"Blue & Gold and Black is the history of integration of African Americans into the Naval Academy, The book examines how civil rights advocates' demands for equal opportunity shaped the Naval Academy's evolution. Author Robert J. Schneller Jr. analyzes how changes in the Academy's policies and culture affected the lives of black midshipmen, as well as how black midshipmen effected change in the Academy's policies and culture." "Most institutional history is written from the top down, while most social history is written from the bottom up. Based on the documentary record as well as on the memories of hundreds of midshipmen and naval officers, Blue & Gold and Black includes both perspectives. By examining both the institution and the individual, a much more accurate picture emerges of how racial integration occurred at the Naval Academy." "Schneller takes a biographical approach to social history. Through written correspondence, responses to questionnaires, memoirs, and oral histories, African American midshipmen recount their experiences in their own words. Rather than setting adrift their humanity and individuality in oceans of statistics, Schneller uses first-hand recollections to provide insights into the Academy's culture that cannot be gained from official records. Covering the Jim Crow era, the civil rights movement, and the empowerment of African Americans from the late 1960s through the end of the twentieth century, Blue & Gold and Black traces the transformation of an institution that produces men and women who not only lead the Navy but also the nation."--Jacket.

Official neglect : token representation, 1945-1965 -- "We make no special effort" -- Growing up under segregation -- Sweep it under the rug -- "Tolerated without further attention" -- Outside the mainstream -- Racial policy revolution: African Americans assimilate, 1965-1976 -- "Shaking the very dickens out of us" -- Growing up in turbulent times -- Forms of discrimination -- "We're not going to stand for it" -- Fully integrated -- Unparalleled opportunity: African American men and women, 1976-1999 -- Toward proportional representation -- Overall improvement and ongoing inequality -- Racism was a fringe attitude, sexism was mainstream -- "No white midshipman in their right mind" -- "Blessed to have had the opportunity."