Barricades: The First African-American West Point Cadets and Their Constant Fight for Survival

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It was not until well into the 20th Century that West Point became fully integrated, and the backstory of how this came about is the subject of this compelling work. It is a story that is both shameful and praiseworthy, a tale of young African-Americans finding themselves up against challenges that some were simply not prepared to take on, while others succeeded only after enduring the most harrowing physical trials. What especially distinguishes this account of these young men’s experiences at West Point is the author’s placing the events in the contemporaneous history of the decades-quoting the surprising number of newspaper accounts of the goings-on at West Point as well as memoirs by the individuals themselves. Most Americans were all too ready to ignore these events, but several of these pioneers persisted against all odds, and it is their stories that make this both a sobering yet inspiring book.