Beta Kappa Sigma fraternity photograph   Save
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Description: Photograph of Charles Young with the Beta Kappa Sigma fraternity, whose members were known as the Black Cats, taken at Wilberforce University. Each member's name and location has been listed on the back of the photograph. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2_B04F06_01_1
Subjects: Wilberforce University; African American soldiers; African American men; Military officers; World War I, 1914-1918; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)