2002: "American Patriots", by Gail Buckley

22nd Annual RFK Book Award

Grand Prize: American Patriots, Gail Buckley

Distinguished Honor: Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality, Eric Arnesen

Gail Buckley's American Patriots Wins 22nd Annual Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

Washington, D.C. -The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial is pleased to announce the selection of Gail Buckley'sAmerican Patriots as the winner of the 2002 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. The book, which chronicles the struggles of blacks in the military from the Revolution to Desert Storm, was selected from a field of over 100 nominees from some the nation's most prominent publishing houses.

"The theme of Gail Buckley's fine book is the bravery and sacrifice displayed in America's wars by black Americans in the faith that the promise of equal rights for all Americans would one day be redeemed," says RFK Book Award Co-Chair Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "They believed in the ultimate promise of American life - fought and died for a nation that has mostly denied them that promise. American Patriots is a compelling work of history and a noble reminder of our debt to black patriots."

RFK Book Award judges also presented distinguished honors to Eric Arnesen's Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality. Arnesen's work relates the history of African American railroad workers and their battle against racism and job discrimination.