The Last Lonely Exception

During World War II, the branches of the US armed forces were racially segregated as were most public institutions in this nation. For the military, that meant that Negroes, African-Americans, people of color, were generally not allowed to serve alongside white people in the same company equally.

That all changed on July 26, 1948, when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 which stated, “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equal treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”

This declaration did not just suddenly transpire overnight nor was it put into practice immediately. Historians note it would be another 10 to 15 years, with all the urgent concerns of a different war in a different place, before this order even started to take root and military officials were held strictly accountable to it. As we recall, our nation tried to officially maintain an atmosphere of “separate but equal” treatment of black citizens for many years. George Wallace was still chanting “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” to a receptive crowd in 1963.

And, while we're counting, in spite of the “all persons” theme of Truman's edict, add that it would be another 15-20 years again before females in the military would earn similar protective status from the government. Specifically, it wasn't until the 1980's that many traditionally perceived “combat roles” and their associated opportunities for military promotion were finally opened up for women, Female-Americans, people of the fairer sex.

Some may look back to the “All Men are Created Equal” origins of this country to suggest when our most lofty declarations first started to haunt our otherwise ignorant and bullish public behavior. But, tightening the historical screw of segregation a bit, one could point to the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 as more visible sparks that eventually fed the freedom fire of Truman's EO 9981.

Still, real events of the post-war years left Truman's administration very little choice in the matter.

The uncomfortable pressure started to build quickly in 1945. Over the next couple of years, African-American WW II veterans returned home to a country that tacitly turned its back on them. At the least, they were herded into demeaning, low-paying jobs. At the worst, the were chased by lynch mobs and beaten by the police. At the very, very worst, they and their families were hunted down and killed by the same citizens that they had once fought so bravely and honorably to defend.

While reports and studies on the use of “Negro Manpower” in the military languished in the halls of the Pentagon, rational people of all colors around the nation began to demand a better deal from our leadership and aimed at segregation in the military as a ground-floor target for social change. But the US Army, fearful of upsetting the vaguely delicate balance of “good order and discipline” in all hastily prepared foxholes, set to marshaling its forces up Equality Hill at barely a half-step march. The Navy and the new Air Force only half-heartedly saluted the band as it went by.

Even George Marshall, famed WW II General but by then Truman's Secretary of State, essentially said that he expected the military would adjust its attitudes on segregation only when American society as a whole changed its conflicting behavior. In a perfect example of Catch-22 bureaucracy, anxious State leaders, most notably the Governors of Minnesota and Connecticut, complained that they wanted to end segregation in their own Guard units but were prevented from doing so by federal regulations.

Congress, being the Congress we've all come to know and expect the most self-serving actions from, was not eager for any dramatic law that might tie the generous hands of their most valued (white) donors.

Finally, in what I would call a bona fide fit of Show-Me determinism and in the style of rapid “the hell with it” decision-making that Harry was famous for, the President asked his legal staff to write a declaration ending racial segregation in the military, signed the order and never looked back.

But we can look back now and see how so much has changed since that day in 1948.

I don't think we have any direct proof that EO 9981 instantly changed our society. Later civil rights acts of government probably had wider impact. But I do think the attitude and awareness that demanded the order in the first place definitely led us down a path to greater equality among the races. Unalterably, a large number of our population, average service men and women, learned to trust one another regardless of their skin color and took that surprising assessment with them back to their homes and families.

Gradually, even slothfully at times, but just as clearly, we regularly witness evidence that our society has grown to be more accepting of racial, ethnic, and religious diversity today than it was back then. At least, I think, the great majority want it to be that way. If nothing else, I can hopefully report that it's doubtful we will ever again sit idly by and watch while citizens of this country are chased down by angry lynch mobs.

Cautiously optimistic, perhaps, the number of hate crimes committed in this large country are now relatively small in number. The FBI statistics from 2007, for example, show that particular crime is low but has not completely exhausted itself. Maybe it is human fate that for ever more we must always be on the lookout for the few insanely ignorant bullies who refuse to conform in our communities. But from these statistics we can thankfully note that each of the categories of deliberate hate crimes are vigorously pursued by our government.

With the exception of one, of course.

But when these hate crimes do occur, the entire public naturally gets involved. After that, people take a hard look at themselves, questioning their abetting behavior while demanding a better accounting of the services of our federal, state and local agencies to ensure no person in this country has to live in fear.

Except for one kind of person, of course.

And by blanketing us with nanny-like oversight, today our national government can maybe be said to have finally stepped up to honor the words of our founders, truly guaranteeing the constitutional rights and equality of all persons of any distinction you can imagine in this nation.

Except for one distinction, of course.

Reviewing this history, I have to laugh at anyone who suggests an order signed by the President is illegal because it spontaneously flies in the face of public mandate or conflicts with constitutional law. I am confounded by those who claim the Commander in Chief should not experiment with the structure of his military forces to the point that it only represents what we want to be, not who we are. And I am regularly confused by the circuitous religious philosophy that holds we are all God's people, put here on this earth to bask in His love and glory ... except for one kind of people, of course.

In fact, as a result of this quick look back, complimented by the excuse of every modern “don't ask, don't tell” compromise, I'm annoyingly reminded of a time when “separate but equal” was a similar explanation for anything but fairness.

Today, I'm more willing to say that the time for another Executive Order has arrived. I think even George Marshal would say that our general society has already turned the corner. Based on what we've experienced in the past, I realize it may take another 15 or 20 years before it really settles in and gets comfortable. But I think we're ready for it, we were ready for it last year, and one day in the future we'll be glad someone finally said “the hell with it” and got it done.

Honestly, if I was President now, I'd probably want to close the loophole on this last lonely exception to national service quickly but also on a day that signified when we renewed a long march to equality in 1948. This year, that would be July 26th , sixty-one years to the day since Harry S. Truman ended racial segregation in the military by signing EO 9881.

Cheers,
Mb