In January of 1975 Ebony publishes a story about four midshipmen from the Class of 1975 who were elected as the class officers (see the earlier post  Four at the Helm posted in May 2017).  This was the first and only time in the history of the Naval Academy.  These African American Midshipman were pioneers that laid the foundation of removing 100 + years of sub racial discrimination until finally the Class of 1976 was able to break the barrier and open the floodgates for more African American men and women beginning with the first women to enter in the summer of 1976.  In July Jet Magazine publishes another article seen below from page 13 above Booker T. Washington another African American of distinction and a recipient of the first honorary degree ever given to a Black by Harvard University, a Masters of Art degree.  He was dubbed unofficially as the Secretary of Negro Affairs from 1895 till 1915.

This might have gone viral if this had happened today.  I am thankful that my classmates in the 17th Company and the rest of the brigade did not tolerate racial discrimination acts and many took action to serve justice where needed.  There is another reason of why it is a good thing that technology was not available to spread viral events but for that information you will have to read "Chasing the Colors" Chapter 10 of Annapolis Creed.

​~Annapolis Creed

Now, I realize why she (My Mom) had tears in her eyes earlier during the day.  The prospective midshipmen incoming class consisted of 74 Blacks mixed among 1,347 plebes for the class of 1976.  I said my goodbyes to my brother and kissed my mom and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll be ok.” I would not see my brother and parents again until Christmas break.  They could not return during the mid-August Plebe Parents Weekend.  I said my final goodbye and reported to the 17th Company area.  This separation from my family was my first time.  My home was some 840 miles to the west in Saint Louis, Missouri. Things are real quiet back in the dormitory, but not for long. Some of us will find out the hard way about the consequences of not following orders. 

The concluding activity that night was a snowflake drill.  We were instructed to go and get all of our underwear and placed them in a pile in the middle of the hallway. Then with only one minute left before lights out, we were instructed to get it out of the hall and be on the rack before lights out.  Everything was grabbed and placed into the nearest room there was no time for anything else.  Laundry would be put outside your room on Sunday evening and picked up by the laundry personnel before five in the morning.  If you marked your gear you got it back, else you had to buy new ones only after wearing the same underwear for about two weeks until payday.  11 p.m.: Lights Out.  This thing called Reveille would get us up at 0500 in the morning.  
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From left to right Jordan Smith (L), Desmond Fretz (c), Horace Witaker (R)

Admiral Mack held an assembly with the Class of 1976 during those first few days in July 1972.  During the first assembly we were told to look to your right and look to your left.  One of you will not be here four years from now.  He was right because Horace did not make it through.  Desmond became my roommate during my first class year at Annapolis.  We were both majoring in mathematics.  Believe it or not when I tried to become a teacher in California (Dec 2004), I was told that the degree from the United States Naval Academy was not sufficient.   Unbelievable! So, after 28 years of not seeing mathematics I take the CSET test for Algebra & Geometry and pass the AEPA in Arizona granting a clear Secondary Mathematics Credential.   More on that later....

Academic Preparations
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The upper classmen of the 17th Company in 1976 had already previous scored high in academics but the class of 1979 needed to improve.  I called the plebes into the wardroom when I took command.  I reviewed the past historical reputation of the honor of being assigned to the 17th Company.  At that time we had a young plebe playing Varsity football named Phillip McConkey (some may recognize him who caught the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl - New York Giants) who stood up and asked why we (his fellow plebes) could not be spooned (accelerated to be recognized as upperclassmen, giving them slack, call us by their first names).  I responded that what was good enough for me was good enough for him (and his classmates) and because of this their present performance was not satisfactory; they were ordered to “brace up” until June Week.

The Brace was a form of punishment at Annapolis in 1976.  The ideal brace should create approximately 13 wrinkles in the chin and neckline.  At the conclusion of the meeting with the plebes of the class of 1979, the 17th company plebes marched out into the center of the hall back to their rooms being braced up until June week.  I remember my former roommate Ron Ellis as he gazed upon the plebes leaving the wardroom, “I don’t know what they did, but they really pissed him off.”  All plebes for the next three months were under an academic curfew.  I remember as plebes in 1972-1973 we were told to tie up an upperclassman, shave his head, and then throw him into the Chesapeake Bay. 

Thinking back upon this event I was lucky that I was not hog-tied and thrown into the Chesapeake Bay.  No one questioned my intent or my orders from my peers.  I guess I had shared this goal and vision with my old roommate Ron during the previous three years.  John (Assistant Commander or Executive Officer) knew I was serious and believed that we could win once again.  It was part of the 17th Company mindset embedded in us for four years.  There was no thought given to failing or not giving every effort.  There was mandatory study hall for all members of the 17th company from 7 PM to 11 PM during the third set.  I monitored our academic progress during the three.......

~Annapolis Creed

July 1972 - Induction Day Photo

​The nice Red Afro that I had groomed on a daily basis will soon be a memory at my feet.  I joined the United States Navy as a Midshipman Fourth Class in July 1972.

Time passes because we are busy with no time to rest.  We receive instructions on how to march as a unit as we prepare for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to begin at 6 PM this evening.  July 6, 1976, was my first day as a midshipman starting with taking the following oath of office: 

“Having been appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy, do you solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will support and defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you, God,?”, SO HELP ME GOD.....

​The ceremony is over, and I now have only a few moments to say my goodbyes to my family members in attendance.  My mom started crying and saying that “I don’t want you to go to Vietnam, I do not want you to die.” 

​~Annapolis Creed

 January 1973 - Ebony Magazine
"The Ebony writers had been to the Academy to capture and report on a piece of history. They had captured a story about an event that had never occurred on any campus of a U.S. military academy before or since. They had captured the story about the election of four (4) African-Americans as the Class Officers at the U.S. Naval Academy!"
(Hardankle, 2015)

"Four black midshipmen from the class of 1975 had apparently overcome phenomenal odds and been elected class officers by their classmates despite being a part of an overwhelmingly ​minority class (approximately 32 in a class of over 1200) in the brigade."
(Hardankle, 2015). 

As we turned the pages way to the back of the magazine, there they were, as big as life. Their covers perched high atop freshly smoothed afros, they stood proudly alongside our own USNA Superintendent, VADM William Mack—Coop, Cozy, Hank, and Ron.

Although the story did a good job of capturing the historic value of this event, it did spend an inordinate amount of time on the social aspects of the life of a Black midshipmen. Again times were different and the article should have focused on more important issues of the day, but the critical element here was that the story of Black leadership was captured, reported, and admired by many Americans around the country. Ladies and gentlemen… FOUR AT THE HELM…(Hardankle, 2015).

I was a plebe at the time and had no idea this was happening.  As a plebe we had no access to TV or to magazines. Nor could we speak to upperclassman.  As a midshipman you were one of 4400 that lived in Bancroft Hall.  I personally found an old copy during the summer of 1973.  I did not own a subscription to Ebony magazine but I did own a copy of Jet Magazine.  Upon graduation I was in both Jet and Ebony magazine, the front cover of Navy Times and newspapers up and down the Atlantic Coast.  Today this event would have gone viral.   Maybe it can get retold and go viral from here.  

#hardankle #academy #blackhistory #africanamericanfirsts #Classof1975 USNA

​~Annapolis Creed
Reference
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Hardankle (2015). Four at the helm. The Hardankle Newsletter.