the Continental Army. Itwas not until the enormous problems with desertion prior to ValleyForge that General Washington decided to recant on this policy andallowed blacks entry into the army. During this period it is reportedthat over one hundred thousand slaves escaped to Indian lands inCanada and Florida. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson reported that he losta large percentage of his slaves. In May 1775, one month after blackshad fought...