During my junior year at West Point in 2017, I attended a ceremony honoring the namesake of the school’s newest barracks: Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. This was the first building at West Point named after an African American, and I glowed with pride knowing that the academy was finally celebrating a person who looked […]
Minority Veterans
Posted inSpotlight
Black in the Military: A Proud and Complex History
Black people have served in the military since the Revolutionary War, longer than the United States has been a country. However, their stories have often been overlooked in the nation’s historical record and narratives about military life. That’s among the reasons we hosted the War Horse Writing Seminar for Black Veterans last fall, where we […]
Posted inReflections
What Caused Maurice’s PTSD: The Vietnam War or Being Black in America?
The partner of a Vietnam War veteran wonders what role race and war played in his PTSD diagnoses.
Posted inReflections
100-year-old Veteran Kept Jewish Prayer Book Over His Heart as He Confronted the Holocaust
A 100-year-old Jewish Army veteran deals with anti-Semitism in his unit during his World War II service as he meets victims of the Holocaust.
Posted inReflections
In That Moment I Learned My Service to This Country Could Not Transcend My Skin Color
Raising his right hand to serve in the U.S. military could not shield Jimmy Anderson from the harsh realities of racial prejudice in his community.
Posted inNewsroom
Black Veterans Have Always Fought Two Wars, Battling the Enemy Abroad and Prejudice at Home
American servicemen and women returned from war to bigotry, exclusion, and overt racial violence—precisely because they had chosen to serve their country.
Posted inReflections
How Being “In on the [Racist] Joke” Silences Service Members
Service members often feel compelled to laugh along at racist jokes and comments.
Posted inReflections
Gay Veteran Sees Racism as a Tougher Fight
All movements must include the fight against racism—and that looks different from other protests.
Posted inReflections
A Long-Awaited Reunion for Two Black Veterans
An older incarcerated veteran gets a visit from a former combat infantryman that he served with in Vietnam.
Posted inReflections
The Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “Changed Everything”
Dan Misch spent nights on the Naval Academy bleachers crying and struggling to decide if he should leave or continue serving under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
