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Invisible generals : rediscovering family legacy, and a quest to honor America's first Black generals / Doug Melville.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Black Privilege Publishing / Atria, 2023Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First Black Privilege Publishing/Atria Books hardcover editionDescription: xxiii, 225 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781668005132
  • 1668005131
Other title:
  • Rediscovering family legacy, and a quest to honor America's first Black generals
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Three centuries, five generations -- Timeline -- Preface: A man on a mission -- Introduction: What's in a name? -- Part I: The invisible Generals. Generational collateral -- Extraordinary just to be ordinary -- West Point's invisible alum -- Living life in a liminal space -- The pursuit of double victory -- Founding fathers -- Look forward, not down -- The million-dollar star -- Life after death -- Monumental -- The brand equity of fairness -- American -- Epilogue: Inspired to greatness -- Part II: Becoming a visible General. Strategies to seize your destiny.
Summary: "In Invisible Generals, Melville shares his quest to rediscover his family's story across five generations, from post-Civil War America to modern day Asia and Europe. In life, the Davises were denied the recognition and compensation they'd earned, but through his journey, Melville uncovers something greater: that dedication and self-sacrifice can move proverbial mountains-even in a world determined to make you invisible. Invisible Generals recounts the lives of a father and his son who always maintained their belief in the American dream. As the inheritor of their legacy, Melville retraces their steps, advocates for them to receive their long-overdue honors and unlocks the potential we all hold to retrieve powerful family stories lost to the past" -- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction New 355.0092 M531 Available 33111011236029
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 355.0092 M531 Available 33111011149875
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This amazing true story of America's first Black generals, Benjamin O. Davis Sr. and Jr., a father and son who helped integrate the American military and created the Tuskegee Airmen, is "the book Black America needs in this moment" (Eboni K. Williams, lawyer and cohost of State of the Culture ).

Red Tails , George Lucas's celebration of America's first Black flying squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, should have been a moment of victory for Doug Melville. He expected to see his great-uncle Benjamin O. Davis Jr.--the squadron's commander--immortalized on-screen for his selfless contributions to America. But as the film rolled, Doug was shocked when he realized that Ben Jr.'s name had been omitted and replaced by the fictional Colonel A. J. Bullard. And Ben's father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., America's first Black general who helped integrate the military, was left out completely.

Dejected, Doug looked inward and realized that unless he worked to bring their inspirational story to light, it would remain hidden from the world just as it had been concealed from him.

In this "thoughtful, highly readable blend of family and military history" ( Kirkus Reviews ), Melville shares his quest to rediscover his family's story across five generations, from post-Civil War America to modern day Asia and Europe. In life, the Davises were denied the recognition and compensation they'd earned, but through his journey, Melville uncovers something greater: that dedication and self-sacrifice can move proverbial mountains--even in a world determined to make you invisible.

Invisible Generals recounts the lives of a father and his son who always maintained their belief in the American dream. As the inheritor of their legacy, Melville retraces their steps, advocates for them to receive their long-overdue honors and unlocks the potential we all hold to retrieve powerful family stories lost to the past.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-214) and index.

Three centuries, five generations -- Timeline -- Preface: A man on a mission -- Introduction: What's in a name? -- Part I: The invisible Generals. Generational collateral -- Extraordinary just to be ordinary -- West Point's invisible alum -- Living life in a liminal space -- The pursuit of double victory -- Founding fathers -- Look forward, not down -- The million-dollar star -- Life after death -- Monumental -- The brand equity of fairness -- American -- Epilogue: Inspired to greatness -- Part II: Becoming a visible General. Strategies to seize your destiny.

"In Invisible Generals, Melville shares his quest to rediscover his family's story across five generations, from post-Civil War America to modern day Asia and Europe. In life, the Davises were denied the recognition and compensation they'd earned, but through his journey, Melville uncovers something greater: that dedication and self-sacrifice can move proverbial mountains-even in a world determined to make you invisible. Invisible Generals recounts the lives of a father and his son who always maintained their belief in the American dream. As the inheritor of their legacy, Melville retraces their steps, advocates for them to receive their long-overdue honors and unlocks the potential we all hold to retrieve powerful family stories lost to the past" -- Provided by publisher.

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