🎥 Special Podcast Teaser: I Stand on the Shoulders of Giants! with Doniella Mckoy

26 Aug 2025 · 2 min

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2:06

In this monologue, Bob Fabien Zinga reflects on the historic breakthrough of the Golden 13—the first thirteen Black officers commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1944—and how their legacy paved the way for his own career as a Navy commander. He highlights Admiral Samuel Gravely, the Navy’s first Black admiral, as a personal mentor and hero, and cites General Colin Powell’s foreword to Paul’s book The Golden Thirteen, which underscores the painful and triumphant aspects of Black military history. Zinga connects past injustices, such as the 1935 lynching recounted in the book, to the progress seen in the 1970s and today, expressing deep gratitude and a commitment to continue advancing the Navy’s inclusivity. The piece serves as a personal tribute to the pioneers who cleared the path for future generations.

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Now I wanna share, this is the Golden 13. These are the first 13 Black officers in the US Navy. This didn't happen 200 years ago. It's only happened like 80 years ago, 1944. No, that's not, as an example, my father was born in 1943. So that's within a generation. Just 80 years ago, it was forbidden, impossible for somebody with my skin color to be an officer in the US Navy. Today I am a Navy commander, only 80 years after the first 13 Black people were allowed to become officers. And this guy, Admiral Samuel Gravely, one of my great mentor and heroes, first admiral, Black admiral in the US Navy. This only happened like in the '70s. I was born in the '70s. So not long ago that we started seeing these positive changes in the Navy. And again, hopefully we're gonna be continuing to move forward. But, but, uh, another one of my heroes, General Colin Powell, wrote the, uh, forward for this book, like, The Golden Thirteen. And he says in this book, uh, this is a history of our country with a vivid insight of people who have rolled up their sleeves and really lived it. And Paul has done an extraordinary job of making this recollection as vivid in print as they were in spoken word. And then toward the end, he says When you read this book, you will burn with anger when James Ayer recounts the lynching of his brother-in-law in 1935. Again, that's only in the 1930s, not that long ago. And then he says, most of all, though, you will be reminded that none of our lives is written on a clean slate. The opportunities that come our way, the privilege we enjoy, the very direction that our lives often take are shaped by men and women like the Golden 13 who came before us and who told to make the path a little clearer. I can definitely say I, Bob Fabien Zinga, would not be a naval commander in the most powerful navy in the world if it wasn't for the Golden Furtain, for Colin Powell, or for Admiral Samuel Gravely. I definitely absolutely stand on the shoulder of giants who have come before us. Okay, that's all I'm gonna say.