Library of Congress, Serial & Government Publications Division

Chicago Defender, July 31, 1948

As the presidential election of 1948 approached, President Harry S. Truman recognized the importance of the black vote and decided to take up one of the key political issues for African Americans: desegregation of the military. On July 26, 1948, he issued Executive Order No. 9981, which called for equal opportunity and treatment for all Americans in the armed forces. Although this was an important initial step in desegregating the military, the order neither denounced racial segregation nor imposed a deadline for implementing the new policy.