Biden Marks 75th Anniversary of Armed Forces Desegregation at National Archives Event
President Biden addresses the Truman Civil Rights Symposium at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. July 27, 2023. National Archives photo by Susana Raab.
By National Archives News Staff
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2023 — President Joe Biden joined Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan at the National Archives Building on Thursday to honor the 75th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces and federal workforce.
The event highlighted the 33rd President’s Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, which are on display at the National Archives Museum through July 31.
“Harry Truman felt a moral imperative to respond to the mistreatment of Black veterans. He heard their calls for a double victory to win freedom abroad and at home,” Biden said. “We're a much better nation for [Truman’s] courage and commitment, and for the sacrifice in service of all our patriots who fought for our democracy.”
“Our Constitution, ‘we the people,’ our Bill of Rights, with the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and more, all safeguarded in this hallowed place — history requires us to acknowledge that we've never fully lived up to the promise of America, capturing the essence of these documents. But our aspiration is to be a more perfect union and ensure that we never fully walk away from it,” Biden added.
The President spoke during the three-day Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington, DC, this week, organized by the Harry S. Truman Library and Truman Library Institute. View the event here.
Thursday’s event added to an agenda that included sessions at the Library of Congress, George Washington University, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan speaks at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. July 27, 2023. National Archives photo by Susana Raab.
Speaking at the keynote address, Dr. Shogan highlighted the importance of the Presidential Libraries system, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration and includes the Truman Library.
“Our mission is to preserve and protect the nation's records, and make them accessible so that all Americans can understand history,” Shogan said. “By doing this, we enable citizens to hold our government accountable and engage in our democracy as informed participants."
Shogan described a blackboard given to a young Truman by his mother that included short biographies of all the presidents up until that time.
“Truman later reflected that reading those short sketches of presidents ignited his love of learning about the history of our country…[he] certainly didn't know it at the time, but his blackboard was the very early version of our presidential library system,” Shogan said. “Many citizens learn about American history through our presidential libraries. These 15 institutions situated across the United States give everyone a chance to see, hear, and learn about the various historical eras of our nation's past.”
In addition to the desegregation of the military and the federal workforce, this year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948. Several speakers described how that law, and Truman’s executive orders, shaped their careers.
Among them was Admiral Michelle Howard, who in 1999 became the first Black woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy, and went on to become the first woman to become a four-star admiral in the Navy, said: “President Truman set the conditions that allowed us through love of service and love of our country and devotion to the Constitution … so that ‘we the people’ are now all of the people.”
Admiral Michelle Howard, the first Black woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy and the first woman four-star admiral, addresses the crowd at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. July 27, 2023. National Archives photo by Susana Raab.
These two executive orders are on view in the Featured Document Display in the West Rotunda Gallery at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, from July 25 through 31.
Admission to the National Archives Museum is always free, and reservations are not required.
Read more about Executive Order 9980: Regulations Governing Fair Employment Practices Within the Federal Establishment and Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces.