This work covers Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) detachments at historically African American colleges and universities throughout the United States from the inception of the Student Army Training Corps to the advanced programs currently in place. The armistices following World War I allowed for ROTC programs to be set up, World War II saw a push for recruits, and American participation in Vietnam made use of black soldiers more than ever. Despite African American participation in the military in war and peace, it took nearly 60 years for black collegiate education institutions (around 1973) to fulfill their need for Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC programs producing commissioned officers.

The book discusses the beginnings of the ROTC programs at African American colleges with the Student Army Training Corps and the establishment, expansion and reorganization of the programs that followed. The acquisition of Air Force and Navy ROTC programs are discussed and all the revisions to the various programs thereafter, including opening them up to women.