B-1 Band Outreach Programs

The military barred the band members from classrooms and other training sessions, but the musicians used their time to work with the local black community. They transformed their segregated living quarters into an outreach program by giving music lessons to local youth and providing athletic equipment for football games. They organized Christmas parties for the town’s black children, and one of the members dressed as Santa Claus. In May, 1944, the navy transferred the group to the Pacific theatre, where they remained for the rest of the war.