Serving abroad, denied at home—African American veterans returned from war to face a painful contradiction. They had risked their lives in defense of freedom and democracy, only to be met with racism, exclusion, and violence in their own country. Yet it was precisely this contradiction that transformed many Black servicemen into some of the most determined leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. From the segregated trenches of WWI to the battlefields of WWII and beyond, these veterans reshaped American history—not just through military heroism, but by demanding the democracy they had fought to defend.

The Great Migration and the Draft in World War I

Through the trials of slavery, Reconstruction, and the rise of Jim Crow, democracy existed for African Americans as both a powerful idea and an ever-elusive reality that continued to slip from their grasp. Despite their sacrifices on the battlefields of Europe, their service did little to increase racial harmony (Williams, pg. 4).

The Great Migration of the early 20th century drew African Americans to New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio to escape the lack of opportunity in the South. However, Southern states remained the regional home for most Black people. During WWI, the bulk of African American servicemen came from Southern states. Military officials were fully aware of the potential of military service to transform the terms of citizenship and the relationship of African Americans to the state.

The Selective Service Act of 1917 required all men aged 21–31 to register for the draft, so African Americans from across the country joined the war effort. African Americans comprised only 10% of the United States population, but they were 13% of draftees. Seeking to maintain the support of Southern states, officials attempted to replicate the practices, customs, and hierarchies of white supremacy in the army (Williams, pg. 6).

Racial Segregation in Military Recruitment and Roles

War planners used racial segregation and the parameters of Jim Crow laws to guide the recruitment and training for African Americans in the United States Army. Black men were purposefully excluded from enlisting in the Marines and limited to non-combatant positions in the Navy (Williams, pg. 6). The military roles of African Americans, however, evolved as their talents and determination became obvious. They served as chaplains and truck drivers. They were part of the infantry and cavalry units. They provided medical and engineering services.

Although the Army was completely segregated, opposition from the African American community resulted in the creation of the primarily Black 92nd and 93rd Divisions in 1917. With the establishment of the Divisions, the Army began a training camp for Black officers in Des Moines, Iowa.

Military Service as a Catalyst for Civil Rights Awareness

The service of African American troops in World War I captured the connections between race, nation, manhood, and the obligations of citizenship (Williams, pg. 6). On and off the battlefield, African American servicemen fought to convey their belief in principles of democracy, to demonstrate their manhood, and to protect their Constitutional rights as citizens. As part of the mass mobilization of military manpower, African Americans moved to the forefront of the nation and its collective racial consciousness.

Their willingness to lay down their lives despite the political and social initiatives arrayed against them increased their confidence and provided crucial organizational fuel for civil rights activism during the era of the First World War (Williams, pg. 8).

Exclusion from Celebration and Recognition in France

On July 14th, 1919, Parisians gathered to celebrate a Bastille Day like no other before it. France cheered the end of the most destructive conflict for its people since the vast losses of the Napoleonic Wars of the previous century. Yet, France could not celebrate the battlefield contributions of African American soldiers. American military leaders questioned the effectiveness of Black soldiers and were afraid to challenge long-held beliefs in white supremacy, regardless of opposing evidence.

Accurate reports of Black heroism and expertise might increase demands for equal treatment at home. Further, discrimination in promotions and assignments hampered recognition of Black soldiers’ success. While the media heralded the efforts of white soldiers, they largely ignored African American valor.

American Amnesia and the Lingering Legacy of World War I

The historical memory of the Great War in France, Great Britain, and Germany emphasized victims who were lost or suffered horrific wounds. In contrast, American historical memory of WWI has been much more ephemeral, due in large part to the short duration of United States’ military involvement, the comparatively small loss of life, and negligible political benefits gained from the victory against Germany (Williams, pg. 300).

The legacies of the First World War and the activism of many Black veterans loomed large during WWII and throughout subsequent African American struggles for democratic change (Williams, pg. 350).

A Disrespectful Homecoming After World War II

On September 2nd, 1945, major cities and rural towns throughout America celebrated the end of the Second World War. Black veterans, however, returned to a country that disrespected their service and was openly hostile to them and their communities. Even the most powerful politicians, such as Mississippi Senator James O. Eastland, accused Black troops of refusing to work or fight, of sexually assaulting French women after the Normandy invasion, and of committing more than half the crimes in the army (Delmont, pg. 263). Eastland and his ilk understood that Black American veterans were going to be critical leaders in their fight for civil rights at home.

Threat to the Status Quo and Denied Benefits

Community leaders believed that Black veterans of WWII, with laudatory military service, threatened the status quo of segregation and white supremacy. Unfortunately, white Americans shared the views of racial inferiority by a 2-1 margin. After four years of brutal war, returning to the way things used to be appealed to millions of white citizens, but Black Americans demanded change (Delmont, pg. 265). The last thing African American veterans wanted was to return to a country that did not recognize their value as citizens.

Discrimination in GI Bill and Housing Access

When Black veterans tried to access the GI Bill, they were often turned away or burdened with bureaucratic misdirection. Mississippi congressman John Rankin, Chair of the House Veterans Committee that drafted the Bill, worked with Southern Democrats to arrange program administration by individual states rather than the federal government (Delmont, pg. 266). Even low-interest mortgage loans were problematic due to the policy of redlining, or restrictive property sales.

For example, one housing covenant from Seattle, Washington, restricted the sale of property to “persons of the Aryan race.” Such a policy was disheartening since it was in force as early as 1946, a year after the Allies had defeated the Nazis on the battlefield (Belmont, pg. 268). Job prospects were equally grim, with employers failing to credit Black veterans with the increased mechanical skills, medical training, and logistical knowledge acquired during their service. Even fellow veterans were unkind, displaying “Whites Only” signs at American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts.

Exposing American Hypocrisy on the World Stage

Civil Rights advocates pointed out the American hypocrisy. While the U.S. government was vigorously prosecuting Nazi war criminals, the Justice Department was unwilling to bring the killers of Black Americans to justice (Belmont, pg. 277). Even the emerging United Nations wasn’t allowed to intervene in the domestic jurisdictions of U.S. states. As a result, America’s system of racial apartheid remained a domestic issue beyond the purview of the UN (Belmont, pg. 279).

Still, the global vision that led Black Americans to fight fascism in Spain or oppose Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia inspired generations of Black activists and many veterans to see Georgia and Mississippi intertwined with Ghana and Mozambique (Belmont, pg. 282).

Truman’s Turning Point: Confronting Racial Violence

Though President Harry Truman grew up in a segregated town in Missouri and harbored certain personal prejudices, he was shocked and disgusted when the names of murdered veterans, such as John C. Jones, Maceo Snipes, and George Dorsey, crossed his desk through the lobbying of Walter White, a principal leader of the organization known today as NAACP (Belmont, pg. 282).

When told about the lynching of WWII African American veterans throughout the nation, Truman created the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, a fifteen-person group with two Black members, Sadie Alexander and Channing Heggie Tobias.

Advancing Civil Rights Despite Political Risk

The President charged the committee with investigating the status of civil rights nationally and proposing measures to strengthen them (Belmont, pg. 283). Truman understood the political dangers of advancing civil rights. He knew he would upset white Southern members of the Democratic Party, but he continued supporting this domestic initiative.

He went on to sign an executive order committing the government to desegregating the military. By the end of the Korean War in 1953, the military was almost completely desegregated. Executive Order 9981 was a critical civil rights milestone because it marked the first time any part of the federal government officially desegregated (Belmont, pg. 287).

The Military as a Platform for Progress

Black Americans still experienced racism in the desegregated military, but future generations of Black enlistees and officers found the armed forces to be a relatively equitable institution that offered education, skills training, professional advancement, and a pathway to the middle class. Black veterans now swelled the ranks of the NAACP, CORE, and other civil rights organizations.

They became the key players in Black freedom struggles across the nation (Belmont, pg. 288).

From War Heroes to Civil Rights Leaders

For decades after WWII, Black veterans continued their advocacy for the principles of American democracy. Reverend Hosea Williams, who had once fought under Gen. George Patton in France, was almost beaten to death when he simply tried to drink from a water fountain listed as “white” in Savannah, Georgia.

He later worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to organize Black voter-registration drives in the South (Belmont, pg. 288). Veteran Oliver Brown protested school segregation in Topeka, Kansas. His daughter was one of the students who became famous in the legal struggles to desegregate public schools when the Supreme Court declared the “Separate but Equal” standard unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education.

Medgar Evers: A Veteran’s Fight for Justice

Medgar Evers, a WWII veteran, stood proudly among an entire generation of Black veterans who risked their lives fighting for democracy overseas and in America. Evers earned two Bronze Stars for his service on the Normandy beachhead and throughout northern France as part of the Red Ball Express.

Along with WWII veteran Amzie Moore and NAACP Southeast Regional Director Rubey Hurley, he investigated the horrific murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955. Evers went on to speak to reporters in the wake of integration protests. Tragically, outspoken opposition to white supremacy made Evers a target, and he and his family received death threats regularly (Belmont, pg. 290).

The Assassination of Medgar Evers and His Final Tribute

On June 13th, 1963, Evers’s glow of success from European battlefields faded under the harsh glare of racism. A Mississippi-linked KKK member killed him. This same murderer was a veteran of the Pacific Theater. On June 19th, Juneteenth, the funeral procession drove past the Lincoln Memorial, where more than 250,000 demonstrators would gather later that summer for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The procession arrived at Arlington and moved slowly past the thousands of white marble headstones that marked the final resting place for generations of American veterans (Belmont, pg. 292). After a bugler sounded taps and an honor guard fired three volleys over the flag-draped coffin, the mourners softly sang “We Shall Overcome.” Before Evers was lowered into his grave, on a gentle slope surrounded by a grove of oak and sycamore trees, six white soldiers lifted the flag from the casket, folded it carefully, and presented it to Myrlie Evers, the wife of Medgar Evers. Years later, she recalled, “It felt as if we were truly being treated as Americans.” (Belmont, pg. 293)

References

• Delmont, Matthew F. Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. New York, NY: Viking, a Penguin Random House LLC imprint, 2022.
• Patterson, Michael Robert. “Medgar Wiley Evers – Sergeant, United States Army Civil Rights Leader.” Arlington National Cemetery, March 4, 2024.
• Williams, Chad L. Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.