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B-1 Band Veterans Reunite
In the early 1940s, when the military forces of the United States were still racially segregated, the U.S. Navy tried something new. Recruiting musicians from across North Carolina, the Navy created the U.S. Navy B-1 Band at the pre-flight school in Chapel Hill.
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| Veteran Huey Lawrence performs Taps at a memorial service honoring de-ceased members of the US Navy B-1 Band. (Photo by Marc Kawanishi) |
It was the first time that African Americans had served in the Navy at any rank other than galley or steward. The 44-member regimental band was formed in 1942, drawing a majority of its members from North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.
ECU English professor Alex Albright is the band's historian. His personal interviews with surviving band members, along with photographs and other memorabilia, are stored at ECU's Joyner Library.
The band members "were at the forefront of integration," said Albright.
"Music was used to present the idea of integration in a softer, less confrontational way," he said.
On Oct. 17, surviving members of the band came to ECU for the band's reunion, which included a performance by the N.C. A&T Jazz band and an intergen-erational concert spanning seven decades of A&T students and alumni.
About 15 veterans from the band, most graduates of North Carolina A&T University, attended the weekend's events, which included a walking tour of the ECU campus and a Sunday memorial service for deceased members of the Band.
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