Segregated Soldiers: Military Training at Historically Black Colleges in the Jim Crow South

7. Conclusion

168 7 CONCLUSION A frican American attitudes toward military service at historically black colleges and universities during the post–World War II era were reflective of attitudes in the black community. Military training and service were at the height of their popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s, but by the start of Nixon’s administration the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, the war in Vietnam, and the antiwar movement influenced many individuals to resist serving in the armed forces or to view compulsory military training as an oppressive form of control. Nonetheless, although a shift in attitudes toward military training and service occurred during this period, it was met by a faction of military supporters who continued to eagerly embrace the merits of military service for young African Americans. Tuskegee graduate, L. F. Koons explains: “There was considerable debate concerning whether or not the ROTC program should be abolished. For the most part, activists on both sides were talking past one another. Proponents emphasized the benefits of military service to those who took advantage of it and, to a lesser extent, such abstract concepts as patriotism. Opponents argued that the military was an instrument of oppression abroad, and in certain circumstances at home, and was an evil to be combated. These seem to have been the main issues, although there were others.”1 While the number of ROTC cadets at HBCUs sharply fell between 1968 and 1973, enthusiasm for military training programs at black colleges did not. New ROTC units representing each armed service branch appeared on black college campuses. “The Navy added units at Florida A&M (Florida), Prairie View A&M (Texas), Savannah State (Georgia), and Southern University (Louisiana). The Air Force established units at Grambling (Louisiana), CONCLUSION 169 Mississippi Valley State (Mississippi), Fayetteville State (North Carolina), and Tennessee State (Tennessee). The Army added units at Alabama A&M (Alabama), Fort Valley State (Georgia), Alcorn State (Mississippi), Jackson State (Mississippi), St. Augustine’s College (North Carolina), Benedict College (South Carolina), Bishop College (Texas), and Norfolk State (Virginia ).”2 The number of new ROTC programs at black colleges and universities represented not only an attempt by the U.S. military to increase the number of African American officers in the armed forces, but also an effort to expand the program where there existed a relative degree of support. ROTC IS A GOOD CHOICE Military service continued to attract many individuals who wanted to take advantage of the social and economic benefits the armed forces had to offer. In addition to a shift in attitudes toward military training and service, there was also a change in African American motivations to serve in the armed forces. According to Michael S. Neiberg, “African American leaders had traditionally seen the military as a means for African Americans to demonstrate loyalty , reliability, patriotism, and courage, as well as a place to gain valuable training and access to good jobs. The student bodies of black colleges and universities supported the establishment of ROTC units, indicating that they shared the view of the military as a means of advancement for the African American community, for themselves personally, or both.”3 While the U.S. military had a major impact on the further development of the black middle-class during the post–World War II era, by the early 1970s many individuals interested in military service focused on personal advancement rather than motivations of “uplift” for the race.4 Lieutenant General Russel Honoré supported this argument. Honoré reported, “When you had an opportunity to serve—you served. To me it was an opportunity to lift myself where I came from to a higher social economic class and put myself in the status of having a degree and being an officer in the U.S. Army. For me, that overshadowed the dichotomy of serving a nation that did not always appreciate your presence. I decided to be a part of the solution and not to disengage society but to rather engage.”5 This development occurred for at least two reasons. First, the creation of the all-volunteer force (AVF) was designed in part to attract a greater number of African Americans to 170 SEGREGATED SOLDIERS a new system of benefits available to recruits. The U.S. military offered a more competitive pay scale in addition to an elaborate array of benefits and educational opportunities that were directed toward minorities in hopes of increasing their representation in the armed forces...