Around Detroit, you can find military pictures in plenty of family homes.
Maybe it’s a picture of dad in his dress uniform, standing proud. Maybe it’s grandma, young and serious, posing for a photograph before heading overseas. Maybe there’s an uncle whose medals are still tucked away in a drawer, or a grandfather whose stories about his time in the service were told only when somebody asked.
Those pictures tell a story, and this Veterans Day, the Michigan Chronicle wants to help tell more of them.
The Color of Liberty is our tribute to Black veterans in Southeastern Michigan and throughout our communities. We want to hear from the people who know these veterans best: their families, their friends and the veterans themselves.
Who is the veteran in your family? What did they sacrifice? What makes them a hero to you? We want you to tell us.
Send us an email at newsdesk@michronicle.com. Be sure to include photographs and a story about the veteran you want us to know. Tell us where they served. Tell us about their personality, their family, their work and the life they built after putting on the uniform. Tell us the things that make you smile when you think about them. Most of all, tell us why you are proud of them.
There is a long history behind those uniforms.
Black Americans have served this country in every major American war, answering the call even when this country was still struggling to live up to its own promises of freedom and equality. Black service members served in segregated units and faced discrimination within the military. Many came home and continued to face discrimination in their neighborhoods, workplaces, schools and communities.
For Black veterans, the fight for freedom never ended when they came home.
The G.I. Bill is an important part of that history.
Passed in 1944, the GI Bill opened doors to education, homeownership and other opportunities for millions of veterans. Black veterans were legally eligible for those benefits, but discrimination in banks, housing markets, schools and local institutions kept many from receiving the same opportunities.
Detroit knows this history well.
Research from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Reparations Task Force estimates that about 19,000 Black veterans in Detroit were unable to benefit from GI Bill home-loan opportunities that could have helped them buy homes and build wealth for their families. Those lost opportunities affected more than one generation. They shaped neighborhoods, family finances and the ability to pass something meaningful down to children and grandchildren.
That history the people behind it deserves to be remembered, because too frequently Black veterans’ stories are relegated to family hand-me-downs or a brief mention in a history book.
They deserve to be celebrated because they are our people. They’re the grandfather who came home from the war and worked until retirement. The mom who served and raised a family. They’re the uncle who still keeps his uniform in the closet and the cousin who joined the military right after high school. They’re the neighbor who served his country and spent the rest of his life serving his community. Their stories deserve to be told.
The Michigan Chronicle has always understood the importance of telling our own stories. For generations, the Black press has documented the people and moments that helped shape our communities, and The Color of Liberty is part of that tradition.
We want to make sure these veterans are remembered by name, by face and by story. So look through those old photo albums. Check the boxes in the closet. Ask your parents and grandparents questions. Call your auntie. Talk to the veteran in your family while you still can.
Then tell us about them.
Send us your photographs and your story. Tell us what branch they served in, where they went, what they did and what they meant to your family. Share the stories you heard growing up. Share the stories you wish you had asked about sooner.
This Veterans Day, we want to celebrate the people whose service helped carry this country forward.
We also want to recognize the families who carried their own burdens while their loved ones served.
The Color of Liberty is our way of saying to Black veterans: We see you. We remember you. We appreciate you. Your service helped make this country what it is, and your sacrifices are part of America’s story.
The Michigan Chronicle wants to hear from you. We’re accepting submissions to newsdesk@michronicle.comfrom now until Oct. 9, 2026.
