African-American Culture Presentations

I really enjoyed all of last Thursday’s presentations, but especially the ones about music and teaching ideas. I thought it was very interesting to learn about the foundational singers and musicians from the 30s and 40s who dominated the jazz, funk and soul genres. I had heard of most of the artists before, but for the majority would not have been able to associate their face with their name or even their music. It was also interesting to learn about the individual styles of the artists, such as Ray Charles, and how he combined genres that society didn't expect him to combine - Gospel and R&B for example.
I liked the teaching ideas presentation as well, because it was very thought-provoking. I realized that I hadn't ever really given any thought to the racial composition of the American military in our history of wars. Of course there was an African-American population in the military - they've been a part of the population before our official founding. Then why hadn't I ever heard of African-Americans in authoritative positions in the military even today, when they have more freedoms than in the past? Honestly, this is sad, but the only African-American in the military that comes to mind is Bubba from "Forrest Gump." It amazes me that African-Americans make up 13% of the total U.S. population and 20% of the military. I would be curious to find statistics about African-Americans in military leadership positions. I may simply be ignorant, but I suspect that it also involves the fact that racism has permeated our military throughout history and still does today.