Ruth Bailey Earl and Cathay Williams at the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, MS

I first became aware of the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi just today, in randomly turning my television to American History TV, the weekend-only programming of the cable channel, C-SPAN3. This video of a brief tour of the museum and its exhibits was informative and fascinating. The museum highlights more than 150 years of African American military history.

African American Military History Museum

I enjoyed finding out about Ruth Bailey Earl and her powerful (and literal!) stance on being an African American woman serving in the armed forces during World War II.

Latoya Norman’s description of the Ruth Bailey Earl Exhibit from the American History TV video.

Ruth Bailey Earl Statue at the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

And I was very surprised to hear about Cathay Williams and her impersonating a man to serve in the U.S. Army — in which she became the first woman to ever do so — and becoming a Buffalo Soldier. I don’t think her story made it into that Bob Marley song…

Latoya Norman’s description of of the Buffalo Soldier Exhibit from the American History TV video.

Cathay Williams Figure at the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

I was able to find more information about Cathay Williams online…

Cathay Williams, AKA William Cathay, American Civil War soldier - Amazing Women In History …

Cathay Williams was the First African American female to enlist in the U.S. Army | Diverse Books…

There are not similar resources, unfortunately, on Ruth Bailey Earl. So for more information on her, you must contact the museum directly.

Feel free to follow the Twitter account of the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, MS at @HburgAAMHM.

You can also like the African American Military History Museum’s Facebook Page.