The Golden Thirteen were the thirteen African American enlisted men who became the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the United States Navy.
Throughout the history of the United States until the end of World War I,
the Navy had enlisted African Americans for general service, but they
were barred from joining from 1919 to 1932. From 1893 onwards, African
Americans could only join the Navy's Messman's and Steward's branches,
which not only segregated African Americans from the rest of the Navy
community, but also precluded them from becoming commissioned officers.
In June 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the executive order (8802) that prohibited racial discrimination by any government agency.
Additional information is available here.
Source: Wikipedia
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