Boston Mayor Maurice Tobin (far right) with Massachusetts Governor Leverett Saltonstall next to him at the ceremonies.

Mason launches at the Boston Navy Yard

Commissioning Invitation

So begins a letter read at commissioning. The work of so many, from national leaders to workers at the Boston Navy Yard, had come to pass: a real warship with an African American crew. This was no ordinary ship's launching. Mayor Maurice J. Tobin of Boston and Massachusetts Governor Leverett Saltonstall attended commissioning ceremonies, as well as a pre-commissioning ball aboard ship.

But the battles ahead were to be fought on many fronts as crew members like Charles Divers were soon to learn:

"We were called 'Eleanor's Folly.' I think the powers that be that opposed integration had programmed us to fail. The USS Mason was not expected to succeed. But when we started proving them wrong and succeeding, rather than eat crow, they downplayed all our accomplishments and all our virtues."

The term "Eleanor's Folly" referred to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who aggressively advocated desegregation of all the armed forces.

"When we went aboard, we didn't have hot water, we didn't have running water. There were plumbers, electricians, and lines all over the ship when we went aboard. But I was there, I was aboard the Mason." -- James Graham

Boston National Historical Park (formerly Boston Navy Yard)
Mary McLeod Bethune and opportunities for African Americans in the Armed Forces

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