NAACP Galesburg

06/13/2026

On this day in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated the first Black American, Thurgood Marshall, to the Supreme Court. https://ow.ly/8Lfz50Zbarc

06/12/2026

“The Drum Beat of Freedom, add your voice to the beat.” Please come and celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th at 1:00 pm, Galesburg Public Library, 264 W Main St. Galesburg.
This 2nd Annual Local Author’s Showcase is a event that you don’t want to miss sponsored by the Unity in the Community Alliance of Galesburg.
Hope to see at this FREE event, please bring your friends and family.

06/11/2026

Please don’t forget to attend all the Juneteenth celebration events in Galesburg.

06/10/2026

"This is not a Black holiday. This is an American holiday." — Wendel Hunigan

Galesburg has a remarkable history tied to the anti-slavery movement — and this Saturday, Allen Chapel A.M.E. is opening its doors to share it. Wendel Hunigan and Semenya McCord joined us this morning to talk about Juneteenth, the history of Allen Chapel, and why everyone is invited. Juneteenth Soul Food Celebration, June 13, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 153 E. Tompkins St. "This is not a Black holiday. This is an American holiday." — Wendel Hunigan

🎧 Full story and interview: ➡️ https://www.wgil.com/2026/06/09/allen-chapel-juneteenth-soul-food-2026/

06/08/2026

Charles McGee: The Tuskegee Airman Who Fought in Three Wars
In 1942, Charles McGee joined the U.S. Army Air Forces during a time when many Americans still believed Black pilots should never fly combat missions.

The military itself was segregated. Black servicemen were often treated as inferior even while preparing to risk their lives for the same country denying them equal rights.

Charles McGee ignored all of it.

He became one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in American history. Flying dangerous missions during World War II, McGee escorted bombers through enemy territory while facing both N**i forces overseas and racism at home.

But World War II was only the beginning.

Most combat pilots never survive enough missions to fight in multiple wars. Charles McGee flew in three.

World War II

Korea

Vietnam

Across decades of military service, he completed an astonishing 409 combat missions, making him one of the most experienced combat aviators in American history. He flew fighter aircraft through some of the deadliest air combat environments of the 20th century while proving again and again that the racist beliefs used to limit Black pilots were completely false.

Yet for years, stories about the Tuskegee Airmen received far less attention than other famous World War II heroes. Many Americans grew up never learning their names.

McGee continued serving for decades and eventually retired as a colonel after more than 30 years in uniform.

Recognition finally came much later in life.

In 2020, at 100 years old, Charles McGee was promoted to brigadier general by President Donald Trump. The moment symbolized something bigger than one man's military career. It was recognition delayed by generations.

Charles McGee passed away in 2022 at age 102.

He spent his life soaring above barriers many people said should never be broken.

06/06/2026

Join us for the 2nd Annual Miss Knox County Juneteenth Pageant held on June 13th, 2026, at Knox College Center for Fine Arts. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and the program starts at 5:00 p.m.
The Miss Knox County Juneteenth pageant is a community-focused competitions that empower young African American women by celebrating cultural heritage, leadership, and personal development.
Please come out to uplift our community and its youth.

05/31/2026

Is your community organization interesting having a table at the NAACP Galesburg back to school cookout? Please fill out the form here. (QR code in the comments.) Tables are for information purposes only. No sales.

Application for a Community Organization Information Booth/Table. Tables are for information purposes only. No sales! Give-aways and drawings are okay (just don't call it a raffle as raffles require special permits.) Due to the number of organizations that attend the cook-out, space is limited. An a...

05/30/2026

He was told as a teenager that a "Negro" couldn't go to the Naval Academy. They told him he was too short to be a pilot. So he dove into the deep end—the deepest there is. On May 28, 1983, Pete Tzomes took command of a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, becoming the first African American to command a nuclear sub in U.S. history. This is the story of how one man's refusal to accept "no" launched a legacy of seven.

The Counselor Who Said "Unreasonable"
Chancellor Alphonso "Pete" Tzomes was born on December 30, 1944, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. As a boy, he loved baseball, but a visit from a Naval Academy midshipman to his junior high school rerouted his entire future.

When he told his guidance counselor about his dream, she did not encourage him. She told him that it was "unreasonable to expect that a Negro could go to the Academy" . This was the late 1950s, and the halls of Annapolis were overwhelmingly white.

But Tzomes had grit. He applied and was initially rejected. Instead of giving up, he enrolled at the State University of New York at Oneonta, worked relentlessly, and reapplied. In 1963—during the height of the Civil Rights Movement—he received his appointment to the Naval Academy.

Too Short for the Sky
At the Academy, Tzomes dreamed of flight. He wanted to be a Marine Corps pilot. But when he tried out, the Navy had a new reason to stop him: he was too short. Yet again, the door slammed. But as he looked for alternatives, he found the most elite, technologically advanced, and claustrophobic job in the Navy: the Submarine Force.

He applied to the Navy’s nuclear power program—becoming the first African American accepted.

The Lonely Years Below the Waves
When he reported to his first submarine, the USS Will Rogers, he was one of very few Black men aboard. He recalled the pride in the eyes of the Black stewards and torpedomen who finally had an officer they could call "Sir".

Over the next decade, he served on four submarines: USS Pintado, USS Drum (as Engineer Officer), and USS Cavalla (as Executive Officer). He mastered the silent service.

May 28, 1983: The Day History Dove Deep
On May 28, 1983, Commander Pete Tzomes assumed command of the USS Houston (SSN-713), a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine. He was the first African American to command a nuclear-powered submarine in U.S. history.

When the USS Houston moved its homeport to San Diego, he was met on the waterfront by members of the local Black community, cheering him on at 10 o'clock at night. "It’s kind of hard to describe," he said. "That just made me feel special."

The Centennial Seven
Tzomes did not remain alone. Over the next 15 years, six more African Americans would follow him in commanding submarines. Together, they became known as the "Centennial Seven" —the only Black men to command a submarine in the 20th century.

They proved that the silent service could speak volumes about diversity.

A Legacy on Land
After commanding Houston, Tzomes earned his captain’s stars. He went on to command the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes (boot camp), shaping the future of the entire Navy. He later retired in 1994 to work in energy management. He passed away on June 13, 2019.

Captain Pete Tzomes fought a counselor who dismissed his skin color, a cockpit that rejected his height, and an ocean that had never seen a Black man at the helm of a nuclear sub.

He won every single time. And today, the "Centennial Seven" stand as a testament to what happens when you refuse to stay on the surface.

05/25/2026

He dreamed of being a pilot in the Army Air Forces. When that didn't work out, he walked into a Navy recruiting office and became an electrician's mate. Two years later, he was one of 16 Black sailors selected for a secret experiment—a crash course designed to prove they couldn't lead.

But John W. Reagan and his classmates refused to fail. They studied through the night, covered their windows to hide the light, and aced every test. The Navy was so shocked that they made the men retake their exams—just to be sure.

When the results came back identical, the Navy had no choice. On March 17, 1944, John W. Reagan pinned on his ensign's bars and became one of the "Golden Thirteen"—the first Black officers in U.S. Navy history. He wasn't just a symbol. He was the 13th man. And his journey from the gridiron to the wardroom is a story of persistence, pride, and the quiet courage to keep showing up.

This is his story. 🧵👇

From Texas to Montana: The Athlete Who Almost Became a Pilot
John Walter Reagan was born on March 5, 1920, in Marshall, Texas, to John Reagan and Bernice Ector. He grew up in a segregated America where opportunity for Black men was measured in inches, not miles. But Reagan was a natural athlete—a standout in football, wrestling, and track—and he had the grades to match.

He enrolled at Montana State University, planning to study engineering. Then World War II erupted. Reagan tried to join the Army Air Forces as a pilot. He wanted to fly. But for reasons lost to history, that path was closed to him.

So in July 1942, he enlisted in the Navy as an electrician's mate. It was a step down from his dreams, but Reagan was not a man who stayed down for long.

The Experiment at Great Lakes
By early 1944, the Navy was under intense pressure from civil rights leaders and the Black press to integrate its officer corps. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Adlai Stevenson pushed the service to act. The result was a cynical experiment: 16 Black enlisted men were selected to attend an eight-week officer candidate course at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois—half the normal training time.

The Navy expected them to fail. Instead, the men covered their barracks windows and studied through the night. When the tests came, the entire class passed with an average of 3.89—higher than most white classes.

The brass was so stunned they ordered the men to retake the exams. Again, all 16 passed.

Yet when the results came back, only 12 were commissioned as ensigns. A thirteenth, Charles Byrd Lear, was made a warrant officer. Three others—Augustus Alves, J.B. Pinkney, and Lewis "Mummy" Williams—were denied commissions entirely, their success unexplained.

John W. Reagan was one of the 12 ensigns. He had broken the line. But the Navy, still uneasy, assigned him to logistics and training duties—never to a combat ship.

Okinawa, Guam, and the War's End
After commissioning, Reagan served initially at the Hampton Naval Training School in Virginia, then shipped overseas to Okinawa and Guam as an operations officer. He was doing the work, leading men, and proving that Black officers could handle the pressure. When World War II ended, he was discharged.

But Reagan couldn't stay away.

The Pro Footballer Who Returned to the Navy
After the war, Reagan returned to Montana State to finish his degree. Then he did something unexpected: he played professional football in Canada. For a time, he traded the discipline of the quarterdeck for the chaos of the gridiron.

The Navy wasn't done with him. When the Korean War broke out, Reagan was recalled to active service. This time, his mission was to help recruit Black sailors into the Navy—a sign that his value as a trailblazer was finally being recognized.

He served as executive officer of an amphibious boat unit, rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, and retired in 1954 after a second war.

Life After the Navy: Urban League, Real Estate, and Tragedy
After leaving the service, Reagan settled in Southern California. He worked for the state, served the local Urban League chapter, and built a successful career in real estate.

But the war followed him home in the worst possible way. His only son, John W. Reagan Jr., was killed in the Vietnam War. It was a loss that no father should endure, and Reagan carried it quietly for the rest of his life.

He died on June 7, 1994, in San Diego, California, at the age of 74.

Why John W. Reagan Still Matters
The Golden Thirteen were not just the first Black officers in Navy history. They were a living rebuke to the idea that Black men couldn't lead. They studied in secret, scored higher than their white peers, and forced the Navy to integrate its wardrooms—even if that integration was slow, reluctant, and incomplete.

John W. Reagan was an athlete, a pilot-hopeful, an electrician's mate, an ensign, a lieutenant commander, a pro football player, a real estate developer, a father who buried his son, and a quiet hero of the civil rights movement in uniform.

He didn't ask to be a pioneer. But when the Navy called, he answered. And when the tests were rigged against him, he studied harder.

That's the legacy of the 13th man.