Mightier than the sword? The black press and the end of racial segregation in the U.S. military, 1948-1954

Although President Harry S. Truman ordered the integration of the U.S. military in 1948, the armed forces made limited progress in desegregating before the summer of 1950. The outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula that year forced the military to re-evaluate its policy of segregation and ultimately led the complete integration of all the armed forces.;This study analyzes how the largest and most influential black newspapers fought for military integration and how these publications reacted when it arrived. By examining how the black press sought to achieve its goals, this study illustrates the ways in which black newspapers did and did not operate as a dissident media source.