The First Black Marines: An Oral History tells the extraordinary stories of the men who made history as the first African Americans to serve in the US Marine Corps. Based on extensive oral history interviews with a group of veterans conducted by the authors, this new title in OUP's Graphic History Series documents the experiences of these men as they underwent training at the segregated Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina, during the 1940s and served in the Pacific theater of World War II. Narrated in the authentic voices of the Marines and featuring powerful imagery, this book provides a personal and moving account of the challenges they faced and overcame as pioneers in the US military during the Jim Crow era of widespread racial segregation and discrimination.

The graphic history is accompanied by a highly accessible introduction to an inquiry-based approach to historical research and the methodology of oral history that empowers students to develop and conduct their own research projects in their communities. In addition, the book includes a brief overview of the historical context in which the Marines' stories unfold as well as a carefully chosen set of primary documents.

Trevor R. Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University. His first graphic history, Abina and the Important Men, was the winner of the 2014 James Harvey Robinson Prize, and he is the recipient of the American Historical Association's 2020 Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award.

Robert Willis is a public historian. A student of cinema and history, he is driven by a desire to construct effective ways to communicate to the masses and to enrich the lives of people who look like him.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Joseph H. Geeter III, USMC retired, enrolled in the Marine Corps in 1976 and spent twenty-five years on active duty. He served as the 16th President of the National Montford Point Marine Association, Inc.

Liz Clarke is a professional illustrator based in Cape Town, South Africa. She has contributed to a variety of graphic history publications, including several titles in the Graphic History Series published by Oxford University Press.

List of Maps
Preface
About the Authors and the Illustrator

Part I: The Graphic History
1: When I Grow Up
2: Where Hell Starts
3: Black Marines in Jim Crow America
4: Let the Mosquitoes Eat
5: All of Them Are Legendary
6: A 17-Year-Old Kid with a .45 Pistol
7: Aftermaths and Legacies

Part II: Starting a Research Project
Introduction
Defining Questions
Building a Critical Bibliography

Part III: Historical Context
Jim Crow America
African Americans and the US Military During the Second World War
Montford Point Camp and the First Black Marines
Montford Pointers in the Pacific Theater of Operations
The Tensions of Masculinity
Looking Both Forward and Backward

Part IV: Oral History: Applying a Research Methodology
Oral History as Method
Oral History and Memory
Oral History as a Community Act
Our Approaches and Experiences

Part V: Interpretation
What Is the Job of the Historian in Interpretation?
Critical Analysis
Narrative Structures and Shared Experiences
Analytical Moments: Hearing Individual Messages
Interpreting through Comics: Choices and Debates

Part VI: Primary Sources
Executive Order 8802 (1941)
Letter of Instruction No. 421 (1943)
The Pittsburgh Courier, "The Courier's Double 'V' for a Double Victory Campaign Gets Country-wide Support" (1942)
H. R. 2447, An Act to Grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines (2011)

Part VII: Questions to Consider
Constructing a Usable Narrative
Examining Multiple Interpretations
Critically Investigating the Research Methodology
Engaging with the Original Video Footage
Reflecting

Glossary