Official websites use .mil
Secure .mil websites use HTTPS
July 26, 2023
The Long Blue Line: Part III “When I say Americans, I mean all Americans!” — Segregation’s take-down by President Harry Truman
Denial of employment and promotion, and separate dining and restroom facilities often characterized the experience and limited upward mobility for African American workers.
July 24, 2023
The Long Blue Line: Part II — “Available and needed workers have been barred from employment” — the segregated military and civil service environments
The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS), predecessor to the United States Coast Guard (USCG), utilized both free and enslaved Black people, and restricted their roles to cooks, stewards and seamen.
July 20, 2023
The Long Blue Line: “There Shall be Equal Opportunity for All” — Why President Truman’s desegregation orders were necessary
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed a pair of executive orders, the combination of which banned racial segregation in the armed forces and federal civil service.
Feb. 19, 2021
The Long Blue Line: Lt. j.g. Harvey Russell--African-American trailblazer in the U.S. Sea Services
Celebrating African American Heritage with the second African American who attended officer candidate school.