CPSM Director Tom Wieczorek represented the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) at the Blue Star Families Campaign for Inclusion on July 26, 2023. The event took place at the Historic Howard University in Washington, DC. and featured a presentation marking the 75th anniversary of President Harry Truman signing executive orders to integrate the military (July 26, 1948).
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By: Tom Wieczorek, CPSM Director
On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman put his signature on Executive Order 9980, titled “Regulations Governing Fair Employment Practices Within the Federal Establishment.” Following that, he signed Executive Order 9981, titled “Establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services.” Thus began the journey of our military to desegregate and move towards inclusivity.
It’s been 75 years and the voices today are urging that discussion on race, inclusivity, and systematic racism is no longer needed. They actually advocate for NOT talking about such topics, choosing to erase the long and checkered past of the United States of America. A quote attributed to philosopher George Santayana, “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it” comes to mind. For historical purposes, his actual quote was: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
To mark the 75th anniversary of the orders, the Blue Star Families marked the occasion with a star-studded event at the historic Howard University in Washington, DC entitled “Freedom to Serve: Integrating the Armed Forces.”
The half-day event featured speakers such as Joint Chief’s of Staff Lloyd Austin, Actor and Veteran Morgan Freeman, Secretary of the Navy Carolos Del Toro, and 95-year old Lt. General Arthur Gregg who became the only living person to have a military base named after him with Fort Gregg-Adams.
The host of speakers, while coming from varied backgrounds, often came to the same conclusion: leadership, culture, and speaking out are critical to achieving success. Success in diversity, in integration, in a sense of belonging, in retention, and in recruitment. Their lessons are not limited to just the military but could be applied across many municipal departments as well.
Secretary of the Navy Del Torro noted that it would be six years after 1948 when the Brown versus Board of Education was handed down; 15 years before Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington for Civil rights; and 20 years before the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Acts were passed by Congress.
The struggle for inclusivity and desegregation has not been an easy journey. From the Revolutionary War to today, it has often been one step forward and two steps back. During the Revolutionary War, in response to British efforts to encourage slaves to fight on their side, General George Washington followed; promising slaves their freedom if they fought for the Colonies. Those promises quickly became moot with the colonies’ victory.
With the war resolved in the United States’ favor, the subject of segregation and slavery again boiled to the point a civil war was fought – largely centered around the issue of slavery. It can be debated whether the civil war was over states’ rights or slavery but there is no denying that by the end of the War, it was over emancipating slaves by President Lincoln.
It would take World Wars to again bring attention to the issue of equality and desegregation in the military but by the end of WWII there was no denying that blacks fought just as hard, just as smart, and just as competently as others. It prompted President Truman’s actions but still took the Korean War and Vietnam to make the inroads envisioned in 1948.
And it suffered pushback. Military bases were named in honor of Confederate War Military officers and officials. As I sat in the audience, I wondered what people would think if we named military bases, roads, and buildings after Adolph Hitler. Or Joseph Stalin. Or Vladimir Putin. Or Ho-Chi-Mihn?
For Blue Star Families, the issue is front and center with an all-volunteer military. Blue Star Families (BSF), a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families and strengthening communities, published the results of its nationwide 2022 Campaign for Inclusion research. The report uncovers the lived experiences of military families of color, reveals the challenges within their communities, and delivers insights to create solutions.
While military families of color reap significant benefits from service, they also face unique challenges. Blue Star Families polled military service members, Veterans, and families of color and found that active-duty families of color experienced racial/ethnic discrimination in both civilian and military communities.
38% of active-duty family respondents of color reported fearing for their personal safety due to their race/ethnicity at least once in their current civilian community. Not only that, 36% of active-duty family respondents said that their child had experienced racially/ethnically motivated bullying.
This is not the first survey and builds on earlier studies to compile a significant volume of data. Data that is not based on hypothesis or conjecture but facts. It has been shared with the Department of Defense and others.
As a blue star father who is extremely proud of his son and his wife – who toils alone through many deployments and weeks when he is away to raise my four grandgirls, the results of the survey brought anger and tears. Hearing the in-person stories that were recorded from participants that they have turned down offers to move to other military bases for promotions or have left the military because of what it might mean to their families. Parts of the United States – 75 years later – remain a concern for those who will be stationed in those areas. Will their children be targeted? Will they face attacks – physical and otherwise? Some of the respondents have even made the decision to place their children with relatives rather than moving to some areas in the U.S. This in 2023.
The panel that featured General Gregg noted that with an all-volunteer force, there must be equality and equal opportunity. Systematic racism is only fixed with systematic solutions.
Panelists stated that culture plays a significant role in recruiting, retaining, and promoting an all-volunteer force. “We must have changes in the culture. You can integrate the force but you cannot force people to ASSOCIATE with others who are different from them,” noted General Gregg.
Letters from people of color that have been preserved following World War II noted they felt , when in their units, they were accepted but it began with strong leadership on the parts of commanding officers. Leaders make it happen, noted Ret. Lt. General Thomas P. Bostick.
CPSM finds many of the same obstacles preventing diversity in police, fire and EMS systems as experienced in the military. Leadership is key to setting the tone and policy of what is expected, what is acceptable, and what diversity is about. Leadership demands accountability from every facet of the organization to achieve a safe work environment – real or perceived.
That leadership can often transcend into the culture of the organization. What is allowed? What is not tolerated? Are people treated equally? Are decisions equal and without favor across the organization? Is the culture toxic? Experience and studies have shown that if the answer is “no,” they are likely to experience issues with recruitment, retention, and management. Who wants to come to work in a toxic work environment?
One of the concluding remarks was made by retired NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden who said leaders must know the history and past to enable them to lead into the future. “Without leadership to say ‘this is not right,’ nothing will change.”
You can learn more about the Blue Star Families’ Inclusion Program and Report here:
https://bluestarfam.org/campaign-for-inclusion/
https://bluestarfam.org/campaign-for-inclusion/research-and-advocacy-2023/
https://bluestarfam.org/racial-equity-initiative/research-and-advocacy/