Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
5
Despite past injustices, African-Americans view the holiday as a day of unity and freedom
Kitty Oliver is not the flag-waving type and doesn't make much of a to-do about Independence Day.
"But I feel patriotic, loving the country and the possibilities of the country," said the Davie writer and teacher. "Being a full-fledged American citizen is not a stamp they give you and that's it. America is a work in progress. We all have the opportunity to keep working on it."
As the nation prepares to celebr
te its 228th year of independence from England today, black people like Oliver appreciate the opportunities they have been afforded while recalling the past pains of segregation and the present elusiveness
r
of promises, equality and the American dream.
"I don't celebrate the
Fourth of July," said Adora Obi Nweze, state president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Juneteenth is our freedom day. January 1 is a day to celebrate because of the signing [of the Emancipation Proclamation]. There's no reason for us to celebrate the Fourth of July. The country says it is the most important day, but for us it's just a reminder of what we didn't have."
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, more than 80 percent of blacks were slaves and counted as three-fifths of a person in the South, said author and historian Marvin Dunn of Florida International University.
With the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan
. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in Confederate states. In his second term, Lincoln pushed through the 13th amendment, which actually ended slavery, Dunn said. However, blacks re
mai
ned second-class citizens, denied voting rights and access to public accommodations.
Forty years ago on July
2 that status changed, under the law if not in practice, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making Independence Day especially significant that year. Its effect was immediate and dramatic.
"Blacks had access to public jobs, which translated into black economic advancement in the last half of the century," Dunn said. "It opened the door for pensions, health benefits and leisure time. It improved the quality of life."
That was certainly true for Oliver, who was among the first group of black students to integrate the University of Florida in 1965.
The signing of the Civil Rights Act "was the event that was pivotal in my
life," she said. "If there was something that could give me the stamp of being a full-fledged citizen, it was the signing of the bill. Much was closed to me before that."
<
br>D
espite the historically poor treatment, black patriotism endures.
"We still rally to the flag in times of threat and danger," said Dunn. "In every war, includin
g the Civil War, we're the first to rush to duty. Black patriotism should not be questioned."
There were 2.6 million military veterans counted in the 2000 Census. Twenty percent of the armed forces are black, while the nation's black population is 12 percent.
Gloria Scott's son Thomas, a 22-year-old senior airman in the Air Force, is among them. His unit arrived in Iraq on May 25, and he is currently deployed in Baghdad.
"The soldiers don't know why they are there, but they support the country like they were trained to do," Scott said. "I support my son's decision. There a
re no winners in war. I pray constantly for all the men and women in harm's way."
In a measurement of equality in income, housing, education, health, social justice an
d civic eng
agement between blacks and whites by the National Urban League, blacks outranked whites only in civic engagement and that was because of the number of blacks who volunteer for the military, the report said.
"But we feel patriotic,"
Scott said. "Blacks have reservations about slavery and know past wrongs have been done. But what it boils down to is: this is our country. There is no better place, despite its faults."
Black patriotism in defending and dying for the country as well as reaction to 9-11 are solid examples of blacks' love of country, said Patrick Franklin, president and chief economic officer of the Urban League of Palm Beach County. "A lot of black folks, after 9-11, said: they didn't do this against white folks. They did that to us. Black folks also feel the pa
in of kids dying in Iraq. We didn't fly flags on our cars and white folks think we aren't patriotic. That's just not true."
Tamarac sculptor George Gad
son doesn't
care about perceptions of his patriotism. He points to his mixed neighborhood filled with friendly people who interact well.
"This is America," he pronounced. "It's a wonderful country we live in. This is a great neighborhood. The residents don't care about your ethnic background."
n
Gadson said he was normally not overt about his patriotism, but this year he hung an American flag from his home in Weston. He was upset with the grotesque and inhuman actions of terrorists in Iraq who have decapitated captives.
"Whatever it takes to take them out, do it," Gadson said. "That's where my patriotism gets raised. Our president is doing the best he can with the resources he has. Even if he's not the one you want, because of his party, he's our president. Pra
y for him. Support him."
*****************
Reference:
.
..Discipline and Morale Among Black Troops
By any measure of discipline and morale, black soldiers as a group posed a serious problem to the Army in the postwar period. The standard military indexes
serious incidents statistics, venereal disease rates, and number of courts martialrevealed black soldiers in trouble out of all proportion to their percentage
of the Army's popu
lation. When these personal infractions and crimes were added to the riots and serious racial incidents that continued to occur in the Army all over the world after the war, the dimensions of the problem became clear.
In 1945, when Negroes accounted for 8.S percent of the Army's average strength, black prisoners entering rehabilitation centers, disciplinary barracks, and federal institutions were 17.3 percent of the Army total. In 1946, when the average black strength had risen to 9.35 percent of the Army's total, 25.9 percent of the soldiers sent to the stockade were Negroes. The following tabulation gives thei
r percentage of all military prisoners by offense: ...
...The crime figures were particularly distressing to the individual black soldier, as indeed they were to his civilian counterpart, because as a
member of a highly visible minority he became identified with the wrongdoing of some of his fellows, spectacularly reported in the press, while his ow
n more typical attendance t
o orders and competent performance of duty were more often buried in the Army's administrative reports. In particular, Negroes among the large overseas commands suffered embarrassment. The Gillem Board policy was announced just as the Army began the occupation of Germany and Japan. As millions of veterans returned home, to be replaced in lesser numbers by volunteers, black troops began to figure prominently in the occupation forces. On 1 January 1947 the Army had 59,795 Negroes stationed overseas, 10.77 percent of the total number of overseas troops, divided principally between the two major overseas commands. By 1 March 194
8, in keeping with the general reduction of forces, black strength overseas was reduced to 23,387 men, but black percentages in Europe and the Far East remained practically unchanged.1 It was among these Negroe
s, scattered throughout Germany and Japan, that most of the disciplinary problems occurred.
During the first two years of peace, black
soldiers consistently dominated
the Army's serious-incident rate, a measure of indictments and accusations involving troops in crimes against persons and property. In June 1946, for example, black soldiers in the European theater were involved in serious incidents (actual and alleged) at the rate of 2.S7 cases per 1,000 men. The rate among white soldiers for the same period was .79 cases per 1,000. The rate for both groups rose considerably in 1947. The figure for Negroes climbed to a yearly average of 3.94 incidents per 1,000; the figure for whites, reflecting an even greater gain, reached 1.88. These crime rates were not out of line with America's nation
al crime rate statistics, which, based on a sample of 173 cities, averaged about 3.2S during the same period.2 Nevertheless, the rate was of particular concern to the government because the majority of the civ
il offenses were perpetuated against German and Japanese nationals and therefore lowered the prestige and effectiveness of the occupati
on forces.
Less important b
ut still a serious internal problem for the Army was a parallel rise in the incidence of venereal disease. Various reasons have been advanced for the great postwar rise in the Army's venereal disease rate. It is obvious, for example, that the rapid conversion from war to peacetime duties gave many American soldiers new leisure and freedom to engage in widespread fraternization with the civilian population. Serious economic dislocation in the conquered countries drove many citizens into a life of prostitution and crime. By the same token, the breakdown of public health services had removed a major obstacle to the spread of social d
isease. But whatever the reasons, a high rate of venereal diseasethe overseas rate was three times greater than the rate reported for soldiers in the United Statesreflected a serious breakdown in military disci
pline, posed a threat to the combat effectiveness of the commands, and produced lurid rumors and reports on Army morality.
As in the case of crime statistics,
the rate of venereal disease for black soldiers in the overseas commands far exceeded the figure for whites. The Eighth Army, the major unit in the Far East, reported for the month of June 1946 1,263 cases of venereal disease for whites, or 139 cases per 1,000 men per year; 769 cases were reported for Negroes, or 1,186 cases per 1,000 men per year. The rates for the European Command for July 1946 stood at 806 cases per 1,000 Negroes per year as compared with 203 for white soldiers. The disease rate improved considerably during 1947 in both commands, but still the rates for black troops averaged 354 per 1,000 men per year
in Eighth Army compared to 89 for whites. In Europe the rate was 663 per 1,000 men per year for Negroes compared to 172 for whites. At the same time the rate for all soldiers in the United States was S8 per 1,000 per year.3 Som
e critics question the accuracy of these statistics, charging that more white soldiers, with informal access to medical
treatment, were able to escape detection b
y the Medical Department's statisticians, at least in cases of more easily treated strains of venereal disease.
The court-martial rate for black soldiers serving overseas was also higher than for white soldiers. Black soldiers in Europe, for example, were court-martialed at the rate of 3.48 men per 1,000 during the third quarter of 1946 compared with a 1.14 rate for whites. A similar situation existed in the Far East where the black service units had a monthly court-martial rate nearly double the average rate of the Eighth Army as a whole.4
The disproportionate black crime and disease rates were symptomatic
of a condition that also revealed itself in the racially oriented riots and disturbances that continued to plague the postwar Army. Sometimes black soldiers were merely reacting to blatant discrimination countenanced by their o
fficers, to racial insults, and at times even to physical assaults, but nevertheless they reacted violently and
in numbers. The resulting incidents prompted i
nvestigations, recriminations, and publicity. ...
Segregation's Consequences
A n-gger in uniform is still a n-gger. You can dress them up, but you still can't take them out.
T.N.B.
Despite past injustices, African-Americans view the holiday as a day of unity and freedom
Kitty Oliver is not the flag-waving type and doesn't make much of a to-do about Independence Day.
"But I feel patriotic, loving the country and the possibilities of the country," said the Davie writer and teacher. "Being a full-fledged American citizen is not a stamp they give you and that's it. America is a work in progress. We all have the opportunity to keep working on it."
As the nation prepares to celebr
te its 228th year of independence from England today, black people like Oliver appreciate the opportunities they have been afforded while recalling the past pains of segregation and the present elusiveness
r
of promises, equality and the American dream.
"I don't celebrate the
Fourth of July," said Adora Obi Nweze, state president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Juneteenth is our freedom day. January 1 is a day to celebrate because of the signing [of the Emancipation Proclamation]. There's no reason for us to celebrate the Fourth of July. The country says it is the most important day, but for us it's just a reminder of what we didn't have."
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, more than 80 percent of blacks were slaves and counted as three-fifths of a person in the South, said author and historian Marvin Dunn of Florida International University.
With the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan
. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in Confederate states. In his second term, Lincoln pushed through the 13th amendment, which actually ended slavery, Dunn said. However, blacks re
mai
ned second-class citizens, denied voting rights and access to public accommodations.
Forty years ago on July
2 that status changed, under the law if not in practice, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making Independence Day especially significant that year. Its effect was immediate and dramatic.
"Blacks had access to public jobs, which translated into black economic advancement in the last half of the century," Dunn said. "It opened the door for pensions, health benefits and leisure time. It improved the quality of life."
That was certainly true for Oliver, who was among the first group of black students to integrate the University of Florida in 1965.
The signing of the Civil Rights Act "was the event that was pivotal in my
life," she said. "If there was something that could give me the stamp of being a full-fledged citizen, it was the signing of the bill. Much was closed to me before that."
<
br>D
espite the historically poor treatment, black patriotism endures.
"We still rally to the flag in times of threat and danger," said Dunn. "In every war, includin
g the Civil War, we're the first to rush to duty. Black patriotism should not be questioned."
There were 2.6 million military veterans counted in the 2000 Census. Twenty percent of the armed forces are black, while the nation's black population is 12 percent.
Gloria Scott's son Thomas, a 22-year-old senior airman in the Air Force, is among them. His unit arrived in Iraq on May 25, and he is currently deployed in Baghdad.
"The soldiers don't know why they are there, but they support the country like they were trained to do," Scott said. "I support my son's decision. There a
re no winners in war. I pray constantly for all the men and women in harm's way."
In a measurement of equality in income, housing, education, health, social justice an
d civic eng
agement between blacks and whites by the National Urban League, blacks outranked whites only in civic engagement and that was because of the number of blacks who volunteer for the military, the report said.
"But we feel patriotic,"
Scott said. "Blacks have reservations about slavery and know past wrongs have been done. But what it boils down to is: this is our country. There is no better place, despite its faults."
Black patriotism in defending and dying for the country as well as reaction to 9-11 are solid examples of blacks' love of country, said Patrick Franklin, president and chief economic officer of the Urban League of Palm Beach County. "A lot of black folks, after 9-11, said: they didn't do this against white folks. They did that to us. Black folks also feel the pa
in of kids dying in Iraq. We didn't fly flags on our cars and white folks think we aren't patriotic. That's just not true."
Tamarac sculptor George Gad
son doesn't
care about perceptions of his patriotism. He points to his mixed neighborhood filled with friendly people who interact well.
"This is America," he pronounced. "It's a wonderful country we live in. This is a great neighborhood. The residents don't care about your ethnic background."
n
Gadson said he was normally not overt about his patriotism, but this year he hung an American flag from his home in Weston. He was upset with the grotesque and inhuman actions of terrorists in Iraq who have decapitated captives.
"Whatever it takes to take them out, do it," Gadson said. "That's where my patriotism gets raised. Our president is doing the best he can with the resources he has. Even if he's not the one you want, because of his party, he's our president. Pra
y for him. Support him."
*****************
Reference:
.
..Discipline and Morale Among Black Troops
By any measure of discipline and morale, black soldiers as a group posed a serious problem to the Army in the postwar period. The standard military indexes
serious incidents statistics, venereal disease rates, and number of courts martialrevealed black soldiers in trouble out of all proportion to their percentage
of the Army's popu
lation. When these personal infractions and crimes were added to the riots and serious racial incidents that continued to occur in the Army all over the world after the war, the dimensions of the problem became clear.
In 1945, when Negroes accounted for 8.S percent of the Army's average strength, black prisoners entering rehabilitation centers, disciplinary barracks, and federal institutions were 17.3 percent of the Army total. In 1946, when the average black strength had risen to 9.35 percent of the Army's total, 25.9 percent of the soldiers sent to the stockade were Negroes. The following tabulation gives thei
r percentage of all military prisoners by offense: ...
...The crime figures were particularly distressing to the individual black soldier, as indeed they were to his civilian counterpart, because as a
member of a highly visible minority he became identified with the wrongdoing of some of his fellows, spectacularly reported in the press, while his ow
n more typical attendance t
o orders and competent performance of duty were more often buried in the Army's administrative reports. In particular, Negroes among the large overseas commands suffered embarrassment. The Gillem Board policy was announced just as the Army began the occupation of Germany and Japan. As millions of veterans returned home, to be replaced in lesser numbers by volunteers, black troops began to figure prominently in the occupation forces. On 1 January 1947 the Army had 59,795 Negroes stationed overseas, 10.77 percent of the total number of overseas troops, divided principally between the two major overseas commands. By 1 March 194
8, in keeping with the general reduction of forces, black strength overseas was reduced to 23,387 men, but black percentages in Europe and the Far East remained practically unchanged.1 It was among these Negroe
s, scattered throughout Germany and Japan, that most of the disciplinary problems occurred.
During the first two years of peace, black
soldiers consistently dominated
the Army's serious-incident rate, a measure of indictments and accusations involving troops in crimes against persons and property. In June 1946, for example, black soldiers in the European theater were involved in serious incidents (actual and alleged) at the rate of 2.S7 cases per 1,000 men. The rate among white soldiers for the same period was .79 cases per 1,000. The rate for both groups rose considerably in 1947. The figure for Negroes climbed to a yearly average of 3.94 incidents per 1,000; the figure for whites, reflecting an even greater gain, reached 1.88. These crime rates were not out of line with America's nation
al crime rate statistics, which, based on a sample of 173 cities, averaged about 3.2S during the same period.2 Nevertheless, the rate was of particular concern to the government because the majority of the civ
il offenses were perpetuated against German and Japanese nationals and therefore lowered the prestige and effectiveness of the occupati
on forces.
Less important b
ut still a serious internal problem for the Army was a parallel rise in the incidence of venereal disease. Various reasons have been advanced for the great postwar rise in the Army's venereal disease rate. It is obvious, for example, that the rapid conversion from war to peacetime duties gave many American soldiers new leisure and freedom to engage in widespread fraternization with the civilian population. Serious economic dislocation in the conquered countries drove many citizens into a life of prostitution and crime. By the same token, the breakdown of public health services had removed a major obstacle to the spread of social d
isease. But whatever the reasons, a high rate of venereal diseasethe overseas rate was three times greater than the rate reported for soldiers in the United Statesreflected a serious breakdown in military disci
pline, posed a threat to the combat effectiveness of the commands, and produced lurid rumors and reports on Army morality.
As in the case of crime statistics,
the rate of venereal disease for black soldiers in the overseas commands far exceeded the figure for whites. The Eighth Army, the major unit in the Far East, reported for the month of June 1946 1,263 cases of venereal disease for whites, or 139 cases per 1,000 men per year; 769 cases were reported for Negroes, or 1,186 cases per 1,000 men per year. The rates for the European Command for July 1946 stood at 806 cases per 1,000 Negroes per year as compared with 203 for white soldiers. The disease rate improved considerably during 1947 in both commands, but still the rates for black troops averaged 354 per 1,000 men per year
in Eighth Army compared to 89 for whites. In Europe the rate was 663 per 1,000 men per year for Negroes compared to 172 for whites. At the same time the rate for all soldiers in the United States was S8 per 1,000 per year.3 Som
e critics question the accuracy of these statistics, charging that more white soldiers, with informal access to medical
treatment, were able to escape detection b
y the Medical Department's statisticians, at least in cases of more easily treated strains of venereal disease.
The court-martial rate for black soldiers serving overseas was also higher than for white soldiers. Black soldiers in Europe, for example, were court-martialed at the rate of 3.48 men per 1,000 during the third quarter of 1946 compared with a 1.14 rate for whites. A similar situation existed in the Far East where the black service units had a monthly court-martial rate nearly double the average rate of the Eighth Army as a whole.4
The disproportionate black crime and disease rates were symptomatic
of a condition that also revealed itself in the racially oriented riots and disturbances that continued to plague the postwar Army. Sometimes black soldiers were merely reacting to blatant discrimination countenanced by their o
fficers, to racial insults, and at times even to physical assaults, but nevertheless they reacted violently and
in numbers. The resulting incidents prompted i
nvestigations, recriminations, and publicity. ...
Segregation's Consequences
A n-gger in uniform is still a n-gger. You can dress them up, but you still can't take them out.
T.N.B.
: 
:lol: