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Colonel Charles Young, one of the highest ranking Black soldiers, dies in Nigeria.
1922 (Jan 8)
Colonel Charles R. Young, one of the highest ranking Blacks in the U.S. Army, died in Nigeria. Young, the son of a formerly enslaved soldier in the Union Army, was born in Kentucky. He had entered West Point Academy in 1884 and served with distinction in Cuba, Haiti, and Mexico, but he always labored under the burdens of racial discrimination. During World War I, Young was called for a physical examination and made to retire because of poor health. This action was an apparent subterfuge to prevent Young's promotion to General. After protests by Blacks, Young was recalled, but he was assigned to relatively obscure duty in Illinois and Liberia.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.