The Golden Thirteen

The courageous story of the 13 black men who integrated the officer corps of the United States Navy -serving as forerunners of the civil rights movement and shaping the future of the military.Dan Goldberg restores these forgotten heroes as major influential figures whose actions not only paved the way for an integrated military, but also set the stage for integration across America: soon, black men would integrate baseball and black children would integrate schools. Despite the immense challenges they faced, The Golden Thirteen persisted - understanding the power of desegregation, the opportunities for black Americans if they succeeded, and the consequences if they failed.Goldberg brings to light the opposition these men faced in becoming officers, including racist pseudo-science, regional prejudices, verbal abuse, and violence. They trained harder than they ever had in their lives, and ultimately passed their exams with the highest average of any class in Navy...