Present to Past
Military Service
![A real photo postcard of a group of military service men and women taken at the YMCA camp near Chambery, France, during World War I. The image depicts five women standing in a row on a lawn, with four men crouched in a row in front of them. Addie Waites Hunton is in the center of the back row; the other women and men are unidentified. In the background is a large building with a double staircased entrance. A temporary sign reading [Y.M.C.A.] has been placed on the portico at the top of the stairs. Other individuals are visible along the top and bottom of the stairs. The verso has printing reading [CARTE POSTALE] with spaces for [Correspondance] and [Adresse] and a horse and horsehead mark for the publisher Guilleminot. The postcard has not been sent, but there is an inscription across the back by hand in brown ink reading [From Sgt. Thomas, who / was on leave at colored, / Y.M.C.A. at Chamberry / France]. There is an inscription by a different hand in graphite above the [Adresse] label reading [(ALFRED JACK THOMAS)].](/static/a8a50cec61ab5e0102520bf511582008/4f091/2014_63_77_001.webp)
TodayBlack Military Leadership
U.S. Navy Dress Uniform Hat Worn by Admiral Michelle Howard, 1999
Rising in the Ranks
Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Commander, US Central Command and Former Commanding General, US Forces-Iraq, 2011
In 1991, almost 40 years after the official end of military segregation, General Colin Powell oversaw Operation Desert Storm in Iraq as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. General Powell represents a long line of Black servicemen and servicewomen pushing boundaries in the military. He inspired the next generation of Black military service members including Admiral Michelle Howard who earned the distinction of being the first Black woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Rushmore.
African American resistance to centuries of racism, violence, and double standards enabled them to climb the military ranks and assert their citizenship. On January 22, 2021, Lloyd James Austin III, a four-star general, became the first African American to serve in the position of the United States Secretary of Defense. Gen. Mark A. Milley remarked of his career, “General Austin is the only general officer in the United States military of any service who has commanded in combat at every rank as a general in the last 15 years.”