Breaking the Color Barrier: The U.S. Naval Academy's First Black Midshipmen and the Struggle for Racial EqualityWinner of the 2006 Richard W. Leopold Prize from the Organization of American Historians Winner of the 2006 George Pendleton Prize from the Society for History in the Federal Government Only five black men were admitted to the United States Naval Academy between Reconstruction and the beginning of World War II. None graduated, and all were deeply scarred by intense racial discrimination, ranging from brutal hazing incidents to the institutionalized