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Wesley Brown, Naval Academy Pioneer

By John Ydstie
Published June 25, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT
Program cover for Brown's commencement ceremony shows it took more than a century for the first black to graduate from Annapolis.
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Program cover for Brown's commencement ceremony shows it took more than a century for the first black to graduate from Annapolis.

Wesley Brown graduated from the Naval Academy in 1949. He was the first African American to do so.

Five others had tried: three during Reconstruction and two during the 1930s, but all were forced out by intense racism and even violence.

Brown, who began his military career with a stint in the Army before applying to the Naval Academy, also suffered great discrimination. A group of upper classman conspired against him, giving him undeserved demerits that nearly led to his dismissal.

But others came to his defense, inside and outside of the academy, allowing him to succeed. He retired as a lieutenant commander after 20 years of Navy service.

His story, and the story of the integration of the Academy are the subject of a new book, Breaking the Color Barrier, by historian Robert J. Schneller, Jr.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

John Ydstie
John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.
See stories by John Ydstie