On the recordSeptember 28, 2010
I take the floor today to pay tribute to a group of Americans that blazed a trail, people who helped to shape the history we share, and whose contributions deserve recognition at the highest levels. There has been no war fought by or within the United States in which African Americans did not participate. The war for our independence featured all-Black units in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. During the War of 1812, about one-quarter of the Navy involved in the Battle of Lake Erie was Black. Nearly 190,000 African Americans fought for their own freedom in the Civil War. In World War I, over 350,000 Black men served on the Western Front. But prior to 1941, Black servicemen were denied the honor and glory that comes with uniformed service, and their contributions went largely unnoticed. The units were segregated. Black infantry divisions hardly saw the battlefield. They served our Nation with honor, but our Nation did not honor their service. But on June 25, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt changed all that.
