From Before the Revolutionary War to the Present

African American
Military History
Picture Museum

A visual history of service, sacrifice, courage, citizenship and belonging — presented by RTW Veteran Center.

Begin the Story

Museum audio is always optional. Visitors can mute it at any time.

“The price of your citizenship has already been paid.”

Where the Museum Began

The Long Black Wall

It started with a meal and a picture on a wall.

RTW Veteran Center was started by Vietnam veterans and their spouses. Daniel “Doc” Habeel and his wife, Arnetha Gholston Habeel, moved into a three-story apartment building on South King Drive in Chicago at the end of 2010, occupying the second-floor apartment while the program operated from the first floor.

The work was not viewed simply as nonprofit work. It was missionary service. The center operated nearly every day of the year, preparing and serving thousands of meals each month to veterans and community residents.

But there was another kind of hunger. Many people coming through the center did not feel that America belonged to them — or that they fully belonged to America.

Daniel began placing 8½ × 11-inch pictures of African American military men and women along the long hallway. One picture became many. The hallway became known as The Long Black Wall.

Citizenship Through Service

Frederick Douglass

“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”

Douglass recruited Black soldiers during the Civil War, including men for the 54th Massachusetts. His argument connects directly to the message that later filled RTW’s hallway: military service established an undeniable claim to citizenship.

Explore the Museum

Wars, Conflicts & Generations of Service

Each gallery is designed to support era-specific music, individual exhibit pages, oral histories, video, primary sources and permanent QR-code destinations.

Scan • Watch • Listen • Learn

Every Picture Can Become a Doorway

Permanent QR Exhibit Pages

Each physical picture can receive a permanent museum URL and QR code so students can continue learning after the mobile exhibit leaves.

Verified Audio & Video

Exhibit pages can link to vetted oral histories, archival film, interviews and educational media from trusted institutions.

Era Music

Each war gallery is prepared for an optional, low-volume historical soundtrack using rights-cleared or public-domain recordings.

A Family Legacy of Service

Military History Lives in Families

For museum founder and historian Daniel “Doc” Habeel, this history is also family history. His extended family includes many veterans whose service spans generations.

World War IGrandfather

Enlisted during World War I.

World War IIFather — William George II

An African American officer who served in the Philippines.

World War IIUncle — Kenneth Glover

One of the original Montford Point Marines.

Vietnam EraDaniel “Doc” Habeel

Retired United States Army veteran and Vietnam War veteran.

Iraq WarSon — SGT Amin Ahmed Abdullah

Served more than a quarter-century in the Army, including two tours in Iraq. Remembered in the museum as both soldier and son.

Editorial note for final publication: exact ranks, dates, service durations and family totals should be verified against family and military records before launch.

In Memory of

Arnetha Gholston Habeel

Executive Director • Missionary • Cook • Servant • Wife • Partner in the RTW Mission

Arnetha served as Executive Director of RTW Veteran Center while also working directly in the mission, including preparing meals in the first-floor kitchen. She passed away on Valentine’s Day 2019 from pancreatic cancer.

The RTW Veteran Center headquarters in DeKalb — home of the African American Military History Picture Museum — is dedicated to her commitment to service.

History on the Move

Bring the Museum to Your Community

Schools, libraries, universities, veterans organizations, municipalities and community groups can request the mobile museum.

Historical picture exhibit
Educational presentations
QR-powered extended learning
Living-history interpreters as the program develops
School and library programming

National Information Line 800-974-2808 DeKalb, Illinois • Regional Headquarters for Illinois, Indiana & Wisconsin

Help Take the Museum Mobile

Concept artwork for a wrapped African American Military History Picture Museum van, showing side, front and rear views

Mobile Museum Registration

Request a Museum Visit

This draft includes the complete front-end registration experience. Your website team can connect it to your preferred email, CRM, database or form service.

Education in Motion

Living History Student Interpreters

Because the museum is based near Northern Illinois University, RTW is exploring a program in which trained student volunteers portray service members from different eras using historically appropriate uniforms and short interpretive presentations.

Revolutionary WarCivil War / USCTBuffalo SoldiersWorld War IWorld War IIKoreaVietnamModern Service

RTW VETERAN CENTER