Transcripts For CSPAN3 Smithsonian National Museum Of African American History Culture 20240713

It hints at a story beyond just two years of service and fighting over there. Actually, exactly. We return fighting, the africanamerican experience in world war i. The key to that title is, number one, you dont see the word military because it is not just about soldiers, it is about soldiers and civilians. It is about men and women. Its about young and old. Its about white and black. So that is the long title. But the short title we returned 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. And well explore that story throughout this hour of the washington journal. It is day five of museum week on the washington journal with our friends at American History tv on cspan3. Throughout this segment we invite viewers to join us, phone lines split up regionally. 7027482000, and a special line set aside for africanamerican veterans 2027488002. We would love to hear from you as we explore this exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of africanAmerican History and culture. Colonel salter, this is a temporary exhibit. How long is ita[s going to be u and how did this idea to focus on this story get included in the museum and open back in december . Yes, exactly. It opened on december 13, last year, and it will be up until 14 june of this year. And last year was the 100th anniversary of world war i. And part of our mission is always to illuminate the story of america through the africanamerican lens. So we certainly wanted to make sure that the africanamerican experience during world war i was also highlighted. The reason the exhibition opened in 2019 and is still running until 2020 goes directly to the title that we talked about we return fighting because 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 the world war ii generation came back from fighting overseas as well. And so we thought about this exhibition really as early as 2014 and 15 when i was talking to my then boss at the smithsonian that we should do something for world war i. And then a couple of years later he, rex alice and then founding director ronnie bunch who is the secretary of the smithsonian, went to france and they came back and planted the seed that well do a world war i exhibition and being the guest curator and the subject Matter Expert for military history i got the nod to be able to do this exhibition. And so the exhibition speaks to not just what happened in the war, but happened after the war. Well lets talk about the military history first. When the United States finally joined world war i, what role did the military planners see africanamerican soldiers playing and 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. That is a great question. The book end of the exhibition is 1865 on the front end and 1963 on the back end. So when we talk about the exhibition, we also plant the seed of what was going on in america between 1865 after the American Civil War and before world war i. So what was shaping the experience and the use of africanamericans was partly the service of africanamericans in the American Civil War and on the western frontier. So lets talk about the American Civil War. The 13th amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865, the 17th amendment which gave correction the 14th amendment in 1868 which gave africanamericans citizenship and the correction the 15th amendment in 1870 which gave africanamerican men the right to vote, the Army Reorganization act of 1866 which made africanamericans a permanent part of the military and then this era of reconstruction where there was an uptick in the life and the progress of africanamericans. When you get to world war i, there is not this idea that we want to put africanamericans on the battlefield because what happened after the civil war, there was an uptick. And also there was a fear to not arm large groups of africanamericans. So during world war i the push was to use africanamericans largely in a services of supply role, there were two africanamericans divisions. But i also want to back up and talk about the first interpretation when you talk about what was setting the stage. When you walk into the exhibition, the first interpretation has three conversations going on. You have a conversation between scholar w. E. B. Dubois and you have a conversation between the president of the United States Woodrow Wilson and then a conversation with a young 28yearold activist a. Philip randolph from jacksonville, florida. So w. E. B. Dubois said in 1918 in a crisis magazine which has been his sentiment for years before 1917 is that africanamericans should put separate associations aside and fight and that was around the same time where president wilson goes before a joints session of congress on 2 april and in that sevenpage speech we all remember that nine, ten, 11word phrase where we my fight to make the world safe for democracy. And so when africanamericans hear that, they believe because they are citizens, they are third, fourth and fif generation americans and the leading scholar w. E. B. Dubois is in close ranks, most africanamericans believed that and many of them will support the war. However, there is a third conversation going on. And a. Philip randolph, when you walk into the exhibition, you see his quote, we would rather make georgia safe for the negro and each one has an image and i image under him is three individuals in a kkk regalia. So the image under randolphs quote and the image of the president in the capitol and the image of young men joining the war are all within a year span. So when you understand it, africanamericans 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 safer for them when they get back, youll understand the rest of the exhibition. The exhibition were exploring today, weve returned fighting, the africanamerican experience in world war i, setting aside a special phone line for africanamerican veterans, 2027488002. Otherwise, 2027488000 and in the Mountain Time zones 2027488001. Colonel salter, how africanamericans would serve from 1917 to 1919 and what did the british and french allies think of those soldiers . During the war, nearly 400,000 africanamericans serviced during world war i. Nearly 200,000 of those went overseas. And so that was the number that served. And when they went overseas, a portion of the africanamericans did serve under the french, the 93rd Infantry Division which includes four africanamerican regiments that served under the french. And when they served under the french, they were treated with a level of equality that they had not experienced in america. And to the french, who they served with, treated them as equal and they were happy to get these soldiers because, remember, in 1917, by the time the u. S. Enters the war, the war has been going on for three years for the french and the british. And what the British Forces, when you talk about africanamericans, there is very little contact, if any contact, between africanamericans and British Forces during world war i. But the british did have their colonial forces in west indian forces. And i talk about, when you talk about africanamericans soldiers and their contact with some of the european counterparts, in the exhibition we not only interpret the story of africanamericans but we interpret the story of black people throughout the globe, the black diaspora. So the french had about 17 colonies 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 did in 1914. And even germany have four on the continent. And there was a lot of contact between africanamericans and the french. And not only the 93rd division that fought with the french but you also almost roughly 160,000 plus africanamerican services of supply soldiers who are throughout ports in france and making sure supplies get forward. So there is that interest in see the africanamericans who are not the French Colonial troops that most french people had been reading about. About 45 minutes left in this segment. Want to hear from you. Your questions and comments as we tour this exhibit with you. Learn about the history and let you ask your questions. David is on that line for africanamerican veterans. Out of detroit. David, youre on with colonel salter. Thank you washington journal and colonel salter, thank you very much. I have a question for you, colonel salter. Im finishing up this wonderful book called blood runs red about a gentleman by the name of Eugene Bullard. Are you familiar with Eugene Bullard . Absolutely. He is interpreted within the exhibition. Okay. Because i was wondering. I hadnt heard you up until now mention him, if im not mistaken but he was one of the first africanamerican combat pilots. And well let colonel salter pick up the story from there. Okay. Absolutely. So he was not one of the first, he was the first africanamerican Fighter 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 africanamerican combat pilots to fly for the United States. So Eugene John Bullard flew for the french. When you talk about that contact, the u. S. Was not training africanamericans to fly and actually Eugene Bullard was already in france before the war started. When we talk about what was life like for africanamericans before the war, he was from columbus, georgia. His father got into a scuffle with his boss and so they left town, eugene eventually made his way to france. He was a boxer. And he actually joined a French Foreign legion. So now that im thinking about it, hes interpreted three different times in the exhibition. So when we have the global war and im pointing because were in the glalery, he joined a French Foreign legion and wounded at verdon and then became a pilot and flew with the french. And the continuation of his story where we interpret him in the after the war section, he is also part of that paris noir. He owns a club for a short time. He is a manager of many clubs and one of the drummers and we have actual footage in this exhibition of him playing the drums. So absolutely, eugene jock bullard is interpreted within this exhibition and hes a key to the africanamerican experience during world war i, although he did serve with the french. Another individual story that is explored in the exhibit, Sergeant Thomas shaw. Who was he . Gentlemen, Sergeant Thomas shaw, he represents what we talked about earlier, what is going on with the black experience between 1865 and 1917. So he was a buffalo soldier. He was in the ninth calvary regiment and in 1891 he was awarded the medal of honor and i believe his particular story, they were fighting in mexico, they were outnumbered by three to one. He exposed himself and in what we call today suppressive fire to allow his comrades to survive that particular battle. But he is interpreted within the exhibition, a story develops around artifacts so we own his medal of honor here at the Smithsonian Museum of africanamerican culture. So we use thomas saws individual story to highlight the fact that 18 Buffalo Soldiers and Seminole Negro indian scouts, so that is a distinction we say, it was fully 14 Buffalo Soldiers and four Seminole Negro indian scouts and also eight africanamericans who were awarded peace time medals of honor who served in the navy between that era and there were also six africanamericans who were awarded the medal of honor during the spanish american war, five soldiers and one sailor. So we use thomas shaws medal of honor as artifact and his image to not just highlight him but the fact that africanamericans have been serving their country since the American Civil War but actually africanamericans have been serving their country before the boston massacre which is where weoch start with. They had served in all four colonia wars as well. Africanamerican veterans would join on a special line that weve set aside, 2027488002. And split up regionally. If you are in the mountain or pacific time zones. Morgan out of redding, pennsylvania. Good morning, youre on with colonel salter. Good morning, colonel salters, thank you for your service. Could you tell me, is it true that when africanamerican soldiers would come back to america after fighting for this country, that they would be attacked or even lynched if they to their uniforms on . Is that true . It is true that africanamerican veterans were lynched during the red summer. And we have an interpretation of that. And the red summer was not just a threemonth period of the calendar year summer. It starts on 1 april of 1919 and it runs through november of 1919. This is a period in this country after africanamericans go and they close ranks and put their separate grievances aside as w. E. B. Dubois said and they go to fight to make the world safe for democracy as the president said juxtaposed against what a. Philip randolph has said. They come back to a nation that in 1919 was bloodier than 1916, 1915 and 1914. And in that interpretation we thought about how do you make this red summer pop . A lot of us read about it in our textbooks. And an exhibition tells a story a picture is worth a thousand words. So when you come in here you see the nearly 40 riots that happened throughout the country, most of them are in the southeast and then you see this note at the bottom where it says 53 separate lynchings happen during red summer. How do you make it pop . So we researched and we identified 12 veterans who were lynched during the red summer and their names are on that graphic. So there were veterans who were lynched in 1919 after world war i. And, one, i will tell the story of one. Im sorry, go ahead. No, tell the story, please. One, i will tell the story, the last name on there is a guy named Leroy Johnston. So when you come to the exhibition, the 12th name is Leroy Johnston. He was from elaine arkansas and a lot of us who are historians know about the riot in elaine, arkansas, late september, early october of 1919. He and three of his brothers came back from a hunting trip and all four of them were killed. The key thing will Leroy Johnston is all Soldiers Service is key, whether you are in a combat unit or a Service Supply unit. He survive the europe, he was actually in the 369th infantry regiment what we know as the harlem hell fighters so he was a veteran a served in the trenches and came back and was lynched. So each one of the 12 soldiers has a story. But that is one i think would be interesting to highlight based on your question. Thanks for asking. You mentioned a picture is worth a thousand words. A flag might be worth a thousand words as well. Weve been showing our viewers as you were talking the images of a flag that says on it, a man was lynched yesterday. Explain where that flag hung. Okay, so when we talk about why this exhibition is 1919 correction 2019 and 2020 and the title we return fighting because the experience for africanamericans is not just what they did on the battlefield. So based on what we talked about when you are immersed in the exhibition coming in and learning about black life and then you come into this era which is the decagon where we have 13 interpretations and this great Photo Gallery behind me and then the end of the exhibition, what happens after the war, the new negro emerges. It is this aggressive Africanamerican Community who is no longer willing to accept a status quo that they had been living in before the war after hearing those comments. And so what the naacp did is they made this flag and they hung it over their headquarters in new york for 18 years. From 1920 to 1938. And they did it based on what you just said is on the flag. A man was lynched yesterday. And so the intent was to highlight that this is still going on in this country. And somewhere there is a log, i cant tell you how many days it flew, but every day after a man was lynched, the naacp hung that flag over their headquarters. Now the key thing about that flag is it is owned by the library of congress, temporary exhibitions, it is not something that we want to collect all of these items because some items are oneofakind. And they gave that to us on loan and when it comes off exhibition on july correction june 14, because it is a textile, it will go into storage for another ten years. So for those of you who were like me, a historian or just a student reading our books and we saw that flag as an image, it is actually here. And so 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 exhibit to tell inclusive stories so when were talking about people who are pushing the africanamerican experience forward it is not just africanamericans. So there is this representative from st. Louis, missouri, named leonidis, who puts forward a bill that never passes and so there is a move and that flag is just that strong image that if i may say this, that the naacp had the audacity to make this large flag and hang it over their headquarters. About half way through this. Our final stop of our museum week series here on the 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. Special lines, 2027488002 for veterans and all other split up regionally and here in washington, d. C. Youre up next and youre on with colonel salter. Colonel salter, as an africanamerican woman, and a older im 84 how does that exhibit, how is it related to what was responded to by the millennial the new group of young people, the millennials, i think they call them. Thanks for that question. Colonel salter. Yes, maam. Thanks for that question. I will tell you that from children as young as 10 that i see coming in with their parents to great senior americans as yourself and in their 80s. Everyone is responding to the exhibition very well throughout as a matter of fact, as curators our images are not plastered all over the place so i would assume that some of the colleagues do as i do, upstairs on the third floor, i was fortunate enough to cure ate this gallery and i go through incognito. I know what is in the exhibition. Individu ls and watching people and i will tell you, young and old and in between of all races and nationalities, i was here with a couple of french people yesterday afternoon, they are responding well. And people get it. One of the things that we that was impressed upon all of us as inaugural curators by individuals who have been in the museum arena a long time to tell a story that resonates, to tell an unvarnished true story, a story that people really need to hear and not necessarily what they want to hear. And i have learned that that is why everybody is responding well. Because people could also see themselves. Everyone could almost see themselves in this exhibition. We have nine liminary individuals. Six men, three women, seven civilian, two soldiers. And to millennials could see themselves in people like a. Philip randolph and Josephine Baker who are two of the younger people who are their age in 1917 and 1927, that era. So everyone is responding to it very well from what i see and from we continue to hear. On that line for africanamerican and thank you very much for that question. Nathaniel is waiting in new smyrna, georgia. Youre on with connell salter. Good morning, thank you for serving. Thank you, nathaniel, thank you. Im a disabled veteran myself. Well thank you for servicing and i appreciate your service. What im trying to find out, colonel salter, this is where when everybody came back and in Oklahoma City where they dropped the bomb, in oklahoma they dropped the bomb on the black people that had started coming up with own schools and kids dressed up with suits and ties and bows and going to school and then after the war was over when everybody came back and they saw thats what happening they had a picnic and dropped a bomb on them. Colonel salter if you could pick up i believe youre talking about tulsa, oklahoma, in 1921, so that is after world war i. And black wall street and there is a lot of ties to that story to keep the answer short ill tell the piece that you are exactly right. It happens around world war i. It is in 1921. We actually interpret tulsa, oklahoma, in this exhibition. So it is everything that fits together. But there is a key story that is not in this exhibition and a lot of folks dont know about, there is a woman named olivia hooks who was first africanamerican to be in a woman in the coast guard in world war ii. Just like Josephine Baker who experienced the east st. Louis riots in 1917 and went on to be what she became, hooks experienced the tulsa, oklahoma, riot in 1921 and she just passed away a couple of years ago. So, yes, that incident did happen after world war i and what you describe. Why was a bomb dropped in tulsa, oklahoma. You could just give some background to folks who dont know that story. A little bit of the background, burned from the top and, of course, Olivia Hooker, miss Olivia Hooker tells in her story, a lot of these attacks, there were people in uniform and some of them were local national guardsmen. So there were bombs dropped in the city and it 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 im not completely sure. Or whether it was some artillery that was dropped. Im not completely sure on that aspect of the story. A couple of questions from folks on twitter as weve been having this conversation. Just a couple of quick ones. Steve asking, there was blackjack pershing but he was white and earned his nickname kplanding black troops in the spanishamerican war. Is that the history of that . Yeah. Black back, and that is a name we interpret and i keep because im in the gallery and we interpret that not too far from my right side. So he did earn the name blackjack. He did serve with the Buffalo Soldiers. And the interpretation, because interpretations are sort of all over the place, some folks used it as a term of endearment, and some folks used it as a pejorative term and there was actually another name that he was called that began with an n yt because he had served with africanamerican troops. To blackjack pershing did have a relationship with africanamerican soldiers and he actually had a relationship with one of our illumin aries, Charles Young. He was at west point a couple of years before Charles Young and graduated from west point in 1991 and it does relate to buffalo soldierers. And uncle sam writing in on twitter, were there any black generals in world war i. No, there was not. The first africanamerican general was not promoted until 1945. That is benjamin o. Davis sr. The highest ranking africanamerican during world war i was the gentleman i just returned to is Charles Young. Charles young was interpreted several times throughout the exhibition and he was the third africanamerican to graduate from west point in 1889 and in 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. But he was involuntary retired for a medical reason. But he was reinstated five days before the war ended and there is a story behind that. And got his colonel ranks. So there were no africanamerican general officers during world war i. Tony in newport, tennessee. Good morning. Youre next. Good morning. I just got a couple of things that i learned. I was in vietnam war back in 65 and 66 and my father was also a military man. I didnt know anything about being prejudice at all. I was on army bases most of the time with my parents. But when i wound up going to fort bragg, about 3 00 in the morning by train, i noticed a marking was still in the middle of the road down there and two signs on the wall that said black shot between 7 00 at night but bringing you up to date, now theyre doing advertising on space and they showed three right men that were doing the math background because they didnt have computers. And actually it was three black women, Kathleen Johnson and dorothy spencer, i think, and another, one more, mary jackson. Well thanks for bringing it up. Do you want to pick up that story. O yekay, yeah, thank you for serving our country and especially during the vietnam war. So what i believe the gist of his question is, is that he did not see and im not sure i picked up 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 hes probably talking about fort bragg, North Carolina and he saw a sign that blacks shot between 7 00 and 9 00. So i think his question is that even in the 1960s, you still had some of this going on. And if that is still his question, you know, 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 1950s, you still had some Turbulent Times going on in the 1960s. I could think of two or three different stories of retired africanamerican senior enlisted soldiers and officers still living today who came in the military into the 60s and still experiencing some level of racism when they were assigned to certain locations and perhaps they wanted to buy a house or perhaps they wanted to go off base and eat at a hamburger establishment. So i think his question is that john. And thank you for jumping in on that. And i should have mentioned when you were talking about the history of africanAmerican Military officers, a good book on that topic, the story of black military officers, 1861 to 1948 and the author of that book sitting with us this morning and taking your phone calls. Tanya is in athens, ohio, on the line for africanamerican veterans. Good morning. Good morning. John, i cannot believe this. This is absolutely serendipity because it is the only third time to get through to cspan and to get through on this time. I dont even know where to start. Im going to speak extra quickly to get all of this information out. First of all, colonel salter, ive got to get in touch with you. I think we may be related. I have five of the most beautiful huge portraits and theyre all salters, okay. So one question, i have to ask you is where your from. Theyre all sallers and stamped on the back 1868 and 1870. That is the first thing. And my husbands grandfather was on the m rock news and we have several photographs of him at the m rock news in the office outside with the people in cologne. That is the first thing. The other thing that i want to tell you is that im so excited, i cant believe this. James Monroe Trotter is the great, great uncle my husband. Mary churchill is my great aunt on my mothers side. Im saying, i think that not only im sure that were related but that you were related to all of theme peas on two different sides of my family. And youre saying trotter and terrell. Yes. No, my husband is trotter with thompson. Harold thomas and then my husband and that is jamts Monroe Trotter. Well tanya, i want to give colonel salter a chance too talk about his background to your question but thank you for calling in with all of that. So first of all, so a lot of things. Did you catch me off guard. Thanks for that plug. I didnt know you were going to mention the book. And to the caller, thank you so much. So there was a lot there. But i do want to pick up on one thing you do know Mary Church Terrell because we pronounce is mary chuch terrell and and many say it is Mary Church Terrell and working at the museum and the reason shes interpreted in this exhibition and so is william Monroe Trotter because they were going to collect the items and they learned the family said we dont pronounce our name terrell we pronounce it terrell. So to get to your question, so, yes, i am a 25 Year American soldier. My father is an american soldier. He served for 34 years. Hes from southern alabama, abbeville, age 7 i moved down to panama city, florida, and that is where my mother is from. So the salter part of the family is from alabama. We have some of our Public Affairs you could get in touch with me through the smithsonian and that he will pass the information on. So, the salter family is very large and it would be very interesting to find out what are those connections. Because as a historian, being at this museum, i get some of my colleagues and there is one of my colleagues who just recently learned from looking at the index in the back of my book is that her great grandfather or her great grand uncle was one of the africanamerican officers in the native guards of louisiana. So, yes, get in touch with me and through the smithsonian and well see. About 20 minutes left to explore the exhibition there, the africanamerican experience during world war i. I want to let our viewers walk more around the exhibit in the form of a sketch book that you have there. Horace pippins sketch book. Who was Horace Pippin . That is a great question, too. So an exhibition tells a story in many ways. So this is a story about the africanamerican experience in world war i. So we have these objects which are actually in the cultural part of the exhibit because when people hear Horace Pippin, hes a harlem renaissance or a negro renaissance artist and that is who Horace Pippin. So we have a painting in the exhibition called dog fight over the battlefield. A very famous painting by Horace Pippin in 1935. But to go back to your specific question, the sketch back, we also have his sketch book on display which he wrote in 1920. And in that sketch book, and i think i know this almost verbatim, he says that day i seen three german and one french plane coming down. And then i knew the interpretation, perhaps this is the inspiration for this 1935 painting. So what was Horace Pippin . Horace pippin was a veteran of world war i who served in the trenches. He served in the 369th infantry regiment known as the harlem hell fighters and went into the trenches with the 369th infantry regiment as early as april of 1918. He shot his first german, he talks about that on 14 april, hes badly wounded in late september. And that is why Horace Pippin was that painter and i forget which arm, that painted with one hand. So he is actually one of those world war i veterans who, because of his experience in the war, he painted a lost paintings that really resonated from that. And so we have his sketch book and we have the painting and both of those are on loan. One, the sketch book is from the smithsonian art archives and the hershhon loan painting to us. So that is who Horace Pippin was. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn about people who they know and he was a world war i veteran. If i were to say Charles Hamilton houston right now, 95 of the people who are listening who know Charles Hamilton houston, yeah, hes a lawyer. And that is exactly who he was. He trained onethird of the africanamerican lawyers at Howard Law School in 1940 and 1950 in america to include Thurgood Marshall. But he became a lawyer because hes an officer who served in world war i. He served in the 368th infantry regiment and because of the experience he had from the war, it was a horrible experience, he made his fathers dream come true and his father was a lawyer and wanted him to become a lawyer. So Charles Hamilton houston finally decided to become a lawyer because of his experience in world war ii. So Horace Pippin, Charles Hamilton houston and i think we talked about a few others. So world war i was a transformative event for many reasons. So when we get to the point when we are setting and planting the seats for the movement, Thurgood Marshall writes when Charles Hamilton houston died in 1951, 52 or 53, he said we would not be where we are without charlie and referring to him. And well try to get to as many calls. William in on the line for africanamerican veterans. Youre on can colonel salter. Yes. I was in the navy. I wasnt in the navy in 1955. And there was a lot of discrimination going on then. And to make a long story short, i was on one vessel and i was sent there to be the bomber and they didnt want me to be the bomber. I was ready. And they put it down and they gave me a [ inaudible ]. And another ship that i went aboard they made me the master of arms and i was in charges of the laundry. They didnt want me to any of the whites. And when i got ready to transfer from the ship, they wrote up some evaluation on me, they wasnt supposed to do that. But when they wrote the evaluation up, they graded me as low. And my parents, they put not observe. So i had my orders and i went to the executive officer of the ship, he was the second in command, so i asked him, i said, sir how could they evaluate me and never say anything. Look at what they got there for my evaluation and he told me, he said, moore, just square yourself away when you get to your next duty station and tears rolling down my cheek. I wasnt there for 90 days, at least three months before they evaluate you. William thank you for sharing your story. Colonel salter what, do you take from that. First of all, william, thanks for your service and i want going to ask how long he was in the navy. My mothers brother served in the navy for 20 years around that same time. And so, again, 1955, there is ebb and there is flow. So the caller had some bad experienced serving in the navy in 1965 and there were people who are serving in the navy today who are having bad experiences for whatever reasons but by 1955 the navy was a service like most other services who had already begun to integrate. And actually the navy had the first africanamerican officers about 12 years before our caller. I think his name was william. Again, thanks for your service. So certainly in 1955, you have to remember that the American Military is made up and any military is made up of the people of the country that they live in. And that is the beauty of our democracy. So i certainly understand and appreciate that william had some bad experiences. But the navy on the other hand was also making progress in the 1950s. So thank you for your service and i wish i could talk to you a little long toer to find out ho things turns out for you. From fort pierce, florida. Thank you for your service. Just wanted to say that and also i work with a nonprofit cause of debris, it is a veterans nonprofit and i was wondering how could we get detailed information accurate out like this on a yearly or year round basis as opposed to just being segmented to the february month and also what could organizations such as cause of the brave do to obtain information or set up museums of locations to have that Information Available to the public and all. Thanks for those questions. Melvin thank you for your question and thank you for what you do for our veterans. And you said a lot of things there and im listening closely and one of the things you said is as opposed to only black history month. We like to say, and i say this all of the time, is, you know, every month is a africanAmerican History month. So, yes, the way you could 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 it closes, on the 14th of june, this year, but a temporary exhibition has a shelf life and a book also has a shelf life. So i hope you could see this book. So we were fortunate enough, our Deputy Director kin shasha Holman Conwill got us together and our scholarly advisers and after listening to me talk to her on some of the stories, she said we should do a companion book so you could buy this book, the shelf life of this exhibition ends on the 14th of june. If you put this on your bookshelf, the shelf life is forever. And it has the same short title of the exhibition, we return fighting. But the long title is world war i and the shaping of modern black identity and that goes to what we talked about, how world war i set the stage and planted the seeds for the Civil Rights Movement. So this book, and were always talking about exhibition is not a book on the wall because coming into this arena as a museum professional, as a historian, we like to wax eloquently. So the book allows us to put more information than what is in the exhibition. And so you can use this book, because it is written by myself and scholars, our founding director writes the introin the epilogue so thats one way you can keep it alive. To new york city. This is denise. Thanks for waiting. Good morning, its a pleasure to speak with you. My grandfather, he served in world war i. On the 369th, he was one of the harlem hell fighters and served in company d, but most of the time, you only hear about company c of the 369th. They were a little more famous, so is there anyway you can get information on him, like pictures, more pictures and everything, that we could get on all the companies, a, b, c, and d. Yes, maam, so first of all, the answer to your question specifically, and i want to go in a little different direction, based on what you said, is 1918, so those records and a lot of that history would be number one in the National Archives in downtown here in d. C. And also unit records in the National Archives in college park. I cant tell you exactly where that information might be located in either one of those. The individual Service Records would be either here in washington, d. C. Or if they also survived in st. Louis. The unit records would probably be in college park, but also, the 369th armory is still in new york city, they may have some information and there are a number of books written just recently one of our scholarly advisers, they wrote the book on the ratlers. And if you go to the footnote, you will see a lot of where they got their information. But i want to talk about when we we keep talking about the 369th. I also want you and our viewers to know that the 369th was only one of eight africanamerican regiments that fought. And they get recognition for several different reasons. And because they are known, we do have an interpretation that really focuses on them, but they were just oneeighth of the africanamerican regiments that actually fought in the trenches, so when you say companies, you know, for me, as a historian, i cant tell you the stories of every single company, but i think those four locations and a couple of books, looking at the footnotes, may direct you to some information youre looking at or looking for, i should say. Just about five minutes left this morning. Johns been waiting on that line for africanamerican veterans. Lake village, arkansas. Good morning. Good morning good morning. How are you this morning . Were doing well. Go ahead with your question, sir. I would just warn and make known that blacks have sacrificed, still being mistreated. Officers, a lot of people didnt want us to make it as officers, so we were mistreated in 63. My brother went in in 66 and never sent anymore black rotc people to the south, they went north for their training. So people know that we sacrificed a whole lot of things with a whole lot of stuff to be military people and to serve our country. Yes, sir. Mr. Salter, do you want to expand on that . I believe his question and his comments, you know, pretty much on the same line as our earlier caller in 1955. As i said, you know, certainly, into the 60s, into the 70s, there was, you know, still racism in our services. Because, again, the u. S. Military is made up of a microcosm of america, and there are always those juxtapositions, because many of our retired generals and admirals who came in the military as early as the late 1940s and 19 the 1950s, and 60s, you know, did make it in the military. My father, who was drafted in 1961, you know, he experienced some level of racism, obviously, in the 1960s, but he stayed in the military for 34 years. So, certainly, that was happening in the 1960s, because there are always going to be people who are not exactly happy that everybody is a part of this american pie. And thats why this exhibition is so important, that 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 saltzer, just about two minutes left in our segment with you, but did want to give you a chance. I know its a kprar exit and i know its hard to pick among all of them, but do you have a favorite piece or favorite story you want to mention in our final two minutes . I absolutely do. Because that question, it always ends like this. Its wherever i am in the gallery. Because almost every story is a is great. So ill just talk about where i sit right now. I happen to be sitting in what i call the Photo Gallery. As curators, we are the face of an exhibition, but there are a lot of people that help us get from a to b, museum specialists, research assistants, prosecuting managers, conservators, so forth and so on, but designers so in one of the design meetings, i mentioned that i would like to have a Photo Gallery, and this is the beautiful Photo Gallery that was designed, so today, because im sitting here, this is my favorite section of the exhibition, but of the 30someodd interpretations, i just believe all of them come together well, so its hard for me to pick one of my favorites. Understandable. Colonel kerwaltzee is the curator of the exhibit, we return fighting, it opened on december 13th and will close on june the 14th. Its at the Smithsonian National museum of africanAmerican History and culture and we appreciate you inviting us in this morning. Thank you, john. We appreciate it. We appreciate it. 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