[Warning: Some language may be offensive]

Harry Truman's journey to signing Executive Order No. 9981 involved overcoming his deeply ingrained racial prejudices. Initially, he wasn't a champion of Black Americans, but his transformation from a segregationist to a civil rights advocate was truly astonishing.

2/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Born on May 8, 1884, nearly two decades after the Civil War's end, Truman grew up in a segregated town in Missouri, once a pro-slavery state. Both sides of his family were connected to slavery, with grandparents who owned slaves. His mother, Martha Ellen Young, held a strong dislike for President Abraham Lincoln.

3/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Truman's upbringing shaped his perspective, influenced by his mother's beliefs and the prevailing views of the South regarding the War Between the States and Reconstruction. He spent his early years in Missouri, where segregation was accepted without much questioning, and, again, his grandparents from both sides had owned slaves.

4/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Living in this former slave state, the small-town rural environment was marked by segregation and subordination for many citizens. Black residents faced segregation in their living arrangements, schooling, and access to stores. In his early letters, young Harry Truman openly acknowledged his prejudices against Black and Asian Americans, reflecting on his background and views at that time.

5/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #Truman #Missouri

In a June 22, 1911 love letter to his future wife, Bess Wallace, 27 year old Truman, serving as a corporal in the Missouri National Guard, penned a letter to his future wife, Bess Wallace.

“I think one man is just as good as another so long as he’s honest and decent and not a nigger or a Chinaman…”

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-1910-1919/june-22-1911

6/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #Truman #Missouri

Truman's transformation, from farm boy raised by Confederate sympathizers to U.S. president who signed the order to desegregate the armed forces is vividly traceable in his letters and memoirs.

“ I am strongly of the opinion that negros (sic) ought to be in Africa, yellow men in Asia and white men in Europe and America.” Truman wrote in the same 1911 letter to his future wife.

7/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #Truman #Missouri

From the same letter:

“Uncle Will says that the Lord made a white man from dust, a nigger from mud, and then threw what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion that negroes ought to be in Africa, yellow men in Asia, and white men in Europe and America.”

8/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

During Truman's tenure as a U.S. Senator, he composed a letter to his daughter, Margaret, dated April 7, 1937. In the letter, he recounted a dinner at the White House with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, unfortunately using a derogatory name to refer to the black waitstaff.

9/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

“They gave a real good meal at the taxpayers[’] expense — tomato soup, fillet of flounder, roast turkey, string beans, pineapple salad, chocolate ice cream and cake, candy and little cafe noir afterwards.”

“All these things were in courses, deftly placed and removed by an army of coons..”

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-margaret-truman-1927-1964/april-7-1937?documentid=NA&pagenumber=1

10/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

On August 4, 1939, two years later, Truman wrote to his wife from Washington.

“Well this is nigger picnic day. But they don’t have ’em like they did in days past. I remember once going to Washington Park with our washwoman to a Fourth of August celebration. I’ll never forget it. Had chicken and catfish fried in corn meal and was it good!”

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-truman-1921-1959/august-4-1939

11/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Truman's beliefs were deeply influenced by his upbringing in Missouri. The state had a troubling history, with 60 recorded cases of Black American lynchings between 1877 and 1950, ranking it second-highest among states outside the Deep South during that period.

12/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Growing up, Truman was exposed to a home environment that openly disdained abolitionism, Reconstruction, and even President Abraham Lincoln. He absorbed these sentiments from an early age, learning them at his mother's side.

13/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

As a result, Truman embraced a strong belief in white supremacy. When he secured the position of FDR’s running mate in the 1944 DNC with help from Southerners, AL Gov Chauncey Sparks proudly celebrated their success, Sparks bellowed:

“The South has won a substantial victory. … In the matter of race relations Senator Truman told me he is the son of an unreconstructed rebel mother.”

14/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

However, various mediating forces began to have an impact on Truman. His service as an officer in World War I and his post-war business interactions with a Jewish partner played a role in broadening his perspectives. As 1940 approached and he campaigned for re-election to the US Senate, it became evident that his viewpoint had matured.

15/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

In a speech in Sedalia, Missouri, he said:

“I believe in the brotherhood of man, not merely the brotherhood of white men, but the brotherhood of all men before law. I believe in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In giving the Negroes the rights which are theirs, we are only acting in accord with our own ideals of a true democracy.”

16/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

In 1940, Black-Americans constituted nearly 10 percent of the entire U.S. population, amounting to 12.6 million people out of a total of 131 million. During World War II, the Army emerged as the nation's largest employer of minorities.

17/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Out of the 2.5 million Black-American males who registered for the draft by December 31, 1945, more than one million were inducted into the armed forces. Additionally, numerous Black women volunteered and served in all branches of the military and across various theaters of operations during the war.

18/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

To address complaints about discrimination against Black Americans at home during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 in June 1941. The order aimed to ensure Black Americans' acceptance into job-training programs in defense plants, prohibit discrimination by defense contractors, and establish a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).

19/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

Throughout history, Black Americans had served in the U.S. military, but their largest deployment occurred during World War II.

20/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri

By December 31, 1945, over 2.5 million Black Americans had registered for the military draft, and with many Black American women volunteering, the U.S. Armed Forces became the foremost employer of Black people.

Following Roosevelt's passing on April 12, 1945, now President Truman assumed responsibility for concluding World War II and allowed Congress to terminate the FEPC.

21/

#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #BlackMastodon #BlackHistory #Military #StillWeRise #Truman #Missouri