My son Jordan B. Smith III encouraged me to write this book and now I know it should have been written. In review of U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, October 1995 memories of Naval Academy graduates makes no mention of Wesley Brown as being the first Black to graduate in 105 years in 1949. It was not an important event to even give an honorable mention. In 2013, Ross H. MacKenzie presents an excellent description of who the Color Company Commander is and displays a picture of the Color Company Commander and the color person (female) transferring the colors to the color guard (Mackenzie, 2013) in sharp contrast to the Annapolis Creed historic event in 1976. Mackenzie's son, Ross H. updates his fathers original version because of the many changes in academy policy. The Brief Points is meat to be jokingly but serious as a handbook to help parents and incoming midshipmen to adapt. It includes the following above picture (left) of the Color Company Commander not naming the year.
The Naval Institute publishes in 2015 the book "The United States Naval Academy History" with no mention of any Black graduates of distinction (Cutler, 2015). No one would have known my story unless it was written as an autobiography. Excerpt from Annapolis Creed Chapter 10 The night before my selection as the Color Company Commander many of my classmates were trying to .... ~Annapolis Creed
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Lexington 8th Grade Class of 1968Excerpts from Chapter 4 of Annapolis Creed
....The truth was taken from the baby boomer siblings in the family. Only the rumors confiscated from our own individual investigations remain. It was troublesome to understand why my favorite aunt was no longer with my uncle Robert anymore. I loved my Aunt Michelle. My uncles all went into the service after high school and joined the Navy except for my Uncle Robert. He wanted to be different, and so did my youngest son John. Pictures of relatives in military uniforms were prominently placed throughout my grandmother’s house. I remember the summer picnics and the trips to Six Flags Amusement parks. These were the fun times with all of my cousins. I remember the jokes and comments about my Aunt Mary Claire’s five husbands. She was a cutie pie and gorgeous. I remember the boisterous observations and sounds of my father playing “Bid Whist” (a card game) with my uncles. My cousins and I couldn’t wait till we were big enough to play at the big people table. There was always good food (barbecue ribs) and special trips to the local barbecue hole in the wall shops. I loved the smells, and sounds of family get together functions. My grandmother was like the grandma in the movie “Soul Food.” Someone always seems to play this role in every healthy appearing family. These families appear to be just fine from the outside, but they are rarely like this. In reality, they are filled with the same crimes and secrets as those of other families. You can have a lovely home, but it is representative of the amount of debt that one has. Huge family outings and Christmas parties only balance the reflection of grief and personal sacrifice by someone. Psychology would point to one’s childhood as the primary reason for rebellion, inappropriate and irresponsible behavior as an adult. Children are quick to blame their parents. It is easy not to accept responsibility for one’s own actions in life. We all have memories of our first date, kiss, crush, dance, and the first Johnny nasty jokes about sex and other things. There are memories about our adult mentors (cousins, etc.) that were sometimes funny and yet at other times, they appeared to be so embarrassing that we choose to hide them from our friends. Embarrassment is the virtue that everyone tried to hide during the middle school years. Secrets were formed and kept tucked away forever from everyone outside of our family. It was OK, for us to talk about them but never could these truths be known to others. My parents could not give me a hand in the fourth grade when the new math (1964) changed to “base other than base 10” they could not handle nor did they complain. Why did it change? Will education reform always be necessary to meet the needs of the future workplace? Change is not easy, but change is good for our American Future! I never heard my parents complain. They only complained when I did not do my homework or receive a grade below a B. Then one day during a lesson on mathematics, I had a vision and dream in elementary school to become better in math than anyone in my school. Soon I found myself giving a presentation to parents at an Open House in the fourth grade on the subject of “Base 2-Base 29,” that new math concept when my parents could no longer help me with mathematics. They knew arithmetic, but this new math was pushing in a new direction using base 2 or binary computations. Why was this so important? I will understood why upon entering college and taking mandatory computer programming courses in 1972. There were no calculators, and the only computers were big mainframes that could fill an entire room. My obsession with mathematics and the new math began to open pathways for myself as a young Negro back in 1968. It was my love of math that allowed me to surpass racism and segregation. I had no knowledge before writing this book about the fate of Mr. Conyers (the first Black man to be admitted to Annapolis), and how my knowledge of Algebra and Geometry would remove obstacles that would otherwise prevent me from graduating from the Naval Academy in 1976. My knowledge of math allowed me to attend the distinguished private secondary Christian Brothers College (CBC) Military Institute in Clayton Missouri in 1968. Graduation from Lexington in 1968 would be the last time attending school out of a military uniform. ~Annapolis Creed Many of my students never heard of Annapolis, the United States Naval Academy and the rigor of this organization. So I found this video to share with everyone about Annapolis. I had the best experience of my lifetime at Annapolis. I wish we had cell phone back in 1972-1976 to capture this type of content. Enjoy and well done to Midshipman Noah Evans Class of 2020.
Each of the above books about African American Stories have some things in common with the forthcoming book "Annapolis Creed"..
Each of these books have similarities and differences. During my next posts I will reveal these remarkable traits and compare them to "Annapolis Creed". Annapolis Creed reveals insights about an event meeting items 1 & 2 above. But there is a fourth common trait among all four of the books that underscores why this book needs to go viral because it explains how to change mindsets about learning especially mathematics. So if you are a parent, teacher, grandparent, or student then you will want to read the simple methods used by Jackie Robinson, Katherine Johnson, the members of the Tuskegee Air Group, and Jordan B. Smith Jr at Annapolis! Each of us found that learning mathematics was essential to unlocking the impossible. The three books above tell a story. Annapolis Creed is not just a untold story. Annapolis Creed will change learning in America to mean "ALL MEANS ALL!" More to come.... ~Annapolis Creed
You can Pre-order the Kindle Version Now - Click the Link Above
Army Navy Spirit Week is great as long as you never graduated from West Point. Unfortunately in 1972 the 18th Company Officer turned out to be a good sport and so was the Brigade of Midshipman Class of 1973. As plebes we looked on in total amazement as what was going to happen during the next seven days...Here is one of those stories:
Assault on West Point In the four years at Annapolis no exchange officer suffered more than Major Wuerpel. the Company Officer for the 18th Company on the 4th floor of the 3rd Battalion area of Bancroft Hall. On the first day (Day 1) of spirit week in 1972, Major W. arrived to open the door to his office filled from top to bottom with toilet paper. On the second day (Day 2) of spirit week, he was barricaded in his room. This was not a problem to a Special Forces type of soldier who just went to his closet and got a rope and repelled out of his third floor onto the ground below to the amazement of the 3rd Battalion standing in formation. Who keeps 200 feet of line in their office closet? He had no way out except through the window. This was done right before noon lunch formation, and the 3rd Battalion looked on in utter amazement as he descended from the building, brushed himself off and walked into King Hall as if nothing ever happened. This guy was hard as nails. You would have thought this was the end of it, but it was not over for the Army because this was Spirit week. On the fourth day of spirit week, the Cadets from West Point stole one of our goats. This was not good, and so the Major W. would feel the brunt of this action. Major Wuerpel drove a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle painted Army Green Camouflage On Friday during Noon meal formation his beetle was relocated to Tecumseh court and demolished in front of his eyes. He was the Duty Officer standing in noon meal formation observing this and could not move to prevent the midshipmen from destroying his car with sledgehammers. We looked on in amazement. He had tears in his eyes, but he remained in position until the noon parade was over. As he walked to his car and shook his head, he turned to find another new 1973 Volkswagen being delivered to him. The class of 1973 had pitched in to buy him a new car before touching his old one. The Army-Navy game was held in Philadelphia at John F. Kennedy Stadium. During the Army-Navy Game, the Major sat on the Army side and cheered from a distance on the other aspect of the field as he watched his team beat Navy that year 23-15. He had a new car and a win! You can pre-order your copy of "Annapolis Creed" by clicking here. Extract from All Hands Magazine September 1976, page 29-30 written by Dayle Malkie
“It was a typical Naval Academy dress parade 4300 midshipmen marched in precision in the Annapolis Spring weather. But the man who gave the "pass in review" order wasn't usual. Mason C. (Chuck) Reddix, was the first black Brigade Commander, (the number one ranking midshipman), in the Naval Academy's 131-year history. Just as important was the fact that.400 other minority midshipmen, 200 of them black, in all classes and at all ranks were scattered throughout the rest of the brigade. It was quite a change from the situation just six years ago when 23 blacks were midshipmen at Annapolis" (Malkie, 1976). "The single most important factor in the rapid increase in the number of minority midshipmen has been the intensive recruiting efforts to spur the interest of young men, and now women, in black, Chicano, oriental and other minority communities. The academy began minority recruiting in 1970 when it assigned a black officer to be the advisor for minority affairs in the Academy's Candidate Guidance Office. A Mexican-American officer later joined the staff. The minority advisors traveled around the country talking to high school students about opportunities at the Naval Academy, but they made a special effort in areas with large groups of minority students. The minority advisors also worked with high school principals and counselors, contacted' minority organizations and professional groups and appeared, as well, on local radio and television program” (Malkie, 1976). “Since the push to recruit minority midshipmen started in 1970, the number of black midshipmen, alone, has increased almost tenfold. Fifty minority men, 38 of them black, graduated in June with the class of '76. "And they're quality students," said Lieutenant Commander George Gaines, a black officer who in June wound up his three-year tour of duty as the Academy's Advisor for Minority Affairs. "The Academy's tough entrance requirements have not been lowered to boost the numbers of minorities. The minority midshipmen here could easily have gone to any other college or university." The class of '76 bears out Gaines' statement. Not only did they produce the first black brigade commander in Chuck Reddix, but also they saw one of their classmates, Jordan B. Smith of St. Louis, Mo., become the first black color company commander. Smith then chose the Naval Academy's first black color girl, Stephanie McManus, to present the colors Along with the increase in the number of minority midshipmen have come different feelings about the Academy by the minority students. Black midshipmen who graduated in 1970 and '71 admitted that it was occasionally difficult to be one of only 20 or 30 blacks in a brigade of 4300 men" (Malkie, 1976). "But I've noticed a definite change since I was a plebe," said Smith. "I think it was harder on the blacks then, but when the Navy began to change its policies on minorities, things seemed to change here" (Malkie, 1976) . In doing research for the book, I was shocked to find so many quotes and statements taken from members of the press. I remember the paparazzi following me everywhere during June Week in 1976. I couldn’t wait to get home in Saint Louis only to have my father get the Post-Dispatch to write yet another article. Reference Markie, D. (1976). Blacks at the Academy. All Hands Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah197609.pdf I had a comment from Johnny Green on the Plebe Summer Blog quote from Theodore Roosevelt. Today the Reef Points or Midshipman Handbook is actually online. But it does not contain the fabulous quotes that we had to remember. What a shame! I was going to buy an old copy but the new ones are not worth the time and effort. On Induction Day all of the plebes line up throughout Alumni Hall to receive standard issue gear which includes several uniforms, combat boots, running sneakers and a copy of Reef Points (the book which they must become familiar with over the course of the summer).
Does anyone have a copy of the Reef Points from 1976? If so please respond to this post. |
Dr. Jordan B smith jr.I attended the U. S. Naval Academy from 1972-1976 earning a B.S. in Mathematics. Served 20 years both active and reserve in the US Marines. Veteran of the Desert Shield/Storm. I earned a MAED and Ed D. specializing in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix in 2015. I graduated from CBC High School in Clayton, MO in 1972. Archives
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