DABBS : Black brass (előszó)
THIS WORK IS THE FIRST of its kind in the history of print. There have been books which include Black General Officers within the context of a larger format, but none, other than this one, are dedicated exclusively to the study of the Black General Officer. Black Brass includes every Black General Office in the history of the United States Armed Forces. Hopefully, it will become the standard reference work in this subject area.
It is divided into four main sections: the first is introductory in nature, encompassing a historical perspective of the Black commander tradition, world view; a historical survey of Black Americans in the military in general, and Black Officers in particular. The second is a section of dedication to officers who were pioneers in United States military history. The third section is the main body of the text, which is sub-divided into Black General Officers, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. It is a sequential listing, beginning with the highest ranking General Officer; General (4 stars), Lieutenant General (3 stars), Major General (2 stars), and ends with Brigadier General (1 star). Each sub-division is in alphabetical order according to rank. (In some cases, there were no photographs available. In those instances, the biography is placed at the end of that respective section in alphabetical order. This was done to maintain aesthetic continuity.)
At the end of the Air Force sub-division is a listing of General Officers whose status is other than regular/retired (i.e. National Guard).
For the Naval designation, the specific Admiralty rank precedes the name of each of the flag rank officers. The rank of Commodore (1 star) is of Admiralty rank, except it is one rank behind that of Rear Admiral (2 stars).
The fourth section of this work consists of strength charts for comparison between Black General Officers and the total General Officer corps in the Armed Forces of the United States; a chronology of major events in Black military history, 1492-1984; Black Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, (Civil War to present); and a selected bibliography.
As to the sociological implications of this work, today Black Americans and Americans at large can take pride in the fact that there has been progress made; Blacks have paid dearly, but there has been progress. Nowhere is it more evident than in the military. And that is what this book is all about. Black achievers. The men profiled in this book are men of great ability. They possess the talent that would have taken them to the top of any chosen profession, if it were not for the fact that they are Black.
The Armed Forces, America's largest corporation, at this point in time, has offered a better opportunity for Blacks to advance to the top of the corporate ladder than its civilian counterpart. Obviously, Black executives have the ability to run America's Fortune 500 corporations; they simply have not been given the opportunity. That is not to say that there is no room for improvement in the military, obviously past history indicates that there is, but since General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., America's first Black General received his star in 1940, a total of seventy-seven Black Americans have achieved the rank of General or Admiral in the Armed Forces of the United States. Civilian corporate America can boast of no such record.
The policy of discrimination based on race is specious to begin with, since it is a scientific fact that there is only one race — the human race. Although the battle to eradicate discrimination from every aspect of the nation's life is far from over, the affirmative action policies of the military is beginning to make itself felt. At this writing, all branches of the military have stated emphatically that they were continuing their commitment to full equality for all members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
HENRY E. DABBS
Freehold, New Jersey
1984
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