*Black History and the American Korean War is affirmed on this date in 1948. U.S. President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed forces on that date. Although he ordered the desegregation of the military, several all-black units participated in the early stages of what some call “the forgotten war.” Highpoints of all-black […]
learn more*On this date in 1879, 231st Transportation Battalion was formed. The Armed force and National Guard 231st Transportation Battalion began as a black independent militia company in Baltimore, Maryland. These city militia companies were patriotic social clubs that competed in military drills. All black military clubs comprised black officers and enlisted men during that time. […]
learn more*On this date in 1950, the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) was formed. This unit was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army active during the Korean War. As a small special operations unit, it specialized in irregular warfare. A segregated unit, all its personnel, including its officers, were black. The U.S. Army, which until that […]
learn more*On this date in 1941, the 758th Tank Battalion was established. This was a Black military tank battalion of the United States Army that served during World War II in Italy. History In March 1941, the U.S. Army’s first black armored unit tankers reported to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to begin armored warfare training. On May […]
learn more*Cornelius Charlton was born on this date in 1929. He was a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. Cornelius H. Charlton was born in East Gulf, West Virginia. He was the eighth of 17 children born to Van Charlton, a coal miner, and Clara (née Thompson) Charlton, a housewife. Cornelius briefly […]
learn more*Julius Becton Jr. was born on this date in 1926. He is a Black retired United States Army lieutenant general and education administrator. Julius Wesley Becton Jr. was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1944, graduated from infantry Officer Candidate School in 1945, and served with the […]
learn more*The Double V Victory of Black history is celebrated on this date in 1941. President Franklin Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech on that date. During World War II, the black press and several prominent black leaders called for a “Double V” victory against fascism abroad and against Jim Crow at home. It was easy […]
learn more*Harold Ford Sr. was born on this date in 1945. He is a Black politician and lobbyist. Harold Eugene Ford Sr. grew up on Horn Lake Road in the West Junction neighborhood of South Memphis. He is the eighth of fifteen children born to Newton, Jackson Ford, and Vera (Davis) Ford, prominent African American community […]
learn more*On this date in 1969, United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education was decided. In this action, the United States District Court in Montgomery, Alabama, ordered the local Montgomery County Board of Education to bring about racial desegregation of the faculty and the staff of the local county school system. This action commenced in […]
learn more*The Ashworth Act was passed on this date in 1840. The Texas Senate passed this legislation. It made the Ashworth Family, freedmen, and formerly enslaved people in the Republic of Texas exempt from a new law stipulating that all Black Texans either leave or be enslaved. The Ashworths were Portuguese North Africans. They migrated from South Carolina, […]
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