🎙️'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Black History Series Lillian E. Fishburne (1949– ): Breaking the Brass Ceiling in the U.S. Navy

From Cold War command-and-control systems to the Pentagon’s highest strategic corridors, Lillian E. Fishburne forged a historic path as the first African American woman to achieve flag rank in the United States Navy.

When Lillian E. Fishburne was promoted to Rear Admiral on February 1, 1998, she did more than reach one of the Navy’s highest ranks—she permanently altered the face of American military leadership. Promoted by President Bill Clinton, Fishburne became the first African American woman in U.S. history to attain flag rank in the Navy, capping a career defined by technical mastery, strategic vision, and barrier-breaking leadership.

Born on March 25, 1949, in Patuxent River, Maryland, Fishburne was raised in Rockville, where she attended Richard Montgomery High School. Her early academic path led her to Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1971—just as new opportunities for women in the armed forces were emerging.

In February 1973, Fishburne was commissioned as an ensign after completing training at the Women Officers School in Newport, Rhode Island. Her first assignment, at the Naval Air Test Facility in Lakehurst, New Jersey, placed her at the intersection of personnel, law, and aviation operations—an early indicator of the multidisciplinary career that would follow.