Hugh Mulzac
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| Hugh Mulzac | |
 Captain Mulzac served in World War I and World War II |
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| Born | March 26, 1886 Union Island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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| Died | 1971 |
| Title | Master Mariner |
Hugh Mulzac (March 26, 1886–1971) was an African American member of the United States Merchant Marine. He earned his Master rating in 1918 which should have qualified him to command a ship, but this did not happen until 1942 because of racial discrimination.[1]
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[edit] Life and career
[edit] Early life
Born on March 26, 1886 on Union Island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,[1] his life at sea started right after High School when he served on British schooners.[2]
With a mate's license[3] from Swansea Nautical College[1] he rose to the rank of mate before immigrating to the United States in 1918. Within two years he had earned the first ever master's certificate ever issued to an African American.[4] He served as a mate on the SS Yarmouth of the Black Star Line until that line went out of business in 1922.[2]
For the next two decades the only shipboard work Mulzac could get was in the steward's departments on several shipping lines.[3]
[edit] World War II
In 1942 he was offered command of the SS Booker T. Washington, the first Liberty ship to be named after an African American. He refused at first because the crew was to be all black. He insisted on an integrated crew, stating, "Under no circumstances will I command a Jim Crow vessel."[1][4] The Merchant Marine finally gave in and agreed to an integrated crew, and he took command from 1942-1947, making 22 round trip voyages.[3]
[edit] After the war
After the war, Mulzac again couldn't get command of a ship. In 1948 he unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit against the ship's operators. Then in 1950 he made a bid for Queens Borough President under the American Labor Party ticket. He lost the election, having gotten 15,500 votes.[2]
Due to his strong ties to the labor movement, he found himself blacklisted in the era of McCarthyism.[3] In 1960 a Federal Judge restored his seaman's papers and license, and at the age of 74 he was able to find work as a night mate.[2]
Captain Mulzac died in 1971.
[edit] Further reading
- Mulzac, Hugh [1965]. A Star to Steer By. Seven Seas Publishers. ISBN B000-7JUWU-M.
[edit] External links
- SS Booker T Washington Images at the U.S. National Archive
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d African-Americans in the U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Maritime Service. U.S. Maritime Service Veterans (2003-11-17). Retrieved on February 24, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Rydell, Roy. "Maritime association honors Black seamen", People's Weekly World, Long View Publishing Co., 2000-02-16. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d WORLD WAR II AND HUGH MULZAC. United States Maritime Administration. Retrieved on February 24, 2007.
- ^ a b "First Negro Skipper", Time Magazine, 1942-10-05. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
