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US Army Rectifies Century-Old Racial Wrongs Against WWI Black Soldiers
Washington, DC – The US Army has recently taken a historic step to address a long-standing injustice by overturning the convictions of 110 Black soldiers involved in the World War I-era Houston riots. This move, aimed at redressing past racial wrongs, reclassifies their military service as honorable, according to an Army announcement.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth revealed that a comprehensive review by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records uncovered unjust treatment of these soldiers, primarily from the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers, due to racial bias and unfair trials.
CNN reported that this long-awaited change, albeit not erasing the painful history, is received positively by the families affected, even after 106 years. “By setting aside their convictions and granting honorable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight,” Wormuth stated. Additionally, the Army has established a system for relatives of these soldiers to access military benefits.
This correction coincides with a broader national acknowledgment of the country’s history of slavery and Jim Crow racism. American institutions, including the Pentagon and universities, are reevaluating past injustices.
Brigadier General Ronald Sullivan, in a ceremony video, described the backdrop of the 1917 events when the Buffalo Soldiers, serving in Houston under oppressive Jim Crow laws, faced racist provocations and violence. The situation escalated into the Houston riots on August 23, 1917, leading to the death of 19 individuals.
Gabe Camarillo, Undersecretary for the Army, highlighted that the convictions of these soldiers, marked by numerous irregularities, included 19 executed in the largest mass execution within the Army. The recent Army action nullifies all 110 court-martial convictions from these events, updates military records to reflect honorable discharges, and establishes a method for delivering overdue survivor benefits.
The Buffalo Soldiers, initially referring to Black soldiers from the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments in the Indian wars, later encompassed the all-Black 24th and 25th Infantry regiments. Their adversaries respected these soldiers for their bravery and tenacity, akin to the qualities they admired in buffalos.
Fatimah Gilliam, a descendant of one of the convicted soldiers, expressed her emotional relief to CNN, saying, “It’s sad to think about so many soldiers – 110 soldiers – affected like this and families like mine.” Her great-great-uncle Jesse Ball Moore was among those executed. She appreciates the Army’s efforts to rectify this historic injustice, including new tombstones for the soldiers.
Gilliam’s reflections underscore the significance of this action by the Army, not just as a correction of records but as a symbolic gesture acknowledging the deep-rooted racial injustices in the nation’s history.
The Army announced that relatives of soldiers involved in the incident may be entitled to benefits.
Family members may apply online at https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/online-application.html or submit a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record by mail to: Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA), 251 18th Street South, Suite 385, Arlington, VA 22202-3531. Applications should include documentation to prove a relationship to one of the 110 formerly convicted soldiers.
Family members or other interested parties may request a copy of the corrected records from the National Archives and Records Administration, in accordance with NARA Archival Records Request procedures found at: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records.
Source: CNN
