Plaque commemorating Black American Generals and Admirals: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A rectangular wooden open shadow box plaque commemorating Black American Generals and Admirals, presented by Nabisco Brands to General Colin L. Powell, September 1984. At the center of this open shadow box is a white paper sheet tacked to a red backing, one metal cap at each corner. The sheet features an extensive list of seventy (70) men and women military generals and admirals. Charcoal-like renditions of their faces line the center of the sheet and on each side of the images are their names, ranks, and branch of service, printed in black text. The circular seals of each branch of service are also printed on the sheet below the images. At the bottom inner frame ledge is a rectangular gold metal plate with a metal cap on each end. Text engraved on the surface reads “BRIGADIER GENERAL COLIN L. POWELL-ARMY / PRESENTED BY NABISCO BRANDS INC. / 1984”. The frame is striated medium dark wood and with no other markings.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1984
• Created by: Nabisco, founded 1898
• Received by: General Colin L. Powell, American, 1937 - 2021
• Subject of: United States Army, American, founded 1775
• Subject of: United States Armed Forces, American, founded 1775
• Subject of: United States Department of Defense
• Type: box frames
• Medium: paper (fiber product) with metal and wood
• Dimensions: H x W: 15 × 12 × 2 in. (38.1 × 30.5 × 5.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Military
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Topic: United States History
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.101.1.105
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alma J. Powell
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.