![]() ![]() Bowden also recruited musicians from other ratings after they arrived at Great Lakes for training. Most Navy bandsmen were already accomplished musicians, a necessity because the Navy’s School of Music was for whites only. Bowden, a well-known teacher and bandleader who appears also to have been in charge of much of the recruiting for the Navy’s Black bands, it provided an intense learning experience for the musicians who lived there. Although not officially a Navy School of Music, barracks 1812 at Camp Smalls functioned as one. Camp Smalls was the primary training post for African Americans, who began arriving in large numbers in August 1942 to train for jobs in the many ratings that had opened up to Blacks as the Navy eased its segregationist policies. All but B-1 were trained at Camp Robert Smalls, one of three camps outside of Chicago that were collectively known as Great Lakes. ![]() Over 100 of these bands were comprised of African Americans. Navyĭuring World War II, over 6,800 musicians served in the U.S. ![]() Photo courtesy of Michael Bayes, US Navy archivist, and the U.S. ![]()
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