Johnson Chesnut Whittaker
Johnson Chesnut Whittaker | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | January 14, 1931 | (aged 72)
Resting place | Orangeburg Cemetery, Orangeburg, South Carolina |
Education | University of South Carolina United States Military Academy |
Occupation(s) | School teacher, school administrator, college professor, attorney |
Johnson Chesnut Whittaker (August 23, 1858 – January 14, 1931)[1] was one of the first black men to win an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.[2] When at the academy, he was brutally assaulted and then expelled after being falsely accused and convicted of faking the incident.[3] Over sixty years after his death, his name was formally cleared when he was posthumously commissioned by President Bill Clinton in July 1995.[3]
Biography
Whittaker was born into slavery on the
On the morning of April 5, 1880, he was found with his arms and legs tied to his bed, unconscious, bleeding, and bruised.[3][5] His hands and face had been cut by a razor, and burned pages from his Bible were strewn about his room.[3]
Whittaker told administrators that he had been attacked by three fellow cadets, but his account of the morning was not believed.
In his later life, Whittaker was a teacher, lawyer, high school principal in Oklahoma City, and psychology professor in South Carolina.[3][2] He died in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1931.[3][1] Whittaker was buried at Orangeburg Cemetery.
His sons, Johnson Whittaker Jr. and Miller Whittaker both served as Army officers in World War I.[5] In addition, a grandson, Peter H. Whittaker, joined the all-black Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.[5] A great-grandson, Ulysses W. Boykin III, served as a first lieutenant in the Vietnam-era Army and a judge of the circuit court in Wayne County, Michigan.[5]
Posthumous commission
In 1972, a book
On July 25, 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded the commission to Whittaker's heirs, saying, "We cannot undo history. But today, finally, we can pay tribute to a great American and we can acknowledge a great injustice."[2][3]
In popular culture
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker is a 1994 TV movie about the case.[9]
Matter of Honor, a stage play by Michael Chepiga retelling Whittaker's story while at West Point, was produced at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, in September 2007.[10]
See also
- Henry Ossian Flipper, first African American to graduate from West Point, Class of 1877
References
- ^ a b Marszalek, John F. (2016-07-26). "Whittaker, Johnson Chesnut". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ^ New York Times(July 30, 1995).
- ^ New York Times(July 25, 1995).
- ^ American Heritage Magazine. 22 (5). American Heritage Publishing Company.
- ^ New York Times(January 31, 1994).
- New York Times(July 20, 1995).
- ^ a b Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. pp. 327–335
- ^ Court-Martial: A Black Man in America. New York: Scribner, 1972; subsequently published as Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Pub. Co., 1994).
- IMDb
- ^ Verini, Bob (September 4, 2007). "Matter of Honor". Variety.
Further reading
- Marszalek, John. Assault at West Point: The Court Martial of Johnson Whittaker. Touchstone (1994). ISBN 0-02-034515-1