First Recognized African-American Naval Officer Nation’s History-JOSEPH JENKINS

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irst Recognized African-American Naval Officer in Nation’s History-JOSEPH JENKINS-PHOTO
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Photo of Joseph Jenkins in 1943 after graduating from the Coast Guard Academy’s Reserve Officer Training Program. On June 15, 1942, at the ripe age of 27, Joseph Jenkins enlisted in the Coast Guard. To start, he received the rating of boatswain’s mate first class and, within a month, he advance to chief. On September 1, the service advanced Jenkins to warrant officer, making him the service’s first minority warrant officer. During his brief time as an enlisted man, Jenkins served as a recruiter for African-American enlistees in Detroit. By October, he applied for the service’s Reserve Officer Training Course with recommendations from Michigan Senator Prentiss Brown; State Highway Commissioner Donald Kelly; Lewis Downing, dean of Howard University’s School of Engineering and Architecture; and Chief Boatswain’s Mate H.O. Nielsen, Jenkins’s white supervisor at Detroit’s Coast Guard recruiting office. In his recommendation letter, Nielsen wrote that Jenkins “displays keen judgment and leadership in handling the public and in other problems . . . [and] appears to be ideally suited for officer material and is so recommended.”
On April 13, 1943, Jenkins completed the Academy’s Reserve Officer Training Course. The next day, he received an ensign’s commission to become the first “recognized” African-American naval officer in the nation’s history.   U.S. Coast Guard photo.
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