INVISIBLE GENERALS by Doug Melville is an amazing book that I first became aware of due to a feature on PBSNewsHour (see embedded video below). Melville is related to the first two Black generals in U.S. military history and he is clearly on a quest to honor them and recognize their contributions. So he should be. These men, Benjamin O. Davis and Benjamin O. Davis Jr., faced incredible pressures and unrelenting prejudice. Davis, Sr. had to enlist because, as a Black man, he could not get an appointment to West Point. His son was successful in that regard, but spent four years being ostracized; no one spoke to him or ate meals with him for the entire time. Their heroism and impact is readily apparent in the stories about their wartime service and subsequent contributions to plans for integrating the US military. Melville has created a very readable – yet astounding – recounting of family history and American history. Readers can sense his own pride and excitement in the video below:
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