USSMason.org USS Mason Proudly We Served

Portait of a Black Sailor (circa 1790) from The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution by Sidney Kaplan and Emma Nogrady Kaplan.

African Americans' naval service stretches back to the beginnings of the nation. Thousands of black men fought in the American War for Independence, many in the new Continental Navy. We will never know their names, their heroism, or even all their numbers because of poor record keeping.

In the Civil War, blacks made up 30 percent of the Union Navy's enlisted personnel -- 30,000 sailors. Few stories of their role in the war were preserved. Until recently, most historical accounts downplayed or ignored African Americans' role.

Each generation answered the call with hope their accomplishments would create the opportunity to share in the rights and rewards their fellow Americans enjoyed.

But, In 1941, the navy's enlisted ranks reflected the view of civilian society: whites only.

With Pearl Harbor, efforts to include blacks in the military paid off. Mary McLeod Bethune, the NAACP's Walter White, Adam Clayton Powell, along with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others saw the opportunity to shine a light on the struggle for freedom at home by fighting abroad. The navy opened its ranks to general black enlistment on June 1, 1942.

Eight months later, the navy was still 98 percent white with only 7,000 men in the general service.

The stage was set for USS Mason...

"By March of 1942, I was working as a delivery boy, and I would see the ships in New York Harbor because the war had just begun. I just had to get into the navy with all these ships. Oh, that's all I wanted was to go to sea ... I had no idea if I had gone at the time, I would have been a steward. It would have been to much for me.

I didn't understand what blacks were doing in the navy. I was just going to join up to fight for the country. That was in my head. I was a patriot."

-- Gordon D. Buchanan

Brave and Gallant Soldiers: African Americans and the Continental Army
Black Men in Navy Blue During the Civil War

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