February is Black History Month and we honor those that paved a path for others to follow. However to me, Black history is American history. For instance take Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. Davis was the first African American to rise to rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Colonel Robert Shaw was one of the first African American regiments to see combat during the Civil War. Oklahoma’s own J.C. Watts was the first African American Congressmen in Oklahoma. The Tuskegee Airmen were all African American pilots who fought in WWII, escorting U.S. bombers and eliminating German fighters. Cathay Williams was the first black women to enlist and the only documented women to serve in the U.S. Army posing as a man during the American Indian Wars.