Rise to Command: Black Military Officers' Stories of Survival and Leadership from World War II through the Cold War

An intimate view of the triumphs and challenges experienced by Black officers in the twentieth century.Rise to Command is a social history told in the words of seventeen Black military officers who grew up in the Jim Crow era and served in the US military.The officers speak candidly about their careers and struggles and the important lessons they learned from their communities, which helped them succeed. Black Americans in the armed forces fought on two fronts: one against America’s external adversaries on the battlefield, and the other against racial discrimination and segregation within military culture and American society.The officers discuss living through segregation, the civil rights movement, and the Black Power movement.These torchbearers speak frankly about the racially biased officer evaluation system, gender discrimination, and how they survived and thrived despite systemic obstacles. Rise to Command examines the evolution of policies and cultural dynamics within the US mil