The Air Force Integrates 1945 1964

Documenting the racial integration of the Air Force from the end of World War II to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, retired Air Force colonel Alan L. Gropman contends that the service desegregated itself not for moral or political reasons but to improve military effectiveness. First published in 1977, this second edition charts policy changes to date. 31 photos.

On April 5, 1945, more than sixty black officers of the U.S. Army Air Forces were arrested for entering a whites-only club at Freeman Field, Indiana, to protest the rigid segregation and unequal policies under which they and all African American airmen were forced to serve. Termed a mutiny by the white commanders at the base, the incident was one of several racial conflicts during the next four years that helped convince senior officers in the newly independent Air Force that segregation was an inefficient personnel policy. Documenting the racial integration of the Air Force from the end of World War II to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Alan L. Gropman contends that the service desegregated itself not for moral or political reasons but to improve military effectiveness. He draws on a range of unpublished records to show that, while proceeding smoothly, Air Force integration initially did little to ensure fair promotion practices or to protect African Americans from off-post discrimination, especially in housing, entertainment, and education. Gropman also outlines the political motivations of President Truman's 1948 Executive Order 9981 for equal opportunity in the military and reviews controversial Kennedy administration initiatives that attempted to place the military at the forefront of civil rights reform. First published in 1977, the book now includes a new preface charting the policy changes that have dramatically increased the numbers of black officers and senior supervisors in the Air Force during the past two decades. Detailing the uneven progress of a major shift in military policy, The Air Force Integrates also illuminates the often pragmatic motivations of those who bring about fundamental social change.

In April 1945 more than 100 Negro officers forcefully protested segregated facilities and discriminatory policies at Freeman Field, Ind. They were arrested by their white commanders to deny them the opportunity to lead what their superiors termed a mutiny. This significant but little known eventl, which occurred in the closing year of World War II, is important in the history of the Army Air Forces because no other event better illustrates the attitude of its white military leadership towards blacks. To understand the factors which precipitated the revolt, it is essential to review Army racial policies formulated during the 1920's and 1930's. These policies, based upon racist premises, affected black and white relations for decades that followed. It should be stressed, however, that the military leadership between the two world wars was no more bigoted than other segments of American society. But that knowledge brought little comfort to those who had to endure the system. Without admitting that it had succumbed to racist theories, the military leadership had in fact adopted the racist hyperbole popular in the interwar years.

FROM THE FORWARD: This book describes the struggle to desegregate the post-World War II U.S. Army Air Forces and its successor, the U.S. Air Force, and the remarkable advances made during the next two decades to end racial segregation and move towards equality of treatment of Negro airmen. The author, Lt. Col. Alan L. Gropman, a former Instructor of History at the U.S. Air Force Academy, received his doctorate degree from Tufts University. His dissertation served as the basis for this volume. In it, the author describes the fight to end segregation with the Air Force following President Harry S. Truman's issuance of an executive order directing the integration of the armed forces. Despite resistance to the order, fueled by heated segregationist opposition, integration moved ahead somewhat slowly under the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Progress increased during the administration of President John F. Kennedy, which saw major advances toward achieving equality for Negro servicemen. Colonel Gropman's study is a detailed, comprehensive, and in many respects, a documentary account. The crucial events it describes more than justify the unusually extended treatment they receive. The volume thus provides a permanent record of this turbulent period in race relations and constitutes a significant contribution to the history of the Air Force. This book is a digital reproduction of a previously out-of-print book originally published by the U.S. Air Force.

This book describes the struggle to desegregate the post-World War II U.S. Army Air Forces and its successor, the U.S. Air Force, and the remarkable advances made during the next two decades to end racial segregation and move towards equality of treatment of Negro airmen. The author, Lt. Col. Alan L. Gropman, a former Instructor of History at the U.S. Air Force Academy, received his doctorate degree from Tufts University. His dissertation served as the basis for this volume. In it, the author describes the fight to end segregation within the Air Force following President Harry S. Truman's issuance of an executive order directing the integration of the armed forces. Despite resistance to this order, fueled by heated segregationist opposition, integration moved ahead somewhat slowly under the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Progress increased during the administration of President John F. Kennedy, which saw major advances toward achieving equality for Negro servicemen. Colonel Gropman's study is a detailed, comprehensive, and, in many respects, a documentary account. The crucial events it describes more than justify the unusually extended treatment they receive. The volume thus provides a permanent record of this turbulent period in race relations and constitutes a significant contribution to the history of the Air Force.

Documenting the racial integration of the Air Force from the end of World War II to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Alan L. Gropman contends that the service desegregated itself not for moral or political reasons but to improve military effectiveness. The Air Force Integrates details the uneven progress of a major shift in military policy and illuminates the often pragmatic motivations of those who bring about fundamental social change.