The U.S. Marine Corps remained segregated until 1948. The first group to break the color barrier was a group of African-American men who trained at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. They became known as the Montford Point Marines. Earlier this summer, the Montford Point Marines were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC. FM Hooper was among the men who were honored at the ceremony. He and Clarence Willie, co-producer of the documentary “Marines of Montford Point, Fighting for Freedom,” join host Frank Stasio today to talk about Montford Point’s history and the recognition those Marines received.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.