Sergeant Isaac Woodard, Jr. was an American soldier and victim of racial violence. While returning home by bus from his service during World War II, he was attacked while still wearing his uniform in South Carolina. The attack left Woodard completely and permanently blind.

When Woodard’s story reached President Truman, he was horrified. He immediately took action, establishing the 1946 Commission on Civil Rights. Two years later he implemented Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, integrating the Federal Service and the Armed Services.

To read more about Sgt Woodard’s story and how his brutal attack sparked national outrage and galvanized the civil rights movement within the armed forces, click here.

During World War II, Rosa Parks worked at Maxwell Field guest house as a domestic worker. Her husband, Raymond Parks, worked as a barber on base through 1955. While on the integrated base, they were able to experience simple freedoms that were denied to them outside the gates of Maxwell. These freedoms included integrated transportation, dining facilities, and entertainment venues.

Her experiences at Maxwell left an impression on her and she had this to say about her time on base:
“I could ride on an integrated trolley on the base but when I left the base, I had to ride home on a segregated bus… You might just say Maxwell opened my eyes up. It was an alternative reality to the ugly racial policies of Jim Crow.”

To learn more about Rosa Parks and others who served during the Civil Rights Movement, visit Maxwell and the Civil Rights Movement.

While stationed at Douglas Army Air Field in southern Arizona during World War II, Corporal Lena Derriecott King and several WAC officers learned a hard lesson about segregation in the U.S. military. While attending a base movie theater, Cpl King and her fellow WACs were asked to sit in a corner designated for the African American troops. One of the officers attending with King was Lieutenant Anna Mac Clarke, the chief WAC, who demanded to speak to the colonel in charge to ask why they were being forced to move. Lt. Clarke told the commander of the base “If you’re going to treat us like second-hand citizens,” Clarke continued, “I’ll pull my unit out of here. We came here to help and we expect to be respected.”

The stand made by them left an impression on the commander of the base and the next day it was announced that the theater would no longer be segregated, nor would the bowling alley and cafeteria.

Read more about Cpl King and Lt Clarke stories, click here.

After the Second World War Airmen from Maxwell challenged Montgomery’s system of segregated seating on city buses – this included blacks purposely sitting at the front and whites sitting in the back. In June of 1949 several African-American Airmen boarded the bus leaving base attempting to integrate the seating but were threatened with arrest and then disciplined by their commander. During the 1955-56 Bus Boycott, three airmen – Alfred Ellis, Otis A. Carlton, and Booker T. Holmes – were indicted and arrested for their role in providing transportation to the community. Realizing the sensitive nature of arresting active-duty service members, the city dropped charges against the Airmen before the trial began.

To learn more about those who served during the Civil Rights Movement, visit Maxwell and the Civil Rights Movement.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of primarily African American aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps. The Tuskegee Airmen proved why black military members deserved equal opportunities.

To read how the Tuskegee Airmen's role in integration, see the book The Air Force Integrates, 1945-1964.

The Tuskegee Airmen were not the only ones making history at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee, Alabama, during the 1940s. The nurses who served on the base had to fight gender as well as racial discrimination. On March 29th, 1942, the first five nurses arrived at Tuskegee Army Air Field to begin their duty at the station hospital located at the famous airfield. Led by Lieutenant Della Raney, these women served alongside the pilot cadets who would later be known as the Tuskegee Airmen, where they fought discrimination, and served their country proudly.

To learn more about the trailblazing service of the Tuskegee Nurses, view AUL's Diversity and Inclusion Series Program: A Conversation with Pia Jordan: Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Tuskegee Nurses.

The Six Triple Eight battalion was the only predominantly black female unit that served overseas during WWII. The unit resolved a growing mail crisis during the war by ensuring American troops received their letters and packages from home.

Charity Earley, the commanding officer for the 6888th once said, "The members of the Six Triple Eight fought in World War II on many fronts. One, the prejudice of males against females; two, the prejudice of white against blacks; three, the prejudice of natives against foreigners; four, organizational prejudices brought from home; and five, the common enemy we all fought."

Romay Davis and other members of the Six Triple Eight have been bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of their trailblazing service to their country.

To read more about Romay Davis and the service of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, click here.

A. Philip Randolph was a trailblazing civil rights leader who championed equitable labor rights for African American communities. In 1925, he established the nation’s first black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. In 1941, Randolph called for a March on Washington Movement to pressure the U.S. government into providing fair working opportunities for African Americans and desegregating the armed forces. The march never took place because later that same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued EO 8802 banning discriminatory employment practices by federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. And in 1948, Randolph pressured President Truman to issue an executive order banning Jim Crowism towards black military service members and to officially integrate the armed forces. One month later President Truman issued EO 9980 and EO9981 desegregating the federal workforce and armed forces.

To read more about A. Philip Randolph and his call to March on Washington in 1941, please click here.