Take Our Stand:
the African American Military Experience
in the Age of Jim Crow

The Story

African Americans have served in the United States military since the beginning of our nation. Slaves and free Blacks served with distinction alongside White soldiers and in segregated units during the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. But racism, the absence of foreign enemies, and a growing concern about possible slave rebellions all combined to exclude African Americans from the Army, Marine Corps, and state militias in the four decades prior to the Civil War. The one exception was the U.S. Navy, which had integrated Black sailors into its service throughout most of the 19^th century.

The need for manpower during the Civil War compelled White leaders to reassess racial policies regarding the service of Blacks in the armed forces. As a result, more than 186,000 African Americans served in the Federal Army and Navy to preserve the Union and abolish slavery in the United States. When the War ended the army reorganized and authorized the formation of two Black cavalry and two Black infantry regiments to serve in the southwest United States. From 1866 to the early 1890s these four regiments, known as “Buffalo Soldiers,” participated in numerous campaigns during the Indian Wars. This experience made these Black troops among America’s most valuable fighting forces when the United States went to war with Spain in 1898.

By the 1890s Jim Crow laws were widespread throughout the former Confederate States. The laws stripped Black Americans of the rights they had won and undermined the freedom of a people who had just shaken off the shackles of slavery. State government policies limiting constitutional rights and civil liberties, coupled with widespread racism in American society, created a tremendously challenging environment for all Blacks ---including those serving in the armed forces. So why did African Americans enlist in the military and fight for a country that deprived them of their civil rights? Take Our Stand: the African American Experience in the Age of Jim Crow endeavors to provide a greater understanding of race, hardship, heroism, the demands of citizenship, and what it means to serve one’s country in the face of virulent discrimination.

African Americans have continued to serve with honor in the half-century since the integration of the armed forces. Twenty African Americans received the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Vietnam War, including a posthumous award to James Anderson Jr., the first Black U.S. Marine recipient. In 1989 General Colin Powell became the first African American appointed to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell later served as the first African-American Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Today African Americans comprise 17 percent of the United States armed forces. Blacks can be found in all branches of the service and are now afforded opportunities for advancement that could only have been dreamed of by their predecessors. Take Our Stand honors the sacrifice and heroism of those brave men and women who made this achievement possible.