In the almost fifty years since President Harry S. Truman ordered
the desegregation of the military, the United States armed forces have
fostered equal opportunity on a scale that few other institutions have
matched.
Affirmative action programs, particularly those practiced by the
U.S. Army, have been touted as models for civilian society. Black
military leaders, such as retired Army General Colin Powell, the first
African American Chief of Staff, have been hailed as American heroes.
In fact, the integration of the army officer corps far surpasses that
of the management ranks throughout corporate America as well as that of
the faculty and administration at most traditionally White institutions.
Commentators noting differences in the racial climate in the
military and higher education routinely say social interaction between
Blacks and Whites is much higher on military bases than on college
campuses.
Before the 1948 desegregation order, Black soldiers had valiantly
fought for the American cause in wars and military conflicts dating
back to Colonial times, but were accorded little of the opportunity and
recognition that they received in the post-World War II era. In the
American Revolution, Blacks and Whites fought side-by-side in
integrated militia units. In subsequent wars, however, the military
contributions of African Americans would come largely while they were
confined to segregated units.
Desegregation of the U.S. military changed all of that. The early
years of desegregation, though marked by racial tension, would help the
military become, in the eyes of many African Americans, a favored
option for improving one’s educational anti economic prospects. Dr.
Reginald Wilson, a senior scholar at the American Council on Education
(ACE), says President Truman’s decision to desegregate the military led
to a sea change in the African American community’s perception of
military service.
“When Truman integrated the military, it made a world of
difference,” says Wilson. “The armed forces became more attractive to
those who would volunteer because of economic reasons.”
In the post-Vietnam War period, the move to the all-volunteer force
and the aggressive use of affirmative action would allow the military
to transform itself into a more racially progressive institution.
Though integrating the ranks of enlisted soldiers was readily achieved
in all branches of the military following the Truman desegregation
order, integrating the officer corps would require the more aggressive
effort that the army embraced in the years following the Vietnam War.
