In the early 1970s, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the Chief of Naval Operations, launched a recruitment program targeted at black men, so that the Navy could attain sufficient manpower to meet the needs of its increasing role in the Vietnam War. Rather than experiencing manly fulfillment through rank and status, black sailors felt emasculated by the discriminatory treatment they received. This essay explores how African-American sailors asserted their manhood through racial militancy and violent protest.
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