The Golden 14 were the first Black women to muster into the United States Navy. The Golden 14’s service began with Armelda Hattie Green of Jackson, Mississippi, who enlisted on August 13, 1918. He promoted the passage of both the Naval Act and the Naval Reserve Act in 1916. An unforeseen loophole in the Naval Reserve Act, which called, “All persons who may be capable of performing special useful services for coastal defense” to join the Naval Reserve Forces. There’s some dispute over the exact number of Black women who served; where Dr. Kelly Miller has the number at 14, others, citing a 1939 Congressional inquiry, say it is 24.

Source: Washington Post December 13, 2023 08:31 UTC