1. Direct: jeffreyksapp@ aol.com//703.955.2393 1
Book Tour 2008/2009
Blue & Gold and Black:
Racial Integration of the U.S. Naval Academy
About the Presenters
Dr. Schneller is an official U.S.
Navy historian at the Naval
Historical Center in Washington
D.C. He researches and writes
about American naval history.
Three of his eight books earned
prestigious awards from the
American Historical Association,
Navy League of the United
States, Society for History in the
Federal Government, and the
North American Society for
Oceanic History.
Captain Sapp, a walk-on for the
United States Naval Academy
varsity football team, went on to
become the first Black
midshipman ever elected as a
team co-captain. By his senior
year, he earned several top Naval Academy athletic honors and a host of national awards, including selection as a
NCAA Division One All-American. Today, he is an inductee in several Athletic Halls of Fame. He served at-sea
and ashore in a series of high-profile leadership positions, including Commanding Officer of six warships and an
organization ashore. He holds three advanced degrees, several professional subspecialities, and is a national
motivational speaker who shares techniques and strategies for self-improvement that are based on his
experiences. Among many prominent nationwide organizations holding him in high regard, the Commission of
Law Enforcement Agencies credits him as being “. . . one of the nation’s finest charismatic and dynamic hands-on
speakers . . . .”
About the Presentation
A 60-minute presentation by author Dr. Robert Schneller
Jr. and featuring retired Navy Captain Jeffrey Kendall
Sapp, M.S., M.S., M.A., Blue & Gold and Black is an
educational and entertaining glimpse into the challenges
encountered by midshipmen, Naval officers, politicians,
and others who were instrumental in integrating one of the
world’s most elite academic institutions—the United States
Naval Academy.
It chronicles the Naval Academy’s progress in making racial
diversity in academics, athletics, and leadership more of a
reality and less of an ongoing challenge. It’s an inspiring
story told through the lens of those who lived through the
Jim Crow era and the Naval Academy’s tranformation from
a racist institution—once considered to be reserved
exclusively for “privileged white men from politically
influencial families”—to an equal opportunity poster child
set amid the backdrop of America’s Civil Rights revolution.
Blue & Gold and Black is not only relevant to military
audiences. It is equally relevant to educational institutions,
federal agencies, non-profit organizations, private
businesses, and any institution dedicated to ensuring that
individuals are never hindered from receiving an
education, working and advancing in their chosen field or
profession, or from earning the right to wear corporate gray
or the Navy Blue and Gold.
Robert t J. Schneller, Jr.
Texas A&M University Press, 2008
ISBN 978-1-60344-000-4

2. Direct: jeffreyksapp@ aol.com//703.955.2393 2
Blue & Gold and Black
Racial Integration of the U.S. Naval Academy
Now colleges from sea to sea may sing of colors true, but who has better right than we to
hoist a symbol hue? For sailors brave in battle fair since fighting days of old, have proved
a sailor's right to wear, the Navy Blue and Gold.
First verse of U.S. Naval Academy alma mater, Blue and Gold
uring the 20th century, the United States Naval Academy evolved from a racist institution to one
that ranked equal opportunity among its fundamental tenets. This transformation was not
without its social cost, however, and Black midshipmen bore the brunt of it. Based on the
documentary record as well as on the memories of hundreds of midshipmen and naval officers during
the late 1940s through the end of the twentieth century, Blue & Gold and Black traces the transformation
of an institution that produces men and women who lead not only the Navy, but also the nation.
Former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Mullen, considers Blue & Gold and Black as
“essential reading . . . a riveting story of young midshipmen who knocked down the color barriers to
their success and blazed a trail for future generations of Navy leaders.”
Blue & Gold and Black is not exclusively a Navy story; it’s an American story that confirms the
challenges and benefits inherent in creating a racially diverse workforce. Through the trials and
tribulations of pioneering Black midshipmen who grew up at the Naval Academy, Blue & Gold and
Black is a window on the evolution of race in America during the Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and Black
Empowerment eras. Ultimately, Blue & Gold and Black is an inspiring story told by individuals who
were at the forefront of creating a more racially diverse Navy and dedicated to improving our society
and nation. The presentation’s underlying messages include leadership, breaking through glass
ceilings, and overcoming significant social and institutional obstacles to succeed. As such, it is suitable
for a wide-range of audiences: civilian and military, secondary and postsecondary institutions, small
gatherings and national conventions, and any individual or group dedicated to expanding their horizon
and motivating others—particularly children of color—to neither sell themselves short in considering
enrollment at any postsecondary institution, nor be distracted from pursuing leadership roles as a junior
officer, emerging executive ,or professional.
he presenters are Dr. Robert J. Schneller, Jr. and retired Navy Captain, Jeffrey Kendall Sapp.
Dr. Schneller opens the presentation by setting the historical context before
handing off to Captain Sapp, who then offers perspectives about being a Black
midshipman during the 1970s—the period when the Navy and
Naval Academy revolutionized their racial policies.
Captain Sapp also delivers parts of “Learning2S.O.A.R.©,” an
invigorating motivational talk that offers ideas and strategies for
making racial diversity in leadership less an aspiration and more
a reality. His talk is edutainment: it educates, entertains,
enlightens, and energizes audiences to new levels of accomplishment in
achieving diversity in the workplace and beyond.
Neither speaker pulls punches in “telling it like it was,” or emphasizing why it is essential for the Naval
Academy and other institutions to remain at the forefront of the integration process and assertive in
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3. Direct: jeffreyksapp@ aol.com//703.955.2393 3
creating a diverse workforce. At the conclusion of the presentation, they interact with the audience by
answering questions and autographing books.
This tag-team approach is similar to what Dr. Schneller did to promote diversity during his previous
book tour for Breaking the Color Barrier: the U.S. Naval Academy’s First Black Midshipmen and the
Struggle for Racial Equality (New York University Press, 2005). That tour featured retired Navy
Lieutenant Commander Wesley A. Brown, the Naval Academy’s first Black graduate (Class of 1949).
Through living history, the pair brought the story of the struggle to integrate the Naval Academy to
various audiences and venues, such as Naval Academy student and alumni gatherings, National Public
Radio, C-SPAN, Booz-Allen-Hamilton, the Martin Luther King Branch of the Washington D.C. Public
Library, and the Library of Congress.
s was Wes Brown during Dr. Schneller’s 2005 book tour, Captain Sapp is the featured speaker for
Blue & Gold and Black. A 1977 graduate from the Naval Academy, his year group
included the largest number of Blacks admitted as midshipmen (120) and until 2007—30
years after he graduated—held the distinction of having the largest number of Blacks in
Naval Academy history to earn a commission (61). And it is noteworthy that as a
midshipman and throughout his 30 years of uniform service, Captain Sapp epitomized the
book’s characterization of Navy success stories about individuals who “overcame the
odds” to succeed academically, professionally, and in his case, athletically:
 At 197 pounds and standing 5’11’’, many athletic teams considered
him too small to play college football. Nonetheless, although a
walk-on for Navy, he was eventually elected team co-captain, earned
a host of football honors. They include selection as a collegiate All-
American for his play at defensive nose guard, some of the Naval
Academy’s most prestigious athletic awards, and even the Defensive
Player of the Game Award, given by the University of Norte Dame.
Today, he is an inductee to several athletic halls of fame and
recognized as one of the best players Navy had during the 50-year
history of its stadium.
 Although academically challenged in high school, he graduated from
the United States Naval Academy, then went on to earn three
postgraduate degrees and several professional subspecialty
designations.
 And on the heels of an era of when being Black and serving in the
Navy often translated into menial duties, he—as did most of his Black
classmates—advanced to the highest levels of leadership, including
serving as Commanding Officer of six different warships and a major
organization ashore.
aptain Sapp is a role model for leadership and diversity. He is an architect of strategies
for greater racial diversity among the Navy’s civilian workforce and officer corps, and an effective
advocate for institutional change that increases accessions and graduation rates among high school and
college students.
He is also a national motivational speaker who is passionate about inspiring audiences—spanning from
students to military service members to corporate CEOs—to S.O.A.R. to high levels of achievement.
His talks have been featured across the country in numerous television programs, magazines, and
newspapers.
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