You dont see the word military. It is not just about soldiers. It is about civilians. Men and women. Soldiers and civilians. Young and old. White and black. That is the long title. The short title, we return fighting, speaks to what happened after the war and how africanamericans use world war i as a transformative event for them, just like it was a transformative event throughout the globe. We explore that story throughout this hour of washington journal, day five of museum week on washington journal with our friends at America History tv, cspan3. Phone lines split up regionally. Eastern or central time zones, 202 7488000. Mountain or pacific time zones, 202 7488001. Special line set aside for africanamerican veterans, 202 7488002. Would love to hear from you as we explore this observe exhibit at the africanamerican museum of history and culture. This is a temporary exhibit, how long will this be up . How did this idea to focus on this story get included in the museum and open in december . It opened december 13 last year. It will be up until june 14, this year. Last year, was the 100th anniversary of world war i. A part of our mission is to illuminate always the story of americans through the africanamerican lens. We wanted to make sure that the African American experience during world war i was also highlighted. The reason the exhibition opened in 2019 and is still running goes directly to the title we talked about, we return fighting. The exhibition is not just about the africanAmerican Military experience. It is about africanamerican life and how africanamericans use world war i as a foundation to plant the seeds for what became the Civil Rights Movement after world war ii generation came back from fighting overseas as well. We thought about this exhibition as early as 201415, when i was talking to my then boss at the smithsonian, that we should do something for world war i. A couple years later, he, rick, and then founding director, lonnie, who is now the secretary of the smithsonian went to france and they came back and planted the seed that we would do a world war i exhibition. Then the guest curator and subject matter for military history, i got the nod to do this exhibition. The exhibition speaks to not just what happened in the war but what happened after. Military history first. When the u. S. Joined world war i. What role did the military planners see africanamerican soldiers playing . How much was that shaped by the service of africanamericans during the civil war, some of those civil war veterans who would have still been alive in their 70s and 80s by the time world war i broke out . Thats a great question. The bookend of the exhibition is 1865 on the front end and 1963 on the back end. So, when we talk about the exhibition, we all show plant the seed of what was going on in america between 1865 after the American Civil War and before world war one. All the shaping of the experience and youth was partly the service of African Americans in the civil war and on the western frontier. Lets talk about the American Civil War. The 13th amendment which abolished slavery in 1865, the 17th amendment which gave the 14th amendment in 1868 which gave African Americans citizenship and the 17th the 15th amendment which gave African American men the right to vote and the Regal Organization act of 1866 which made African Americans a permanent part of the military. Then this area of reconstruction of the uptick and the life and the progress of African Americans. When you look to world war one, there is not this idea that we didnt want to put African Americans on the ballot because what happened after the civil war was an uptick. Also, there was a fear to not harm large names of African American groups and the push was to use African Americans largely in services of supply role but there were African American divisions. I also want to back up and talk about the first interpretation that we talk about what was said on stage. When you walk into the exhibition, the first interpretation has three conversations going on the, you have the conversation between scholar w. Eat be and you have a conversation between the president of the United States woodrow wilson. Woodrow wilson and then theres a conversation with this young 28 year old activists from jacksonville, florida. Wta beat the boys says in 1918 in a crisis magazine, which had been his sentiment for years before 1917 is that African Americans should put their separate grievances aside, close ranks with the right white brother and and fight. That was around the same time where a president wilson goes before joint session of congress on april 2nd and that sevenpage speech we all remember that nine, ten, 11 word phrase where we must fight to make the world safe for democracy. When African Americans here that, they believe because they are citizens, they are third, fourth and fifth generation americans. The leading scholar is saying close ranks, most African Americans believe that. Many of them will support the war. However, there is a third conversation going on. Rand off, when you walk into the exhibition, you see his quote, we would rather make georgia safe each one of those have an image. An image under him is three individuals and a cake cake a regalia. The image that you see under randalls quote and the image of the president and the capital and the image of young men joining the war are all within a year span. When you understand that African Americans are going to fight a war to make the world safe for democracy and many of them believe that the world and america would be safe for than when they get back you will understand the rest of the exhibition. The exhibition we are exploring today, fighting the african experience in world war one, a special phone line for africanamerican veterans, 202 7488002. Otherwise, phone lines split up regionally. Eastern, central time zones, 202 7488000. Mountain, pacific time zones, 202 7488001. How many africanamerican soldiers would serve 19171919 . What did the americas british and french allies think of those soldiers . Nearly 200,000 of those went overseas and so that was the number that served. When they went overseas, a portion of the African Americans did serve under the french. The 93rd infiltrate division, which included for African American regiments. They served under the french. When they served under the french, they were treated with a level of equality that they had not experienced in america. The french, who they served with, treated them as equal and they were happy to get the soldiers because, remember in 1917, by the time the u. S. Entered the war, the war had been going on for three years for the french and the british. And with the British Forces, when you talk about African Americans, there is very little contact, if any contact, between African Americans and British Forces during world war one. The british did have their colonial forces in the enforces. I also want to talk about when you talk about African American soldiers and their contact with some of their european counterparts. In this exhibition we not only interpret the story of African Americans but we interpret the story of black people throughout the globe, so the french had about 17 colonies and that when the french went to war, they went to war immediately in 1914. The british had about 15,000 black colonial troops that went to war when they went to war 1914. Even germany have four colonies on the continent of africa. There was very little contact between African Americans and the british but there was a lot of contact between African Americans and the french. Not only the 93rd division about with the french but you have almost roughly 160,000 plus African American services of supply soldiers who are throughout ports in france and making sure supplies get fourth. Through that interest in seeing these African Americans who are not the French Colonial troops that most french people had been reading about. About 45 minutes left in this segment. We want to hear from you. Your questions, your comments. We tore this exhibit with you, learn about the history and let you ask your questions. David is on that line for African American veterans out of detroit. David, you are on with colonel. Thank you washington journal and colonel, thank you very much. I have a question for you colonel, i am just finishing up this wonderful book. Its called, the blood ran. It was by a gentleman name eugene. Are you familiar with eugene . Absolutely. He is interpreted within the exhibition. I was wondering. I had not heard you up till now mention him, if im not mistaken. He was one of the first African American combat pilots. Well let colonel salter pick up from their. Absolutely well he was not one of the first, he was the first African AmericanFighter Pilot or combat pilot if you will so lets talk about that definition, there is no mistake that the Tuskegee Airmen in world war ii were the first African American combat pilots to fly for the United States. So eugene flew for the french. When you talk about that contact, the u. S. Was not training African Americans to fly and eugene was already in france before the war he was, his father got into a fight it was a boxer any joined a legion hes interpreted different times when you have that global war and im pointing a little bit because were in the gallery he joined a French Foreign legion he was wounded that were done actually one of the two bloody battles in 1916 and then he became a pilot. Then he became a pilot, he flew with the french. The continuation of his story, where we interpret him after the war, is also part of that. He owns a club for a short time. He is a manager of many clubs. He is one of the drummers. We have footage in this exhibition of him playing drums. Eugene bullard, interpreted within this exhibition. He is a key to the africanamerican experience during world war i, although he served with the french. Another individual story explored. Sergeant thomas shaw. Sergeant thomas shaw represents what we talked about earlier. What is going on with the black experience between 18651917. He was a buffalo soldier, the ninth calvary regiment. In 1891 awarded the medal of honor. I believe his particular story, they were fighting in mexico. They were outnumbered, 31. He exposed himself in what we call today, suppressive fire, to allow his comrades to survive that particular battle. He is interpreted within exhibition, a story develops around artifacts. We own his medal of honor at the Smithsonian National museum of africanamerican history and culture. Medal of honor as an affecting his image not to there are also eight African Americans who awarded peace time medals of honor who were serving in the navy during that era. There is also six African Americans who are awarded the medal of honor during the spanish american war. Five soldiers, one sailor. We use thomas shaws medal of honor as an artifact to his image not to highlight him, but the fact that average americans had been serving their country since the American Civil War but actually African Americans have been serving their country before the boston massacre which is where we often start with. They have served in all wars, the colonial war as well. Africanamerican veterans have a special line we have set aside, 202 7488002. We would love to hear from you. Phone lines open for everyone else. 202 7488000, eastern, central time zones. 202 7488001, mounted and pacific mountain pacific time zones. Good morning, colonel salter, thank you for your service. Is it true when africanamerican soldiers would come back to america, if they are fighting for this country, they would be attacked or lynched if they had uniforms on . That true . It is true africanamerican veterans were lynched during the red summer. We have interpretation of that. The red summer was not just a three month period of the calendar year summer. It starts on april 1, 1919 and runs through november, 1919. It is a period in this country after africanamericans go, close ranks, put their grievances aside, as w. E. B. Dubois said, and they go to fight to make the world safe for democracy, as the president said, just aposed against what randall said, they come back to a nation, 1919, bloodier than 1916, 1915, 1914. And that interpretation, we thought about, how do you make this red summer pop . A lot of us read about it in textbooks. Exhibition tells the story, a picture is worth 1000 words. When you come here, you see those nearly 40 riots that happened throughout the country. Most of them in the southeast. Then you see this note at the bottom. 53 separate lynchings happened. During the red summer. How do you make it pop . We researched and identified 12 veterans who were lynched during the red summer and their names are on that graphic. There were veterans who were lynched in 1919 after world war i. I will tell the story one, im sorry, go ahead. Tell the story, please. Well tell the story, the last name on there is a guy named lee wright johnston, we come to the exhibition, the 12th name is Lee Roy Johnson and hes from a lane arkansas and they are historians and they know about elaine arkansas in early october of 1919. Up and they came back from a hunting trip and all four were killed and all soldiers were meeting in a combat unit or a supply unit they. Survived europe, it was 365 and were part of the fighters and they were a veteran that served in the trenches and came back. Each one of those and then and then it would be interesting to highlight. You mentioned a picture is worth 1000 words, a flag might be worth 1000 words as well. We we have been showing viewers images of a flag, a man was lynched where did that flag hang . Ok, so, when we talk about why this exhibition is, correction 2019 2020 the title, we returned to fighting, the experience of africanamericans was not just about the battlefield. Based on what we talked about, when you are immersed in the exhibition coming in, learning about black life, then you come to this area where we have 13 interpretations, this great Photo Gallery behind me, then you go to the end of the exhibition, what happens after the war . The new negro emerges, this aggressive Africanamerican Community who is no longer willing to accept the status quo that they had been living in before the war, after hearing those comments. What the naacp did is they made this flag and they hung it over headquarters in new york for 18 years, 19201938. They did it based on what you said is on the flag. A man was lynched yesterday. The intent was to highlight, this is still going on in this country. Somewhere there is a log, i cannot tell you how many days it flew, but every day after a man was lynched, the naacp hung that flag over headquarters. The key thing about that flag is it is owned by the library of congress. Temporary exhibition. It is not really something we want to collect all of these items. Some items are oneofakind. They gave that to us on loan. When it comes off exhibition, june 14, because it is a textile, it will go into storage for another 10 years. For those of us, like me, a historian, or a student reading books, and we saw that flag as an image, it is actually here. That is what the flag represents. It goes along with the red summer. What africanamericans were doing and their white supporters, and that is key about the exhibition as well, and the museum. You know, museums should exist to tell inclusive stories. We are talking about people who are pushing the africanamerican experience forward, not just africanamericans. There is a representative from st. Louis, missouri, leah oneida stier. He put forward an antilynching bill which never passes. That flag is just a strong image. Naacp had the audacity to make this flag and hang it over headquarters. Halfway through this, our final stop of our museum week series on washington journal, exploring d. C. Area museums, talking about the american experience. We are at the Smithsonian National museum of africanamerican history and culture. Our guest, colonel Krewasky Salter taking your phone calls. 202 7488002 for africanamerican veterans. Other phone lines split up regionally. Washington, d. C. , up next with colonel salter. As an africanamerican woman and an older, i am 84, how does that exhibit, how is it related or has responded to by the millennial, the new group of young people, the millennials i think they call them . Thank you. Yes, maam. Thank you. I will tell you from children as young as 10 i see coming in with parents to great senior americans as yourself in their 80s, everyone is responding to the exhibition very well throughout ages. As curators, our images are not plastered all over the place. I would assume some of my colleagues do what i do often. I created the military galley, the permanent gallery on the third floor and was fortunate enough to cure this. I go through those galleries incognito. Incognito, i know what is in the exhibition. I am standing next to individuals, watching people. I will tell you, young and old, in between, of all races, nationalities i was here with a couple french people yesterday afternoon, they are responding well people get it. One of the things impressed on all of us as inaugural curators by individuals in the museum arena a long time was to tell a story that resonates. Tell the unvarnished truth story. Tell the story people need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. I have learned that is why everybody is responding well. People can also see themselves. Everyone can almost see themselves in this exhibition. We have nine luminary individuals, six men, three women, seven civilians, two soldiers. Millennials can see themselves in people like a philip randolph, and Josephine Baker, two of those younger people who are there age in 1917 and 1927. Everyone is responding to it very well, from what i see and what we hear. On that line for africanamerican veterans, nathaniel, smyrna, georgia. Colonel salter, thank you for serving. Thank you, nathaniel. I am a disabled veteran myself. Thank you for serving and i appreciate your service. This is the war where when everyone came back, oklahoma city, where they dropped a bomb, kansas, oklahoma they dropped a bomb on the black people coming up with their own schools, the kids dressed up going to class, going to school, then after the war was over, when everyone came back and they saw what was happening, they had a picnic and dropped a bomb on them. I believe youre talking about tulsa, oklahoma, 1921, after world war i. Black wall street. There are a lot of ties to that story. To keep answers short, i will tell the piece you are exactly right, it happens after world war i, 1921. We interpret tulsa in this exhibition. Everything that fits together. There is a key story not in this exhibition that folks dont know about. There is a woman, olivia hooks, the first africanamerican, a woman in the coast guard, world war ii. Just like Josephine Baker who experienced the east st. Louis riots, 1917, went on to be what she became. Hooks experienced the tulsa, oklahoma riot in 1921. She just passed away a couple years ago. Yes, that incident did happen after world war i. Why was a bomb dropped in tulsa, oklahoma . Can you give some background . Olivia hooker tells in her story, a lot of these attacks, there were people in uniform and some of them were local national guardsmen. There were bombs dropped in the city, burned from the top down. Dropped from a military airplane . I dont know if it was from a military airplane, that part of the story i am not completely sure or whether it was some artillery that was dropped. Im not completely sure on that aspect. A couple of questions from folks on twitter as we have been having this conversation. A couple of questions. Steve asking, there was black jack pushing, but he was white. Earned his nickname commanding black troops in the american war. That the history of the . Yeah, black jack and reinterpreted, and i am gesturing because im in the gallery, but we interpret that not too far from my right side and so he earned the name blackjack. He served with the buffalo soldiers. Interpretations are sort of all over the place. Some folks use it as a term of endearment and some folks used it as a pejorative term. There was another name he was called that began with a n, because he had served with africanamerican troops. Blackjack pershing did have a relationship with africanamericans, soldiers, and he had a relationship with one of our luminaries, Charles Young. He was actually at west point a couple years before Charles Young graduated in west point in 1889. The name originates from his service with buffalo soldiers. Uncle sam writing on twitter, was there ever any black generals in world war i . No, there was not. The first africanamerican general was not promoted until 1940. Benjamin odavis senior, the highestranking africanamerican, during world war i, was a gentleman i just referred to, colonel Charles Young. He has interpreted several times throughout the exhibition. The third africanamerican to graduate west point in 1889. World war i, he was a Lieutenant Colonel when the war started. He had gone through the board and was in line to be promoted to colonel. He was involuntarily retired for medical reasons. He was reinstated five days before the war ended and there is a story behind that. There were no africanamerican general officers during world war i. Tony, newport, tennessee. Good morning. A couple of things. I was in vietnam. 196566 and my father was also a military man. I didnt know about being prejudice. I was on army bases most of the time with my parents. When i wound up going to fort bragg, 3 00 in the morning by train, i noticed a slave market was still in the middleoftheroad down there. Signs on the wall that said, blacks shop between seven and ninth. [indiscernible] advertising on space, white women doing the maps, backgrounds, because they did not have computers. It was three black women, kathleen johnson, dorothy spencer, i think, and there was one more, mary jackson . Thank you for bringing it up. Do you wanna pick up that story . First of all, thank you for your service, thank you for being one of our great americans who have served our country especially during the vietnam war. What i believe the just of his question is is that he did not see, i am not sure i picked all of it, but i think he was talking about he did not experience or see a lot of racism until he went to North Carolina and you probably talking before bryant, North Carolina and he said he saw a sign that blacks shop between seven and nine. I think his question is even in the 1960s, you still had some of this going on. If that is still his question, that is absolutely correct. America is still not a perfect country so in the 1960s although the military led the way as far as an institution to integrate in the 19 fifties, you still have some Turbulent Times going on in the 1960s. I can think of two or three different stories of retired African American senior enlisted soldiers that officers were still living today who came into the military in the sixties and were still experiencing some level of racism when they were assigned a certain location and perhaps they wanted to buy a house or perhaps they wanted to go off base. Maybe eat at a hamburger establishment. I think his question was that. Thank you for jumping in on that. I should have mentioned, when you were talking the history of africanAmerican Military officers, a good book on that topic, the story of black military officers, 18611948. The author of that book, sitting with us this morning. Taking your phone calls. On the line for africanamerican veterans. I cannot believe this, absolute serendipity. This is only the third time i have been able to get through to cspan. For me to get through this time, i dont know where to start. I will speak quickly. Colonel salter, i have to get in touch with you. I think we may be related. I have five of the most beautiful, i mean, huge, portraits and they are all salters. Where are you from . There are stamps on the back, 1868, 1870. The other thing, my husbands grandfather was on the m rock news, in the office outside with the people in cologne. That is the first thing. The other thing is, im so excited, i cant believe this, James Monroe Trotter is the great great uncle of my husband. Mary Church Terrell is my great aunt, great great aunt on my mother side. I am sure we are related but that you are related on all these people on different sides of my family. Trotter and turrell . Trotter is on my husband side. Thompson, harold thompson, on the m rock news and my husband, James Monroe Trotter, obviously we will give the colonel a chance to talk about his background. Thank you for calling in with that. Colonel senator. First of all you got me offguard. Thank you for the plug. I did not know you are going to mention the book. To the color, thank you very much. There is a lot there but i do want to just pick up on one thing, you do know mary Church Terrell because we pronounce it mary church turley. Most people who are listening saying, no it is mary Church Terrell. Working here at this museum, to my colleagues, the reason why he is interpreted in this exhibition and so as william when world trotter is because they were going to collect the items and they learned of the family said no we dont pronounce our name. To get to your question, i am a fifth 25 Year American soldier. My father is an american soldier. He served 30 to 40 years. He is from southern alabama, abby ville. 87, moved down to panama city, florida and that is for my mother is from. The salt are part of my family is from alabama. We have some our public affairs. You can get touched with me through the smithsonian and passed information on. The salt or family is a very large and it would be very interesting to find out what are those connections because as a historian to, five been at this museum and got so my colleagues, the was one of my colleagues who recently learned from looking at the index in the back of my book is that her great grandfather or great grand uncle was one of the African American officers in the native guards of louisiana. Yes, get in touch with me through the sit smithsonian and we will see. About 20 minutes left to explore the exhibit. I want to let viewers walk around the exhibit in the form of a sketchbook you have. Who is Horace Pippen . That is a great question to. An exhibition tells a story in many ways. This is a story about the African American experience in world war one. We have these objects, which are actually to in the cultural part of the exhibition, because when people say they know or spin. He is a renaissance artist. That is who Horace Pippen is. A very famous painting by Horace Pippen in 1935. To go back to your specific questions in the sketchbook, we also have his sketchbook on display, which he wrote in 1920. In that sketch book, and i know this verbatim, he says, that day i seen three german and one french plane coming down. I do the interpretation. Perhaps this is the inspiration for this 1935 painting. Who was Horace Pippen . Horace pippen was a veteran of world war one who served in the trenches. He served in the 369th in full tree regiment, known as the harlem how fighters. He went into the trenches with the 369th in full tree regiment as early as april of 1918. He shot his first german. He talks about that on 14th april. He is badly wounded in late september. That is why Horace Pippen was the painter and i forget which arm and painted with one hand. He is actually one of those world war one veterans who because of his experience in the war, he painted a lot of paintings that really resonated from that. We have his sketchbook and we have the painting. Both of those are on loan. The sketch book is from the smithsonian archives for. The painting to. That is who Horace Pippen was. There is a lot of stories like that. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn about the people who they know and he was a world war one veteran. If i were to say, Charles Hamilton houston right now, 98 of the people who know Charles Hamilton he is a lawyer. That is exactly who he was. He trained one third of the African American lawyers at Howard Law School in 1940 and 1950 in america to include Thurgood Marshall. He became a lawyer because he was an officer who served in world war one. He served in the 368 infantry regiment. When he came back to the war because of the experience that he had, it was a horrible experience, he made his father s dream control. His father was a lawyer and his father always wanted him to be a lawyer. Charles hamilton houston finally decided to become a lawyer because of his experience in world war ii. First Horace Pippen, Charles Hamilton houston and i think we talked about others. World war i was a transformative event for many reasons. When we get to the point where setting and planting the seed of Civil Rights Movement, Thurgood Marshall writes when Charles Hamilton houston dies in 1951, 52 a 53. He says, we would not have gotten anywhere or we would not be where we are without charlie. He is referring to Charles Hamilton houston. We all know the history of Thurgood Marshall. Less than 15 minutes left in the segment. A lot of calls. William, emporia virginia, africanamerican veterans. How are you . Doing well, you are on with colonel salter. I was in the navy in 1955. There was a lot of discrimination going on then. To make a long story short, i was on one vessel. I was sent there to be the bomber. They did not want me to be the bomber. I was rated. E1. Doing my job [indiscernible] another ship i went aboard, they may be the master at arms. I was in charge of the laundry. They did not want me to write anything. When i got ready to transfer from the ship, they wrote up evaluation on me. They werent supposed to do that. When they wrote the evaluation up, they graded me as low as they could grade me. My parents they put me, not observed. I have my orders, went to the executive officer, secondincommand. I asked, sir, how can they evaluate me and never seen me . Look what they got me for my evaluation. He told me, said, boy, only thing i can tell you, square yourself away when you get to your next duty station. Tears rolling down my cheeks. I wasnt there for 90 days. Three months before they evaluate you. What do you take from that . Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for your service, william. I was going to ask how long he was in the navy. My mothers brother served in the navy for 20 years around that same time. Again, 1955, ebb and flow. The caller has bad experiences serving in the navy in 1965, and there are people serving in the navy today who are having bad experiences for whatever reason. 1955, the navy was a service like most others, who had already begun to integrate. The navy had their first africanamerican officers 12 years before our caller, william, again, thanks for your service, certainly, 1955, you have to remember the American Military is made up, any military is made up of the people of the country they live in and that is the beauty of our democracy. I certainly understand and appreciate william had some bad experiences. But the navy on the other hand was also making progress in the 1950s. Thank you for your service. I wish i could talk to you longer to find out how things eventually turned out for you. Melvin, fort pierce, florida, africanamerican veterans. Good morning. Colonel salter, thank you for your service. Just wanted to say that. Also, i am working with a nonprofit, because for the brave, a veterans nonprofit organization, and i was wondering, how can we get detailed info, accurate, out like this on a yearly or yearround basis as opposed to just being segmented to the month of february . Also, what could organizations, such as cause of the brave do to obtain information or set up locations to have that Information Available to the thanks for these questions. Thank you melbourne for your question and thank you for what you do for our veterans. You said, a lot of things there and i am listening closely. One of things you said is as opposed to only black history month, we like to say and i actually say this all the time, every month is African American history month. I am a African American historian. Yes, the way you can get this information out all year is to continue to do what you do and if you have time to come visit the exhibition before closes on the 14th of june this year. A temporary exhibition has a shelf life and a book also has a shelf life. I hope you can see this book. We were fortunate enough, our deputy director, forgot a lot of us together, our scholarly advisers and after listening to me talk to her on some of our stories, she said we should do a companion book. You can buy this book, the shelf life of this exhibition and on the 14th of june. If you put this on your bookshelf, the shelf life is forever. It has the same short title of the exhibition, we return fighting. The long title is, world war one and the shaping of modern black identity. That goes for what we talked about how world war one set the stage and planted the seed for the Civil Rights Movement. This book and we were always taught about exhibition as not a book on the wall. Coming in as a professional and historian we like to wax eloquently. The book actually allows us to put more information than what is in the exhibition. You can use this book because it is written by myself and five other scholars. Our founding director of rights, the intro and the epilogue. That is one way you can keep the story alive beyond the closing of the exhibition. New york city, denise. Hi, good morning. A pleasure to speak with you. My grandfather served in world war i. He was 369th, he was one of the harlem hell fighters, company d. Most of the time, you only hear about company c of the 369th. They were a little more famous. Is there anyway you can get info, i am trying to get information on him like pictures and everything, that we can get on all the companies a, b, c, and d . Yes, maam. First of all, specifically, i want to go in a different direction based on what you said, 1918, so, those records and a lot of that history would be number one, in the National Archives, downtown, d. C. , also unit records in the National Archives in college park. I cannot tell you exactly where that info might be located in either one of those. The individual Service Records would be either here in washington dc or, if they survived, in st. Louis. Unit records would probably be in college park. 369th armory is still in new york city. They may have some info. There are a number of books written recently, one of our scholarly advisors, they wrote the book on the rattlers. If you go to the footnote, you will see a lot of where they got their info. I want to talk about, we keep talking about the 369th i want you and viewers to know, it was only one of eight africanamerican regiments that fought. They get recognition for several different reasons. Because they are known, we have an interpretation that really focuses on them but they were just 1 8 of the africanamerican regiments that fought in the trenches. When you say companies, for me, as a historian, i cant tell you the story of every company but i think those 4 locations and a couple books and footnotes may direct you to some info you are looking at were looking for. Five minutes left this morning. Africanamerican veterans, lake village, arkansas john. Good morning. How are you . Doing well. How are you . I just wanted to make known blacks have sacrificed, even in the 1960s, we were being mistreated. Rotc, officers, camp, a lot of people did not want to make it as officers. People know we sacrificed a lot of things, went through a whole lot of stuff to be military people and serve our country. Yes, sir. Mr. Salter, do you want to expand . Pretty much on the same line as our earlier caller, 1955, certainly, into the 1960s, 1970s, there were still racism in our services because, again, the u. S. Military is made up of a microcosm of america. There are always those juxtapositions because many of our retired generals and admirals who came in the military as early as the late 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, my father was drafted in 1951. He experienced a level of racism, obviously, in the 1960s, he stayed in the military 34 years. Certainly, that was happening in the 1960s. Happening in the 1960s. Because there were always going to be people who are not exactly happy everybody is a part of this american pie. That is why this exhibition is so important. People have to continue to be informed, continue to agitate and to move our country forward so we continue to be the greatest country on the face of the globe. Colonel salter, two minutes left, but i wanted to give you a chance, this is a temporary exhibit, but do you have a favorite piece or story you want to mention in our final two minutes . I do. That question always ends like this, it is wherever i had someone in the gallery. Every story is at this rate so. I will talk about where i sit right now. I sit and what we call the Photo Gallery, so as curators we are the face of an exhibition, but there are a lot of people who help us get from a to b, museum specialists, research assistance, facebook managers, so forth and so on, but designers. One of the design leaders, because i mentioned i would like to have a Photo Gallery, and this is the beautiful Photo Gallery that was designed. Today, because im sitting here and this is my favorite section of exhibition, of the 30 some odd interpretations, i believe that all of them come together well. So its hard for me to pick one of my favorites. Understandable. Colonel Krewasky Salter, curator of the exhibit, we return fighting, the africanamerican experience in world war i, it will close june 14, at the Smithsonian National museum of africanamerican history and culture and we appreciate you inviting us in this morning. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you, john. We appreciate it. We appreciate it