As the National Museum of African American History and Culture celebrates Veterans Day on November 11th, we'll be focusing attention on the often forgotten sacrifices and contributions of African American patriots. These heroes include the men of the USS Mason, which made history during World War II as our nation's first ship manned by a predominantly black crew. Launched on November 17, 1943, the Evarts-class destroyer escort carried an enlisted crew of 160 serving under Lt. Commander William M. Blackford and five other white officers. Prior to the Mason, black men in the Navy had been limited to support roles such as cooks, stewards and laborers, and even had to wear different uniforms than those worn by other sailors.

Sixty-eight years ago today, Doris "Dorie" Miller was stationed at Pearl Harbor on the battleship USS West Virginia. As an African American serving his nation in 1941, that meant serving in a segregated Navy.

African American service from the American Revolution to the Civil War helped secure freedom and citizenship, but not equality. They served in a segregated military that reflected the racial prejudice and exclusion of society at large.

I reflect on the 600,000+ African Americans who served in Korea and on those who received medals for their valor in this nation’s first desegregated war. I then celebrate in my mind my six decades of engagement in civil rights and public education that followed my return home from Korea. I learned the hard way that service in the U. S. military did not guarantee an African American full citizenship, that the struggle for respect and equality had to be fought on numerous other fronts, and that this battle would remain ongoing.

The life of abolitionist, politician, and war veteran Hannibal C. Carter (1835-1904) was filled with both promise and daunting challenge during a radically transformative period in American History. Despite being born during the time of slavery, his parents, George Washington Carter and Ann Hill Carter, were business owners and prominent members of a free Black community in New Albany, Indiana.