America's Search For Leadership Character, The Manson Brown Story: UCGC Vol 04 No 01

By Judge London Steverson

When President John F. Kennedy was ready to break the color barrier at the last of the nation's military service academies, London Steverson and Kenneth Boyd were ready to answer the call.
President Kennedy's New Frontier was to push the envelope in areas of our national life that had not been reached during the terms of President Harry S. Truman or President Dwight D. Eisenhower. A Presidential Executive Order 9981 issued by President Truman had desegregated the armed forces on July 26, 1948, but the nation's military service academies were lagging far behind in officer recruiting. As a precursor to President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs (Head Start, Civil Rights Bill, Voting Rights Act, Medicare, and the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black Supreme Court Justice) President Kennedy challenged the U. S. Coast Guard Academy to tender appointments to Black high school students.
Steverson and Boyd were the first Black students to accept a Principal Appointment in response to the increased emphasis on minority cadet recruiting. They were sworn in on June 10, 1964 in front of Hamilton Hall at the Coast Guard Academy. They were the only Black cadets in the Academy Class of 1968.
This was a small step for the Coast Guard Academy, but it was a giant step for Black Americans in the armed forces. It did not however amount to full Integration. At most, this was Desegregation.
Two or three Black cadets out of a student body of about two thousand was not full integration. The presence of these token Black cadets did not affect the historical normal operations of the Coast Guard at all. These tokens were treated as honorary white cadets. At all social events, mixers, and athletic parties, the Social Hostess, Miss Judy Sinton, never provided any Black females. The Black cadets were allowed, even required, to choose escorts from the girls provided.
Finally, here it is, the Pleasure and the Pain. The Road was rough. The going was tough. Divine Intervention was sometimes necessary. Thick Skin was a Blessing. Progress was made in the area of Minority Recruiting.
In 1974 Steverson set a new Record for the number of Black American Cadets recruited. There were 28 in the Class of 1974. One was Manson K Brown. He went on to become the First Vice Admiral in Coast Guard History.
Steverson went on to become a Law Specialist. He represented the first Female Officer, LTJG Christine Balboni, subjected to Sexual Harassment on a Coast Guard Ship, the USCGC Rush.
LCDR London Steverson would become the first African American Coast Guard Academy graduate to retire after 20 years of active duty as a Regular Line Officer in June 1988.
President John F. Kennedy had a closer relationship with the Coast Guard Academy (CGA) than with any other military academy. He kept his personal yacht at the CGA boat docks. It was the Coast Guard Yacht Manitou.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F9LD9ZS8
• ISBN13: 9798284512012
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"