ipl-logo

Marines Of Montford Point Essay

588 Words3 Pages

The Marines of Montford Point

Melton A McLaurin

In 1941, the president at the time, President Franklin Roosevelt passed an executive order allowing African-Americans to join the United States Military. Being that the Marine Corps was the last branch that had yet to integrate black Americans, changes began to take place.

Despite being allowed to enlist in the Marine Corps, African Americans underwent recruit training at a separate and segregated location than the rest of the white Marines. They attended recruit training at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It wasn't until seven years later that African American Marines were allowed to be fully integrated into recruit training with whites, due to a new executive order that was passed. …show more content…

This book discusses many of the issues that these black Marines faced. Whether it be the chains at the bus stops in Jacksonville that separated whites from blacks, or the restriction on what foods they could purchase at restaurants, these Marines who underwent the same training weren't given the same respect.

Many of the black Marines wanted to deploy and see combat. But unfortunately most were put in supporting units and not able to see “war”. It became a general consensus that “blacks weren't ready for combat”. However, African American Marines who worked with ammunition soon earned the respect of their white colleagues when they were present at Iwo Jima and other amphibious assaults in Saipan and Okinawa. Tides began to change and black Marines started to play a bigger role than what they were previously thought capable of.

This book is a compilation of interviews with 60 different veterans that served during these tough times. Not only does it discuss and delve deeper into the barriers that black Marines faced, but it also talks about why these men joined the Marine

Show More
Related

How Did The Tuskegee Airmen Promote American Ideals

537 Words | 3 Pages

Before WWII in the Army Air Corps, African Americans were not allowed to serve in uniform. Eventually, the U.S. got

Read More

Bobby Lovett The Negros Civil War Summary

908 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, Lovett’s article for the Journal of Negro History does what it set out to do, which was to give us a detailed history of the African-American Union soldiers in

Read More

Summary Of Bloods: Black Veterans Of The Vietnam War

1502 Words | 7 Pages

His 24-month long mission gave him the opportunity to use his journalism and educational experiences to cover the important roles that African American soldiers were playing in the Vietnam War. The military’s goal in this assignment was to show the American people and potential African American soldiers that African American soldiers were now treated equally. There was a stigma regarding the maltreatment of African Americans in the military, and with the passing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, the image of the African American soldier began to quickly change. The new breed of African American soldiers no longer tolerated bigotry and hatred. African American soldiers began uniting to combat the injustices in America as well as within the military overseas.

Read More

Loss Of Innocence In Fallen Angels By Walter Dean Myers

567 Words | 3 Pages

I never would have thought that racism happens on the same side, but this book once again opened my eyes. Richie’s experiences with prejudice within his own unit showed me that even when people are in a war and fighting for the same cause, there will always be individuals who remain ignorant. Learning this fact has changed my historical perspective by giving me a greater appreciation for any minority or colored people who have fought in any war. Those people have earned my utmost respect because they not only had to battle with the enemy, but also had to battle their own

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Alfred M. Green's Speech

518 Words | 3 Pages

In April of 1861, the first month of the civil war, Alfred M. Green gave a speech to encourage his fellow African Americans to “prepare to enlist” and fight for the north. The north was fighting to preserve the Union and end slavery while the opposing side, the south, fought to defend slavery. Although they could not fight in the war, and did not want to, he felt that African Americans should “strive to be admitted to the ranks.” In his speech, Green uses many different methods to persuade them to join the Union forces.

Read More

Figurative Language In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal

1091 Words | 5 Pages

Ellison’s main character proclaimed during the battle, “he came at me as though he meant to beat it out of me” (para. 28). We see the throughout, that violence and struggles the African Americans encountered were heightened until the very end of the story, as threats were alluded in every conversation and contact with the white man. This formation of precise verbiage Ellison offers actually helps to convey the intensity of stress and anxiety African Americans faced and still do face

Read More

Gettysburg Address Henry Gooding Analysis

308 Words | 2 Pages

We are fully armed, and equipped, have done all the various duties pertaining to a Soldier’s life…” (Gooding, 221). The blood of his fellow man has stained the ground that protected Union, so they deserve to be paid as equals to those of a lighter skin. Time after time, before and during the war, black men were refused the privilege to fight for their nation. Now that their country needs them most, the question remains as to why they are not equally treated and rewarded as others who fight for the same thing.

Read More

African American Civil War Dbq Essay

898 Words | 4 Pages

There are weak and cowardly men in all nations. We have them among us. They will tell you that this is the "White man’s war"; that the getting of you unto the army is to sacrifice you on the first opportunity." Believe them not” (Document #1 Douglass). Most African

Read More

Civil War Dbq

2014 Words | 9 Pages

Now with the opportunity for African Americans to volunteer to participate in the fighting, the course of

Read More

The Port Chicago Effect: Impact Of African Americans During The Vietnam War

1616 Words | 7 Pages

However, due to the fact that an election was coming up and the president wanted the continued support of African American voters, he looked for a compromise. In April of 1942, the policy was changed, so the Navy would start accepting black volunteers to be trained as sailors (11). Even with the new policy changes, the discrimination and segregation within the Navy was systematically continued and very evident. For example, the white sailors were given higher levels of

Read More

Emancipation Proclamation Dbq

686 Words | 3 Pages

More importantly, it accepted black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. (National Archives and Records Administration

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Medical Treatment Of Black Veterans

668 Words | 3 Pages

Veterans had to fight over who gets treatment because “ finding beds for ill Black veterans in existing hospitals posed significant problems... the Veterans Bureau refused to challenge the “separate but equal” policies maintained in southern and some northern communities” (Keene/Ortiz ). It is deeply disheartening that an organization as vast as the Veterans Bureau couldn't give support to all of their men, considering that thousands of them were

Read More

Stereotypes Of Black Americans During World War II

1268 Words | 6 Pages

In prior wars, including the Civil War and World War I, racial discrimination was prevalent. When World War II began in 1939, more than 2.5 million Black Americans registered for the draft. Despite the huge number of men, the government initially turned most of them away. Moderate progress began in 1940 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt set a 10% quota for Black soldiers in the military. The number of soldiers in the army rapidly increased, and by 1944, 700,000 Black men were serving.

Read More

Double Victory Takaki Analysis

669 Words | 3 Pages

Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Service Act. This act included the prohibition of an integrated of black and white regimes. President Roosevelt’s refusal to allow a mixed army prompted anger and disbelief in the African-American community. George Schuyler opposed the Jim Crow army and stated “Our war is not with Hitler in Europe, but against Hitler in America. Our war is not to defend democracy, but to get a democracy we’ve never had.”

Read More

Blacks In The Military

296 Words | 2 Pages

There are many ironies that still exist in today’s U. S. military. As a member of the U.S. for the past twenty-one years I have been preview to different changes and issues that have been target to people of color. Blacks in the military are still seen as having lower socioeconomic status and prone to more punitive relationships with the criminal justice system weather inside the base or in the civilian environment. People of color in today’s military have less likelihood of achieving high officer ranking positions or being on high target leadership positions. As noted in our textbook, “today, Blacks fare better in the military, and the United States has 2.3 million Black veterans, more than any other minority group.

Read More

More about Marines Of Montford Point Essay

Related Topics

Open Document