Wednesday American History Open Comments

United States Army 2nd Lieutenant Jack Roosevelt Robinson

After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into World War II, the nation required an unprecedented level of contribution from its citizens for its defense. President Roosevelt ordered that black men should register for the draft, but conceding to certain prevailing social norms, decided that the military would remain racially segregated.* On April 3, 1942, Robinson was drafted into the Army. He reported for military duty at an induction center in Los Angeles and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. Thus, Jackie Robinson became one of the 1.2 million African American men who served in World War II.

Initially, Robinson was assigned to a cavalry unit at Fort Riley. Soon after, he applied to Officer Candidate School (OCS), having all of the necessary qualifications to enroll. Official Army policy allowed for black officers to be trained in integrated facilities, but few had yet gained access. Robinson’s application was rejected and he was told, off the record, that blacks lacked the leadership ability to become officers. Undaunted, Robinson appealed to a higher power—heavyweight boxing champion of the world Joe Louis, also stationed at Fort Riley at the time. Louis arranged a meeting with Truman Gibson, the assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of Defense, and within a few days Robinson was enrolled in OCS. Upon completion of training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and was appointed acting morale officer for a company at Fort Riley.

and eventually…

On July 6, 1944, Robinson traveled from McCloskey to Camp Hood’s colored officers’ club to socialize with friends. Some hours later, he hopped on an Army shuttle bus near the club to return to the hospital. He recognized Virginia Jones, the wife of a fellow African American lieutenant from the battalion, sitting in a middle row. He sat down next to her and the two chatted. After a few blocks, the bus driver peered back at them and, seeing a black officer sitting in the middle of the bus next to a woman he presumed to be white, yelled “Get to the back of the bus.”

events then twisted in the ugly fashion only raw racism can wrought…

The climactic moment of Robinson’s defense came during the cross-examination of Pfc. Mucklerath, however. During the prosecution’s questioning, Mucklerath testified that he had never used a racial epithet referring to Robinson. Now defense counsel asked him if he remembered Robinson saying that if he “ever called him a n—– again he would break [Mucklerath] in two?” He responded that he did remember this. Counsel then asked him why Robinson would make such a statement if Mucklerath had not used this slur as he had earlier testified. He had no answer.

and,

After four and a half hours of testimony, the court-martial tribunal composed of nine Army officers acquitted 2nd Lt. Robinson on all charges. Three years later, Robinson became one of the most famous athletes in history when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, racially integrating Major League Baseball for the first time. Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. notes of this accomplishment: “It is so easy for us to underestimate the enormous significance, both symbolically and politically, of Jackie Robinson’s integration of Major League Baseball. . . .