Black, and Navy Too: How Vietnam Era African-American Sailors Asserted Manhood through Black Power Militancy
Author(s)
Graham, Herman III
Abstract
In October of 1972, racial unrest erupted into open conflict in the Navy. Angered by inequitable discipline on ship, menial work, and racial harassment, black sailors traded blows with Marine guards on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. Other racial confrontations followed. A few days after the Kitty Hawk incident, a racial brawl occurred on the oiler Hassayampa. Dissident black sailors protested racial discrimination by staging a sit-down strike on the Constellation in early November. These protests came at a time when the Black Power Movement had transformed the racial consciousness of African Americans and American servicemen had grown resentful of the Vietnam War. This article discusses how Vietnam Era African-American Sailors asserted manhood through black power militancy.
