Black Women in Command

Black women have always served—often without recognition, often without authority, and too often without protection. Yet across the twentieth century, they forged paths into leadership spaces that were never designed for them.

In this episode of Rise to Command, we center the stories of Black women who navigated the dual burdens of racism and sexism while serving in the U.S. military, carving out space for command, credibility, and institutional change.

From segregated units and limited occupational roles to moments of breakthrough leadership, these women challenged deeply entrenched norms and reshaped what military authority could look like.

Drawing from oral histories, institutional records, and lived experience, this episode examines how Black women asserted leadership in environments that questioned their presence at every turn—and how their service expanded the meaning of command itself.

This is not just a story about inclusion.

It is a story about power, resilience, and transformation.

📘 Rise to Command: Black Military Officers’ Stories of Survival and Leadership from World War II through the Cold War is available now—pick up a copy to explore these narratives in greater depth.

Amazon link: 1https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Command-Military-Officers-Leadership/dp/0700638822/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XX6G8W2S2Q1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.taP5OxkBOOjFIzOqiW6h9wEKMN1gOZNfaCqprE_CBFM.v1N5yNCzvqVvenWBVc8cYKSNCelpqIP4sfy2ZbM9vos&dib_tag=se&keywords=rise+to+command%2C+isaac+hampton&qid=1767550469&sprefix=%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-1

🎧 Listen, reflect, and share—because these stories matter.

In this episode of Rise to Command: Conversations with Black Brass, Dr. Isaac Hampton II examines how institutional reform in the U.S. Army was often built quietly—through relationships, policy, mentorship, and rigorous analysis rather than public confrontation.

The Architecture of Advancement focuses on Major General Julius Parker and Colonel Douthard Butler, two officers who took different paths but shared a common purpose: reshaping the Army from within. Raised in the segregated South and educated at Prairie View A&M University, both men learned early how discipline, preparation, and institutional fluency were essential for survival and advancement.

As a military intelligence officer, Parker mastered the personnel system, using strategic relationships and documentation to demystify promotion processes and mentor younger officers navigating biased evaluations. His leadership style was patient and persuasive—grounded in competence, preparation, and quiet accountability.

Butler, a Vietnam combat veteran and gifted analyst, approached reform structurally. Through doctrine development, officer education, and his landmark Butler Study, he exposed systemic disparities in evaluations, assignments, and mentorship that limited Black officers’ advancement. His work provided a blueprint for institutional accountability and long-term reform.

Together, Parker and Butler demonstrate that progress in the Army was not accidental—it was engineered. Their stories reveal how leadership, when applied thoughtfully, could become a tool of correction rather than exclusion.

Thank you for listening. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a student, soldier, or educator—and consider picking up a copy of Rise to Command to explore these stories in greater depth.

In this episode of Rise to Command: Conversations with Black Brass, Dr. Isaac Hampton II explores how institutional power operated behind the scenes in the post–civil rights U.S. Army—and how African American officers used policy, personnel systems, and mentorship to shape meaningful change.

Gatekeepers and Guardians centers on the experiences of Lieutenant General Andrew Chambers and Colonel John S. McLeod, two officers who influenced the Army not through public protest or high-profile command, but through discipline, documentation, and reform from within. As senior leaders in recruiting, equal opportunity, ROTC, and personnel management, Chambers and McLeod understood that careers were often decided in evaluations, assignments, and promotion systems—long before they reached the spotlight.

Drawing from oral history, this episode examines how Chambers used measurable standards and accountability to reform recruiting and the Army Equal Opportunity Program, while McLeod quietly mentored younger officers and challenged biased evaluations through careful, deliberate intervention. Together, their stories reveal how equity in the military was often advanced not by slogans, but by systems—and by leaders willing to master them.

This episode reminds us that some of the most consequential leadership is invisible: written into policy, embedded in process, and sustained through mentorship that reshapes futures one decision at a time.