from the U.S. Naval Academy. The first black to try was James Conyers
entering the Academy in 1872. My Dad who was the fourth black
graduate from the Naval Academy knew Wesley. Dad told our family
utile stories of what happened, of how Wesley made it. What was
different Wesley's year was Jimmy Carter (our ex-President) was
enrolled.
Jimmy's fellow white midshipmen shared in this book what happened.
http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Color-Barrier-Academys-Midshipmen/dp/0814740138
There was a conspiracy of a few midshipmen at the time to trump up
minor rules infractions against Wesley. They had agreed they would
continue to do so until he was kicked out. Jimmy Carter on his own
told this group he would turn them in if they continued to do this.
His fellow midshipmen as they got older, way after Carter was
President, shared that this was the event that made Wesley's case
different. One person.
Perry
perry.gregg@post.harvard.edu
P.S. Dad's bio http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1549&category=ScienceMakers
. He graduated with distinction at the top of his Naval Academy
class.