to ask, but there are answers, and those answers are simply not being taught in our schools right now. so it would benefit native people enormously if people just knew more about the basic history and civics of native america and of the united states itself. gover is the director of the museum of the american indian.

weekend on the african american experience in world war i. this is an hour. >> we take you now to the inside of the smithsonian you see him of african american history and culture, to one of that you seems temporary exhibits, entitled we return, fighting the african americans experience in world war i. -- as a guest associate curator, please explain the meaning behind the title. it hands at more than two years of service, and fighting over their. >> actually, exactly. we return fighting, the african

american experience in world war i, the key to the title is number one you don't see the word military because it's not just about soldiers. it's about soldiers and civilians. it's about men and women, young and old, white and black, so that is the long title, but the short title, we return fighting speaks to what happened after the war, and how african americans used world war i as a transformative event for them, just like it was a transformative event throughout the globe. >> we will explore that story throughout this hour, day five of museum week on the washington journal with our friends at american history tv on c-span 3. through the segment we invite viewers, frontline split up regionally this morning, if you're in the eastern or central time zones 202-748-8000, if you're in the mountain or pacific time zones 202-748-8001,

and a special line set aside for african american veterans. 202-748-8002. i would love to hear from you as we explore this exhibit at the smithsonian museum of african american culture and history. this is a temper exhibit. how long will be up? how did this story get included in the museum, and opened back in december? >> it opened on december 13, last year, and it will be up until the 14th of june of this year, and you know last week was the 100th anniversary of world war i. a part of our mission is always to eliminate the story of america through the african-american lens, so we certainly wanted to make sure that the african american experience during world war i was also highlighted, the

reason the exhibition opened in 2019 and is still running until 2020 coast roughly to the title that we talked about. we return fighting. again, thanks mission isn't just put the african american military experience, it's about african american life and how african americans view world war i as a foundation to plant the seeds for what's became the civil rights movement after the world war two generation came back from fighting overseas as well so we thought about this exhibition really as early as 2014 and 15, when i was talking to my dad, then boss at the smithsonian, that we should do something for world were won. and then a couple of years later, he, wreck, and founding

director who's now the secretary, of the smithsonian went to france, and they came back and be planted the seed that we will do a world war i exhibition, and being the guest curator and the subject matter expert for military history i got the nod to be able to do this exhibition. and so the exhibition speaks to not just what happened in the war but what happened after the war. >> let's talk about the military history. first when the united states finally joined world war one, what rule did the military planners tea african american soldiers playing? and how much was that shaped by the service of african americans during the civil war. some of those civil war veterans who would still be alive in their seventies and eighties by the time the world war i broke out. >> that's a great question. the book and of the exhibition

is 1865, on the front and, and 1963 on the back end. so when we talk about the?p exhibition, we also plant the seed of what jr)z america between 1865, after the american civil war, and before world war i. so it was shaping the experience and the ease of african americans is partly at the service of african americans and the american civil war on the western frontier. so let's talk about the markets war. the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery and it is 65, the 17th amendment which gave correction, 14th amendment in 1868 which gave african americans citizenship, and the 15th amendment in 1870 which give african american man the right to vote, the organization acts in 1866 which meet african americans a permanent part of

the military. and then this era of reconstruction where there was a upend in the life and the progress of african americans. when you get to world war i, there is not this idea that we want to put african americans on the battlefield after what happened in the civil war, there was an uptick. and also, there is a fear to not arm large groups of african americans. so during world war one, the push was to use african americans largely in the services of supply. there were two african american divisions. but i also want to back up and talk about the first interpretation, when you talk about what was setting the stage. when you walk into the exhibition, the first interpretation has three conversations going on. you have a conversation between scholar w.-y be dubois's. you have a conversation between

the president of the united states, woodrow wilson. then there's a conversation with this young 28 rolled activist, from florida. so w.-y be dubois's says in 1918 in a magazine which had been the sentiment for years before 1917 which is that african americans should put their grievances behind, and fight, that was around the same time where president wilson goes before a joint session of congress, and the seven paged speech. we all remember the nine, ten, 11 word freeze where we must fight to make the world safe for democracy. so an african americans here, that they believe because they are citizens they are third, fourth, fifth generation americans, and the leading

scholar, w.e.b. du bois is saying in close ranks, most african americans believe that. and many of them will support the war. however, there's a third conversation going on. a philip randolph when you walk into the exhibition you see his quote. we would rather make georgia safe for the knee grow. each one of those has eight image. image under him is three individuals, and a kkk memorabilia. so the image that you see under randolph's quote and the image of the president on the capital, and the image of the young men joining the war are all within a year span. so when you understand that african americans are going to fight a war to make life safe for democracy, and many of them believe that the world and america will be safe for them when they go back don't

understand the rest of the exhibition. >> the exhibition we explored today. we return fighting. the african american experience in world war i. special line for african american veterans, 202-748-8002, either wise for lines split up regionally. eastern time, 202-748-8000, if you're in the mountain or pacific time zones, 202-748-8001. colonel salt or, sir, how many african american soldiers would eventually serve from 1917 to 1919? and what did americas british and french allies think of the soldiers? >> during the war nearly 400,000 african americans served during world war i. . i does the number that served. when they went overseas. a portion of them served under the french. the 93rd infantry division

which included for african american regiments. they served under the french. and when they served under the french, they were treated with a level of equality that they hadn't experienced in america. so the french who they served with treated them as people. they were happy to get these soldiers because remember 1917 by the time the u.s. enters the war, the war has been going on for three years, for the french and the british. and when the british forces, when you talk about african americans, there's very little contact if any contact between african americans and british forces during world war i. but the british did have their colonial forces and west indian forces. i also want to talk about, when you talk about african american soldiers, and their contact with some of their european

counterparts. in this exhibition not only do interpret the story of african americans, but we interpret the story of black people throughout the globe. the black diaspora. so the french had 17 colonies, when the french went to war they went to war immediately in 1940. the british had about 15,000. 15,000 black colonial troops that went to war, it went to war in 1914. even germany had four colonies on the continent of africa. so there was a very little contact between african americans in the british. but there was a lot of contact between african americans in the french. not only the division that fought with the french. but you have almost roughly 160,000 plus african-american services of supply soldiers who are throughout ports in france and making sure that supplies

go forward so there is this interest in seeing these african americans who are not the french colonial troops that most french people had been reading about. >> about 45 minutes left in this section. i want to hear from you, your questions and comments as we tour this exhibit with, you learn about the history, and let you ask more questions. david is on that line for african american veterans. out of detroit, david you're on the line with the colonel. >> thank you very much. i've got a question for you colonel. i'm just finishing up this wonderful book. it's called the blood runs red. it's about a gentleman by the name of eugene. are you familiar with him? >> absolutely. he's interpreted within the exhibition. >> okay. i didn't hear you up to now mentioned, him but he was one

of the african american combat pilots. >> kernels salt, or pick up the story from there. >> absolutely, he wasn't one of the first. he was the first african american fighter or combat pilot if you will. let's talk about the definition. there is no mistake that stephen and irwin in world war ii where the first combat pilots to fight for the united states. eugene bullard flute for the french. when you talk about their contact. in the u.s., they weren't training african americans to fly. and actually, eugene bullard was already in france before the war started. when we talk about what was life like for african americans before the war, he was from columbus, georgia. his father got into a scuffle with his boss. so they left him.

eugene eventually made his way to france. he was a boxer. and he actually joined a french foreign legion, so now that i'm thinking about it he's interpreted about three different times in the exhibition. so when we have the global war, and i'm pointing a little because we are in the gallery, he joined a french foreign legion. he was wounded at ever done actually. one of the two bloodiest battles in 1916. -- the battle of verdun. he then became a pilot, he flew with the french. we interpret his story in the after the war section. he's part of that paris no are. he owns a club for a short time. he is a manager of many clubs and also one of the drummers. we actually have actual footage in this exhibition of him playing the drums. eugene bullard is absolutely interpreted within this exhibition. he is a key to the african

american experience during world war i, although he does serve with the french. >> another individual story that is explored in the exhibit, sergeant thomas shaw. who was he? >> yes. sergeant thomas shaw represents what we talked about earlier. what is going on with the black experience between 1865 and 1917. he was a buffalo soldier, he was in the night cavalry regiment. in 1891, he was awarded the medal of honor. i believe his particular story was they were fighting in mexico. they were outnumbered about three to one. he exposed himself and what we call a today suppressive fire in order to allow his comrades to survive that particular battle? but he is interpreted within this exhibition, a story

develops around inter facts, so we actually own is medal of honor here. so we use thomas shaw's individual story to highlight the fact that 18 buffalo soldiers and scouts. we say 18 buffalo soldiers, but it was 14 below soldiers and for seminal indian scouts. they were also six african americans awarded the medal of honor during the spanish american war. five soldiers and one sailor. so we use thomas shaw medal of honor as an artifact not just to highlight him, but the fact that african americans had been serving their country since the american civil war.

but actually, african americans have been serving their country since before the boston massacre, which is where we often start. they had served in all four colonial wars as well. >> african american veterans can join this conversation on a special line that we have set aside. that is 202-748-8002. wo. also, phone lines open for everyone else to call in. 202-748-8000 if you are in the eastern or central time zones. 202-748-8001 if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones. morgan out of reading, pennsylvania. you are next. good morning, you are on with colonel salters. >> good morning colonel salter, thank you for your service. can you tell me if it's true that when african american soldiers would come back to america, after fighting for this country, that they would be attacked or even lynched if they had their uniforms on? is that true? >> it is true that african americans --

african american veterans were lynched during the red summer. we have interpretation of that. the red summer was not just a three month period of the calendar year summer. it starts on april of 1919 and it runs through november of 1919. it is a period in this country, after african americans go and close ranks and put their separate grievances aside, as wta beat the boys said, can they go to fight to make the world safer democracy as the president said. juxtaposed against wet philip randolph is saying. they come back to a nation that, in 1919, was bloodier then 1916, 1915, and 1914. and that interpretation, we thought about how do you make

this read summer pop? a lot of us read about it in our textbooks. an exhibition tells a story, a picture is worth 1000 words. so when you come in here, you see those nearly 40 riots that happened throughout the country. most of them are in the southeast. then you see this note at the bottom where it says 53 separate lynchings happen during the red summer. how do you make it pop? so we researched and identified 12 veterans who were lynched during the wet summer as well as their names. their names are on that graphic. so there were veterans who were lynched in 1919 after world war one. i will tell the story of one ... i'm sorry, john. >> no, tell the story, please.

>> so i will tell the story, the last name on there is a guy called lee roy johnston. when you come to the exhibition, the 12th name is ali roy johnston. he was from elaine, arkansas. many of us who are historians know about the right in a lane, arkansas of late september, early october, of 1919. he and three of his brothers came back from a hunting trip and all four of them were killed. the key thing about lee roy johnston is all soldiers service is key, whether your in a combat unit or a supply unit. he survived europe. he was actually in the 369th infantry regiment, what we know is the harlem health fighters. he was a veteran who served in the trenches and came back and was lynched. so each one of those 12 soldiers has a story, but that

is one i think would be interesting to highlight based on your question. thank you for asking. >> you mentioned a picture is worth 1000 words. a flag might be worth 1000 words as well. we've been showing our viewers, as you were talking, the images of a flag that says on it, a man was lynched yesterday. explain where that flag hung? >> okay, so when we talk about why06 correction 2019 in 2020. the experience for african americans is not just what they did on the battlefield. based on what we talked about when you are immersed in the exhibition coming in and learning about black life and then come into this area which is the area where we have 13 interpretations and this great photo gallery behind me. then you go to the end of the exhibition, what happens after the war?

the new black person emerges. it is this aggressive african american community who is no longer willing to accept the status quo that they had been living in before the war, after living in those comments. so with the naacp did was they made this flag and they hung it over their headquarters in new york for 18 years. from 1920 to 1938. they did it based on what you just said is on the flag. a man was lynched yesterday. and so the intent was to highlight that this is still going on in this country. i can't tell you how many days it flew, there is a log somewhere, but every day after a man was lynched, the naacp along that flag over their headquarters. the key thing about that flag is it is owned by the library of congress.

it's not something that we really want to collect all of these items, because some of these items are one of the kind. they gave that to us on loan. when it comes off exhibition on july, correction, june 14, because it is a textile, it will go into storage for another ten years. so for those of us, or like me as a historian, or just a student reading our books and we saw that flag as an image, it's actually here. so that is what the flag represents. it goes along with kind of the red summer. would african americans were doing and their white supporters. and that is key about the exhibition as well and the museum. you know, museums should exist to tell inclusive stories. so we are talking about people who are pushing the african american experience forward. it's not just african americans. there is this representative from st. louis, missouri.

he puts forth in and island shin bill in 1918, which never passes. so there is a move afoot and that flag is just a strong image. that, if i may say this, the naacp had the audacity to make this large flag and hang it over their headquarters. >> about halfway through this. our final stop of our museum week series here at the washington journal. exploring d.c. area museums. talking about the american experience. we are at the smithsonian museum of african american culture. our guest colonel krewasky salter. 202-748-8000 for african americans -- 202-748-8002 for african americans. all other phone lines split up regionally. >> colonel salter, as an

african american woman and an older person, i'm 84, how does that exhibit, how is it related to all responded to by the the new group of young people? i think they are called millennials. >> thank you for that question. >> yes, ma'am. thank you for that question. i will tell you that from children as young as ten that i see coming in with their parents to great senior americans as yourself in their eighties, everyone is responding to the exhibition very well throughout age groups. as a matter of fact, as curators, our images are not plastered all over the place. so i would assume some of my colleagues to what i do quite often. i curated the military gallery

upstairs on the third floor, and i was fortunate enough to curate this gallery. i go through both of those galleries incognito. i know what is in those exhibitions, but i'm standing next to individuals and watching people. i will tell you that young and old and in between, of all races and nationalities. i was here with a couple of french people here yesterday afternoon, they are responding well. people get it. one of the things that was impressed upon all of us as inaugural curators by individuals who had been in the museum was tell a story that people really need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. i have learned that that is why

everybody is responding well, because people can also see themselves. people can almost see themselves in this exhibition. we have nine luminary individuals. six men, three women, seven civilian, two soldiers. and so millennials can see themselves and people who are two of those younger people who are their age in 1917 and 1927. everyone is responding to it very well from what i see and from what we continue to hear. >> on that line for african american veterans ... [inaudible] thank you very much for that question. >> that daniel is waiting in georgia. it daniel, you are on with colonel shelter. good morning. >> colonel salt are, good morning. thank you for serving. >> thank you, tanya. thank you. >> i'm a disabled veteran

myself. >> thank you for serving and i appreciate your service. >> when i'm trying to find out is, is this the war when everybody came back, and oklahoma city where they dropped the bomb, [inaudible] >> after the war was over, when everyone was coming back, they had a picnic and dropped a bomb on them? >> yes, sir. i believe you are talking about tulsa, oklahoma in 1921. that is after world war one. black wall street. there's a lot of ties to that story. so to kind of keep the answer short, i will tell the piece that you are exactly right. it happens after world war one. it is in 1921. we actually interpretable some,

oklahoma in this exhibition. so it's everything that fits together. it's not in the exhibition, and a lot of folks don't know about it, there is a woman named olivia, who is the first african american who is a coast guard in world war ii. just like joseph e. baker who experience the east st. louis riots in 1917, and went on to experience the tulsa, oklahoma riot in 1921. and she just passed away a couple of years ago. so, yes that incident did happen after world war i. >> why was a bomb dropped it tulsa, oklahoma? can you give some backup to folks who don't know that story? >> a lit of the background. burned from the top.

and miss olivia booker tells in her story, a lot of these attacks, there were people in uniform, and some of them were local national guards. and so there were bombs dropped in the city burned from the top. >> dropped from a military airplane? >> i don't know if it was from a military airplane. that part of the story i'm not completely sure. or whether it was some artillery, i'm not so sure on that aspect of the story. >> a couple of questions from folks on twitter, as we are having this conversation, a couple quick ones. steve asking there was a black jack pushing, but he was white. he earned his nickname commanding black troops on the spanish american war. is that the history of that? >> black jack, i keep gesturing

because i'm in a gallery room. we interpreted that not too far from my right side so he did on the name black jack. and the interpretation because interpretations are all over the place. some folks used it as a term of endearment. some folks used to as a pejorative term. there is actually another name that he was called that began with and because he got involved with african american troops. so they had a relationship with african american soldiers. he actually had a relationship with one of our men, charles young he was actually at west point a couple of years, before charles graduated from west

point. so -- with buffalo soldiers in history. >> uncle sam writing it on twitter whether it for any black generals in world war i? >> no there was not. the first african american general was not promoted until 1940. that is benjamin davis senior. the highest ranking african american during world war one was the guy, the gentleman i just refer, to general charles young. he's interpreted several times of the exhibition, he was the third african american to graduate from west point in 1989, in world war i he was a lieutenant colonel when the world war started, he had gone through the war, and wanted to be promoted to colonel. but he was in voluntarily retired for a medical reason. but he was reinstated five days

before the war ended. there is a story behind that. in that his colonel ranks. there were no african american general officers during world war i. >> tony is in newport, tennessee, good morning, you're next. >> good morning. i've just got a couple of things. 65 and 66, my father is also a military. i'm not beingnnc"tñ prejudiced t all. i was an army bases at the time. but when i wind up going to port brad at 3:00 on the train the sleeve market was still at the middle of the road down there. there were signs that said blacks sold at seven at night.

[inaudible] they were doing the masquerade. actually it was three black women, catherine johnson, and dorothy spencer i think, and there was one more. >> tony thanks for bringing it at up. >> colonel salt or do want to go ahead with that story. >> first of all thank you for your service. thank you for being one of the great americans who served our country especially in vietnam war. so i believe the gist of his question is that he did not see and i'm not sure that i picked up on all of it, but i think he did not experience or see a lot of racism until he went to north carolina. he's probably talking about for

brad, north carolina. he said that he sought some of the blacks shot between seven and nine. i think his question is even in the 1960s used to hug some of this going on. if that's his question, that's absolutely correct. america is still not a perfect country. so in the 1960s, although the military led the way as far as a institution to integrate in the 19 fifties, he still had some turbulent times going on in the 1960s. i picked up two or three different stories. every american seniors and officers to living today who came in the military in the sixties and we're still experiencing some level of racism when they were assigned certain locations. where they perhaps wanted to buy a house or perhaps go off

base and eat at a hamburger establishment. >> think you are jumping in on that. i should have mentioned, when you are talking about the history of african american military officers a good book on that topic, the story of military officers 1841 to 1948 and the author of that story sitting with us and taking your phone calls. -- is on the line for african american veterans. good morning. this is absolute serendipity. this is only the third time i've been able to get through to c-span. i don't even know where to start. i'm nunes peak extra quickly so i can get all the information out. first of all, colonel salter i have to get in touch with. you think we might be related.

i have five beautiful military portraits. they are all portraits. they are all salter's 1860, eight 1870. the other thing is that i wanted to tell you that my husband's grandfather was on the news. we've got several photographs of him on the news, in the office, outside with the people in cologne, that's the first thing. the other thing that i want to tell you is that i'm so excited. i can't believe it. james monroe is the great great uncle of my cousin, murray churchill is my great aunt. great great aunt on my mother side. i think that not only are we related, but you are related to all of these people on two different sides of my family.

>> [inaudible] trotter is on my husband's side, thompson. harold thompson who is on the news. and my husband. and james monroe trotter. >> i'm going to give colonel salter the opportunity to talk about his background, and your question. but thanks for calling in about all of that. >> colonel salter. >> first of, all you coming off guard. thanks for the plug. i don't know you are going to mention the book. to the color, thanks so much. there was a lot. there i want to pick up on one thing. you know mary churchill, because we pronounce -- it no peak most people who are listening are saying no it's not pronounced that way, the reason why she is interpreted in this exhibition and so is william monroe trotter is

because they were going to collect the, items and they said no we don't pronounce our name like, that but you get to your question, yes i am a 25 year american soldier, my father's a americans. older he served 4:30 to 40 years. he is from southern alabama. aged seven, he moved down to florida which is where my mother was from. so the salter part of my family is from alabama. we have some of our public affairs, you can get in touch with me through the smithsonian and it will pass information on. so yeah, the salter is very -- the salter family is very large and it would be interesting to find out what are those connections. as a historian, being at this museum, i get some of my colleagues.

there is one of my colleagues who just recently learned, from looking at the index at the back of my book, that her great grandfather, or her great grand uncle, was one of the african american officers in the native guards of louisiana. so get in touch with me, yes, through the smithsonian and i -- we will see. >> about 20 minutes left to explore the exhibit there, the african american experience during world war one. i want to let our viewers walk a little more around the exhibit in the form of a sketchbook that you have there. horse pip in, who was horse pecan? >> yes, that is a question -- great question to. an exhibition tells the story in many ways. this is a story about the african american experience in world war i. we have these objects, which are actually in the cultural part of the exhibition, because

when people hear the name horace pippin, a lot of people say i know horace pippin. he is a harlem renaissance artist. that is who horace pippin is. so we have a painting in the exhibition called dog fight over the battlefield. it's a very famous painting by horace pippin in 1935. but to go back to your specific question, the sketchbook, we also have his sketchbook on display which he wrote in 1920. in that sketchbook, and i think i know this almost verbatim, he says that day i've seen three german and one french plane coming down. then i do the interpretation that perhaps this is the inspiration for this 1935

painting. so who was horace pippin? horace pippin was a veteran of world war i who served in the trenches. he served in the 369 regiment, known as the harlem health fighters. he went into the trenches with the 369th regiment as early as april of 1919. he shot his first german, he talks about that on the 14th of april. he is badly wounded in late september. that is why horace pippin was that painter, and i forget which arm, that painter who painted with one hand. he is actually one of those world war i veterans who, because of his experience in the war, he painted a lot of paintings that really resonated from that. so we have his sketchbook and

we have the painting. both of those are on loan. the sketch book is from the smithsonian archives. that is who horace pippin was. there are a lot of stories like that. i think a lot of people would be surprised to learn about people who they know. and he was a world war i veteran. if i were to say charles houston right now, 95% of the people who are listening who know charles hamilton houston, they know he's a lawyer. that is exactly who he was. he trained one third of the african american lawyers at howard law school. that include thurgood marshall. he was an officer who served in world war i. he served in the 368 infantry regiment. when he beat --

when he came back from the war, it was horrible experience, he made his father's dream come true. his father was a lawyer and he always wanted him to be a lawyer. so charles hamilton houston finally decided to become a lawyer because of his in world war ii. so horace pippin, charles hamilton houston and we spoke about a few others. world war one was a transformative event for many reasons. when we get to the point where setting and planting the seeds for the civil rights movement, thurgood marshall writes when charles hamilton houston dies in 1951, 52 or 53, he says we would not have gotten anywhere or we would not be where we are without charlie. he's referring to charles hamilton houston. we all know the history of thurgood marshall. >> less than 15 minutes left in the segment. a lot of calls for you. we will try to get to as many

as we can. good morning. >> good morning, how are you? >> doing well, sir. go ahead, you are on with colonel salter. >> yes, i was in the navy. i went into the navy in 1955. there was a lot of discrimination going on then. to make a long story short, i was on one vessel and i was sent there to be the barber. they did not want me to beat the barber. [inaudible] >> another ship i went aboard, they made me the master at arms. i was in charge of the laundry. when i got ready to transfer from the ship, they rode up and evaluation on me. they weren't supposed to do

that, but when they wrote the evaluation up, they graded me low. my appearance they put, not observed. so i had my orders and went to the executive office of the ship, he was the second in command. i said, sir. how can they evaluate me and never seen me? look what they've got there for my evaluation. he told me, he said, boy, the only thing i can tell you is to square yourself away when you get to your next duty station. they were not even supposed to evaluate because i wasn't there for 90 days. you need to be there for these three months before they evaluate you. >> william, thank you for sharing your story. colonel salter, when you take from that? >> first of all, william thank you for your service. i was going to ask william how long he was in the navy. my mother's brother served in the navy for 20 years around

that same time. so, again, 1955, you know, there was ebb and flow. so the caller had some bad experiences serving in the navy in 1955. there were people serving in the navy today who were having bad experiences for whatever reasons. but by 1955, the navy was a service like most other services, who had already begun to integrate. and actually, the navy had their first african american officers about 12 years before our caller. so in 1955, you have to remember that the american military is made up of the people of the country that they live in. that is the beauty of our democracy. so i certainly understand and appreciate that william had

some bad experiences. but the navy on the other hand was also making progress in the 19 fifties. so thank you for your service and i wish i could talk to you a little longer to find out how things eventually turned out for you. >> melvyn is out of florida on the line for african american veterans. good morning. >> good morning. colonel salter, thank you for your service. i just want to say that, and also i am working with a nonprofit, cause of the brave. it is a veterans nonprofit organization. i was wondering how can we get detailed information out like this on a yearly or ásu#jtyear-d basis as opposed to just being segmented to the february month? and also, what could organizations such as cause of the brave due to obtain

information or set up locations to have that information available to the public? thanks for the questions, melvyn. >> first of all, melvyn thanks for questions. thanks for what you do for our veterans. you said a lot of things there. i'm listening closely. one of the things that you said is opposed to only black history month, we like to say, and i actually say this all the time, every month is african american history month. in the military historian, african american historian. so the way that you can get this information out all year is to continue to do what you do. and if you have time, come visit the exhibition before it closes. the 14th of june, this year. so a temporary exhibition has a shelf life. and the book also has a shelf life. i hope you can see the book.

are -- we were fortunate enough. our deputy director got a lot of us together. our scholarly advisers. after listening to me talk to her on some of our stories she said we should do a companion book. so you can buy this book. the shelf life of this exhibition ends on the 14th of june. you put this on your book shelf, the shelf life is forever. it has the same short title of the exhibition. we return fighting. but the long title is world war i and the shaping of modern black identity. it goes to what we were talking about, how world were one set the stage and planted the seeds for the civil rights movement. so this book, and we are always talking about the exhibition, it's not a book on the wall because as a professional, historian, we like to condense

this eloquently, so the book allows us to include more than the exhibition. you can use this book, it's written by myself and five other scholars, our founding director writes the intro and the epilogue. so that is one way you can keep the story alive beyond the closing date of the exhibition. >> from new york city, denise, thanks for listening. >> good morning, it's a pleasure to speak to you. my grandfather served in world war i. he was on the 369th, he was one of the home fighters. most of the time, you only hear about company c of the 369th. they were a little bit more famous. is there any way that you can

get information on, i'm trying to get information on him like pictures, more pictures, anything we can get on all of the companies >> to answer your question, i want to go in a different direction based on what you said, 1918, so those records and a lot of that history would be number one, in the national archives downtown here in d.c., and also the unit records are in the national archives in college park. i can't tell you exactly where that information may be located in either one of those. the individual service records would be either here in washington d.c., or if they also survived in st. louis.

the unit records will probably be in college park. but also, the 369th henry is still in new york city. they may have some information. and there are a number of books written just recently, one of our scholarly advisers, they wrote the book on the rattler's, and if you go to the footnote, you will see a lot of where they got their information from. we keep talking about the 369th. i also want to you and our other viewers to know that 369 was only one of eight african american regiments that thought. and they get recognition for several different reasons. and because they are known, we do have a interpretation that really focuses on them. but they were just one eighth of the african american regiments that actually fought in the trenches.

so when you say, companies, as a historian i can't tell you the story of every single company, but those couple of locations, i'm looking at the footnotes, they direct you to some of the information are looking for. >> five minutes left this morning. john has been waiting on the line for african american veterans. lake, ridge arkansas. good morning. >> good morning. how are you this morning? >> we are doing well, go ahead with your question. >> i just want you to let you know that we have sacrificed, our officers [inaudible] we were mistreated. my brother went in in 66,

[inaudible] for their training. just keep in mind that we sacrificed a whole lot in order to serve our country. >> yes sir. >> mr. patel salter don't expand on that? >> -- certainly into the sixties, until the seventies, there was you know still, racism, and our services, because again the u.s. military is made up of a microcosm of america. there are always those juxtapositions because many of our retired generals and admiral's who came to the military as early as the late 18 forties and the 19 fifties,

and sixties, you know did make it in the military. my father who was drafted in 1961, he experienced some level of racism obviously in the 1960s. but he stayed in the military for 34 years. so certainly that was happening and the 1960s. because there are always going to be people who are not exactly happy that everybody is a part of this american pie. that is why this exhibition is so important that people have to continue to be informed. continue to agitate. to move our country forward so we continue to be the greatest country on the face of the globe. >> colonel salter two minutes left in the segment with you. i want to give you a chance. i know it's a exemplary exhibit. jeff a favorite piece or favorite store you want to mention our final few minutes? >> i absolutely do.

because that question always and like this. it's wherever i am in the gallery. because almost every story is great. i will just talk about where i sit right now. i happen to be sitting and what we call the photo gallery. as curators we are the face of a exhibition but there are a lot of people that help us get from a to b. research assistance, project managers, conservator's, so forth and so on. designers. in one of the design meetings i mentioned that i would like to see photo gallery. this is a beautiful photo gallery that was designed. today because i am stunning here at this is my favorite section of the exhibition. of the 30 some odd interpretations, i just believe all of them come together well. it is hard for me to pick one of my favorites. >> understandable. colonel salter is the guest,

associate director of the exhibit. we return fighting. the african american can experience in world war i. it opened in -- its at the smithsonian museum of african american culture and history. we appreciate you inviting us and this morning. really appreciate it. >> thank you john. appreciate it. appreciate it.

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