The Memoirs of Alton Augustus Adams, Sr. : First Black Bandmaster of the United States Navy

Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction: The Soul of Alton Adams The Memoirs of Alton Augustus Adams, Sr., 1889–1987 1. A Historical Memoir 2. The St. Thomas Craftsmen of the Nineteenth Century 3. The Value of Education 4. Music in the Virgin Islands and the Founding of the Adams Juvenile Band (1910) 5. The United States Navy Band of the Virgin Islands (1917–1923) 6. The Navy Band’s 1924 United States Tour 7. The Close of the Naval Years (1925–1931) 8. The Naval Administration (1917–1931) 9. Civilian Government and Politics (the 1930s) 10. The Power of the Press (the 1940s) 11. Tourism and the Hotel Association (the 1950s) Editorial Methods Editorial Notes Selected Bibliography Index Alton Augustus Adams, Sr., was a musician, writer, hotelier, and the first black bandmaster of the United States Navy. Born in the Virgin Islands in 1889, Adams joined the U.S. military in 1917. Although naval policy at the time restricted blacks to menial jobs, Adams and his all-black ensemble provided a bridge between the local population and their all-white naval administrators. His memoirs, edited by Mark Clague, with a foreword by Samuel Floyd, Jr., reveal an inspired activist who believed music could change the world, mitigate racism, and bring prosperity to his island home. Alton Augustus Adams, Sr, was a musician, writer, hotelier, and the first black bandmaster of the United States Navy. Born in the Virgin Islands in 1889, Adams joined the US military in 1917. This memoir reveals him as an inspired activist who believed music could change the world, mitigate racism, and bring prosperity to his island home