The Chicago Defender announces Executive Order 9981.

Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on July 26, 1948 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. It expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (559x750, 150 KB)This is an image of the front page of the Chicago Defender newspaper for July 31, 1948, with the lead story announcing that President Harry S. Truman had issued Executive Order 9981 ending racial segregation in the United... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (559x750, 150 KB)This is an image of the front page of the Chicago Defender newspaper for July 31, 1948, with the lead story announcing that President Harry S. Truman had issued Executive Order 9981 ending racial segregation in the United... The Chicago Defender announces President Harry S. Trumans order in 1948 desegregating the United States Armed Forces. ... An executive order is an edict issued by a member of the executive branch of a government, usually the head of that branch. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The presidential seal was first used by president Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-fourth Vice President (1945) and the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953), succeeding to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... Executive Order 8802 (also known as the Fair Employment Act) was signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry. ... The armed forces (or armed services) of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Marine Corps United States Navy United States Air Force United States Coast Guard Approximately 1. ... This article is 100 KB or more in size. ...

The operative statement is:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

The order also established a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the civilian leadership of the military to realize the policy.

Among the order's effects was the elimination of Montford Point as a segregated Marine boot camp (the camp became a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune). The last of the all-black units in the United States military was abolished in September 1954. To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ... Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is near Jacksonville, North Carolina, on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. ... Military history of African Americans is that of African Americans in the United States since the arrival of the first black slaves in 1619 to the present day. ... Look up September in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fifteen years after Truman's order, on July 26, 1963 Robert S. McNamara issued orders banning all racial discrimination in facilities used by soldiers, in or near military bases. July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Robert McNamara in 1964 Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916), American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968. ... An African-American drinks out of a water fountain marked for colored in 1939 at a street car terminal in Oklahoma City. ...

External links

• Full text of Executive Order 9981 from the website of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum