Since the Revolutionary War, African American soldiers were able to fight the enemies of America as lower enlisted soldiers. During the Civil War, African soldiers were able to form their own companies under caucasian command, however, they were able to rise higher in rank then previously. In World War II African American soldiers were able to raise even higher through the ranks as well as joining the Air Corps and fly planes which they never were able to before in World War I. Following World War II president “Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981, which called for “equality of opportunity”regardless of race, appeared to provide a significant victory” by allowing integration in the military.
Many African Americans saw this integration as a possibility to be seen as equal and lead the way to civil equality at home. “White[s] imagined that as blacks and whites bled together in foxholes, as their children attended school and played together on military bases, they would carry the attitude of respect into American life” and slowly create civil equality through respect for future generations. Although the order was implemented it wasn’t received by everyone and there were issues. “After the president signed the order, General Omar Bradley, who was Army Chief of Staff, announced that the service with the largest number of black troops did not intend to heed the order” and still lead to segregated units.
In an article discussing race integration, there was mention of how during the Korean War they’re still segregated units that were under supplied and as a result they took many casualties. However by Vietnam, the military was very integrated yet another issue arose. Many African Americans thought that they were drafted and automatically sent to be infantry men and believed that they were not given the ability to have skilled jobs in the military. The battlefield wasn’t the only way to try to spread civil equality during a war.
A well known civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr., went the the NATO patrolled West Germany. King was “invited by West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt in 1964 to open the 14th annual cultural festival of the city” and speak about civil rights. Although the day before there were shot exchanged by both the Americans on the West side and the Germans on the East side, Berlin was not a conventional battle field.
While in Berlin, King spoke about the “common humanity” that binds people together “regardless of the barriers of race, creed, ideology, or nationality” to the West Germans, but the East Germans too heard the speech. Several weeks later Martin Luthier King Jr. earned the Nobel Peace Prize and claimed that all “human beings were tied together in a “world-wide fellowship,” and that “However deeply American Negroes are caught in the struggle to be at last at home in our homeland of the United States.”
In conclusion if you did not want to read this whole article: The battlefield served as a catalyst for equality but not to the extent that many progressive Americans thought. Many progressives thought that with integration in the military came civil equality outside the battlefield. However, even on the battlefield they were not equal and still to this day there is still discrimination but, there is a sense of duty and mutual respect. One example of this is in the movie Platoon where the main protagonist demonstrates the mistreatment of African Americans yet some caucasians see them as equals.
Off the battlefield, Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists worked on civil equality using the military as a stepping stone. King used American occupied Germany to display a message of equality and unity while other activists used service in the military as a necessity. Many activists who saw service as an opportunity to be seen as equal thought if they served along side whites; the affects of war would ultimately push away racism and promote equality that would be passed down to their children. This integration and chain reaction of equality would over time create a equal nation. Although that has not completely happened, war has helped cause a sense of mutual duty and respect among service members that carries over to the civilian population. As a result the civil rights in America has improved in a great deal due to the service of African Americans, because of their sacrifice and service, they too are American heroes.
