Full Description
It is hard to determine what dominated more newspaper headlines in America during the 1960s and early '70s: the Vietnam War or America's turbulent racial climate. Oddly, however, these two pivotal moments are rarely examined in tandem.
John Darrell Sherwood has mined the archives of the U.S. Navy and conducted scores of interviews with Vietnam veterans — both black and white — and other military personnel to reveal the full extent of racial unrest in the Navy during the Vietnam War era, as well as the Navy's attempts to control it. During the second half of the Vietnam War, the Navy witnessed some of the worst incidents of racial strife ever experienced by the American military. Sherwood introduces us to fierce encounters on American warships and bases, ranging from sit-down strikes to major race riots.
The Navy's journey from a state of racial polarization to one of relative harmony was not an easy one, and Black Sailor, White Navy focuses on the most turbulent point in this road: the Vietnam War era.
Contents
Acknowledgments Prologue: Storm Warning Glossary 1 The Black Sailor: Chambermaid to the Braid and Nothing More 2 Racial Unrest Strikes the Army and Marines 3 The Zumwalt Revolution 4 Kitty Hawk: The Pot Begins to Boil 5 Blow Off: The Kitty Hawk Riot 6 More Unrest: The Hassayampa Riot 7 The Sit-down Strike on the Constellation 8 Negotiations with the Protesters: A Comedy of Errors 9 The Hicks Subcommittee Hearings: Questions and Motives 10 Violence on Nearly Every Ship: Race Riots after Constellation 11 The Struggle to Eliminate Bias in the Fleet 12 From Awareness to Af?rmation Epilogue Appendix: Navy Ranks and Ratings, 1973 Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
