Theodore Britton was born October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. He spent his early years there, growing up against the backdrop of Jim Crow and the early years of the Great Depression.  His father decided to take part in the Great Migration though, and Theodore’s teenage years were spent in New York City, where he lived in Harlem before moving downtown.  Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Although he was unaware at the time, Britton had been one of the first African Americans selected to join the U.S. Marine Corps. From its founding in 1775, the Corps was the only branch of U.S. military service that had always excluded African Americans. That changed in World War Two, though they were trained in a segregated facility located at Montford Point, North Carolina.  Britton and other Montford Point Marines served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where Britton was stationed in Guadalcanal. In 1946, after his discharge, Britton returned to New York City and enrolled in New York University (NYU) under the provisions of the G.I. Bill. He majored in banking and finance. Britton’s studies were interrupted after he was called back into active duty for the Korean War in 1950. After completing his service in the Marines in 1951, he resumed his studies at NYU and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. From 1952 to 1964 Britton worked as a financial services officer with Carver Federal Savings and Loan Association, and from 1964 to 1971Britton worked with the National Baptist Convention leading their effort to encourage home ownership in the United States. In 1971 Britton was named the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Richard Nixon Administration. Britton was nominated in 1974 by President Gerald R. Ford to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and Grenada and as U.S. Special Representative to Antigua, Dominica, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. In 2012, the then 86-year-old Ambassador Britton was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, along with the other surviving Montford Point black Marines, for his service and bravery during World War II. Britton was not only recognized for serving in World War II but for fighting for equal treatment in a racially segregated U.S. military. He is a life member of the Second Marine Division, Montford Point Marine Association, and the Association for Former Intelligence Officers. He currently resides in Atlanta, where Crestwood students visited him via zoom in February 2025.