CHARLES BLATCHER, III
GUEST COMMENTARY

In 1770 when the American Colonies rose up in resistance to England, Black patriots were there. There were Black Minutemen among the colonial forces. When the Revolutionary War began, there were Black members of the Continental Army. Those facts to remain obscured in the minds of the public.

Black military history covers the periods from the American Revolutionary War in 1776 through the Iraq war’s end in 2011, representing all the branches of the United States Armed Forces.

Minimal space

We hoped that the new National Museum of African American History and Culture would be the venue for the facts. Our hope was diminished when we learned that the National Museum had restricted the history to 3,000 square feet of display space – insufficient to properly present Black America’s 200-years military service.

There is a wealth of photographic materials in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London, England documenting the service of Black American soldiers in World War II. The information was left behind at the conclusion of the war –motivated, we believe, by the racial policies of the era. The photographs validate Black participation in the war effort and were left for the British government to decide their fate.

We inventoried a large portion of the materials on a research visit some years ago. A few of the photographs were stamped, "Not to be shown in the United States."  We want to bring them home for display in a facility dedicated to their preservation. 

Years of service 

The nation should recognize the pioneering men and woman who were the first Black flag officers in the Armed Forces and the Black sergeants majors who have contributed over 3,000 years of combined service to America. We must recognize the segregated units/companies/battalions, regiments and divisions that served.

We should display artifacts like a Sherman tank, a P-51 Mustang airplane, a howitzer, life-sized cavalry horses, uniformed mannequins and others representing all the branches of the services. We need room for the Black regiments who distinguished themselves serving in France during World War I.

There are Black Medal of Honor recipients and other decorated sailors and Marines who should be recognized. There are also civic leaders, elected officials and celebrities whose histories pass through the Armed Forces. We would like to recognize their service within the context of a permanent national presentation. 

Long time coming

We applaud and welcome the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture; it’s long overdue. However, we are disappointed that the institution’s scope of interest is so broad that it cannot provide adequate space for our military history to be displayed in the manner we believe it should be presented. 

We have asked that the 3,000 square feet allotted for military history be designated a temporary display gallery. We have invited the National Museum to join our efforts to raise public awareness of the legendary soldier/diplomat Colonel Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers through the installation of their history to open the gallery in 2015.  Furthermore, we would like the Smithsonian Institute to establish an annex facility designated for Black military history. We are prepared to meet the challenge of spearheading the effort.

Navy veteran Charles Blatcher, III is founder/CEO of the National Minority Military Museum Foundation and founder/chairman of the National Veterans Coalition. Contact him at 510-467-9242; mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; on Twitter, @Colyoungproject.