by Amaka Eze | Aug 19, 2022
Stories of War Spanish American War When the United States declared war on Spain in 1898, all existing Black regiments were called upon to fight. Around 2,500 of the nation’s 25,000-man army were experienced Black soldiers. Five Black soldiers and one sailor earned...
by Amaka Eze | Aug 18, 2022
Stories of War World War I When the United States joined World War I in 1917, Black Americans were still denied full participation in American society. Yet as civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois declared, “First your country, then your rights.” The 367th Regiment...
by Amaka Eze | Aug 18, 2022
Stories of War World War II During World War II, U.S. armed forces remained segregated by race. Yet African Americans served in greater numbers and in more assignments than in all previous wars. Roughly 1,200,000 Black servicemembers fought for democracy and against...
by Amaka Eze | Aug 18, 2022
Stories of War Korean War In 1948, President Harry Truman desegregated the U.S. armed forces by executive order, but change came slowly. Senior military leaders were slow to obey the order from their commander in chief, and many units remained segregated in practice...
by Amaka Eze | Aug 18, 2022
Stories of War Vietnam War More than 300,000 Black Americans served in Vietnam. Though only about 12% of the U.S. population, Black servicemembers were 16.3% of the armed forces, and up to 25% of enlisted men in the Army, but only 2% of officers across all branches....
