Kevin, this discussion was great. I do remember talking about US Colored Troops when I took Civil War and Reconstruction, but it was not a very involved discussion. I also remember reading "Army Life in A Black Regiment" when I was in grad school. But that is about the post-Civi War Army. The role of Black soldiers in general is an aspect of US military history that unquestionably deserves greater attention from historians.
This is a great conversation. I've had the great pleasure of running into Ed at several events over the years, including at the Lincoln Memorial Centennial event in May 2022. We ended up kneeling next to each other for the group photo that day, and he mentioned that he, age twelve, was at the Memorial for M. L. King's famous speech in August 1963. I asked him what he most remembered from that day. He said two things really stuck out in his memory. First, that it was ungodly hot. Second, after having never seen so many white people in one place at one time, it occurred to him, for the first time, that maybe black Americans were not alone in their struggle.
Great interview! Glad to see you guys got to connect. 🙂
Thanks for the help in identifying Ed. I really enjoyed talking with him.
Fantastic interview! Very interesting & informative. Thank you.
Thanks, Liz. Glad to hear you enjoyed the interview.
Kevin, this discussion was great. I do remember talking about US Colored Troops when I took Civil War and Reconstruction, but it was not a very involved discussion. I also remember reading "Army Life in A Black Regiment" when I was in grad school. But that is about the post-Civi War Army. The role of Black soldiers in general is an aspect of US military history that unquestionably deserves greater attention from historians.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the interview, Michael.
Thank you, Kevin, for this fascinating discussion and for introducing me to Mr. Gantt. I hope to run into to him in the future.
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the interview.
This is a great conversation. I've had the great pleasure of running into Ed at several events over the years, including at the Lincoln Memorial Centennial event in May 2022. We ended up kneeling next to each other for the group photo that day, and he mentioned that he, age twelve, was at the Memorial for M. L. King's famous speech in August 1963. I asked him what he most remembered from that day. He said two things really stuck out in his memory. First, that it was ungodly hot. Second, after having never seen so many white people in one place at one time, it occurred to him, for the first time, that maybe black Americans were not alone in their struggle.
Thanks so much for taking the time to watch this interview. I had such a good time talking to Ed. Great story. Thanks for sharing.