FRANCES P. RICE is a 20-year Army veteran who retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1984 after twenty years of active duty service. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, California; a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California; and a Bachelor of Science degree from Drury College, Springfield, Missouri.

Upon retirement from the Army, she was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious service. Medals awarded also during her tenure are: Meritorious Service Medal; US Department of Defense Commendation Medal; US Army Commendation Medal (awarded four times); Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; US Armed Forces Reserve Medal.

Subsequent to her military career, she worked for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation as a government contract advisor and part of that company’s “think tank” responsible for analyzing the law of space exploration. She later taught Business Law for the European Division of the University of Maryland in Brussels, Belgium. For her years of work and community activity, she was accorded the distinction of being one of America’s top 100 Black Business and Professional Women by the editorial board of Dollars and Sense magazine.

Starting in the early 1960s, she began researching black history and her depth of knowledge proved invaluable as she co-founded the Yocum African-American History Association and collaborated on the writing of this black history book.