Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative James E (Jim) Clyburn (6th District of South Carolina)
Mr. Speaker,
We have come to the floor today to pay homage to the Black men and women of our armed forces whose service and sacrifices have far too often unrecognized and underappreciated. And to make matters worse, they have often been denied their proper benefits as veterans who have proudly served our nation. There has been no war fought by or within the United States in which Blacks did not participate.
The men and women who we are honoring tonight, as we commemorate the 100th year of celebrating Black History, made memorable and consequential contributions to the greatness of this country, and it should not be insulting to any red-blooded to hear about them, read about them, and learn about them in the same manner that we learn about others whose contributions were similar but their skin color made more worthy.
When we hear the story of the American Revolution, we don’t often learn of Crispus Attucks. Significant Black figures in the military, like Attucks, paved the way for America’s final victory in the war for independence.
In 1770, Crispus Attucks, a Black man, became the first casualty of the American Revolution, when he was shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre.
Debated as a hero or a violent instigator, his murder stirred the revolutionary fervor and America’s fight for its liberation from the British.
The life of Crispus Attucks is far less documented than his death. Crispus escaped from slavery in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1750, and spent two decades on trading ships and whaling vessels. His death continues to serve as a reminder that African Americans took an active role in the path to American independence, not a passive one, and the first death in the American Revolution, belonged to a Black man.
In his 1994 book, We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King, Jr. pays homage to Attucks for his courage and defining role in our textbooks. Why don’t our textbooks?
In his 1881 autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglas, he said, “I urged every man who could to enlist to get an eagle on his button, a musket on his shoulder, the star-spangled banner over his head, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States…”
Douglas believed the Civil War offered the Black soldier an opportunity to gain his stripes, but he could not convince his friend President Abraham Lincoln to allow Blacks to serve. But in August 1862, a formerly enslaved Black man from South Carolina came here to Wahington and convinced Lincoln to allow Blacks to serve. History records that 170,000 Blacks joined the Union Army and 19,000 joined the Union Navy, and 40,000 died. Smalls became a Captain in that Navy, participated in 18 battles and was the only genuine hero of the Civil War. And in my not so humble opinion, the most consequential South Carolinian who ever lived.
In 1865, Abraham Lincoln acknowledged their value saying, “Without the military help of the Black freedman, the war would have been won.”
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the U.S. armed forces, flying over 15,000 combat missions that played a vital role in the Allied victory in WWII. Instead of being defined by the discrimination and the doubts of those around them, they became one of the most successful pursuit squadrons in our military. They went on to embody the true meaning of Black excellence.
They left a segregated country to fight in war, and painfully returned to one that was still segregated. They had movies made about them, but were not give their GI benefits.
On July 26, 1948 – President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed forces. Truman declared, “There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”
Many servicemen wrote to President Truman – perhaps the most pivotal letter written to President Truman came from Isaac Woodard, Jr., a World War II veteran who, hours after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, was dragged off a bus and beaten until blind by police in Batesburg, South Carolina.
In response to Woodward’s letter, President Truman declared, “When a Mayor and City Marshal can take a Negro Sergeant off a bus in South Carolina, beat him up and put out one of his eyes, and nothing is done about it by the State authorities, something is radically wrong with the system.”
In January 2025, President Trump made the decision to stop teaching Air Force recruits about the Tuskegee Airmen in the name of banning DEI initiatives.
Black soldiers returning home from World War II found themselves facing the same socioeconomic and racial discrimination they had faced before. Instead of being welcomed with open arms, they struggled to find jobs, get educated, and purchase homes.
We cannot undo the injustices of our past. But we can begin to restore the possibility of full economic mobility for those that the original G.I. Bill left behind. The G.I. Bill Restoration Act would bring us one step closer to that goal.
America can’t change what happened to these Black soldiers. We can’t change what happened to too many soldiers like Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. who went uncelebrated because our nation judged them by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. But we can do our best to make it right. And that begins with passing my legislation that I co-lead with Congressman Seth Moulton – the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox G.I. Bill Restoration Act.
Just two years after Truman issued his Executive Order desegregating the Armed Forces – the Korean War put Truman’s Executive Order into action and was greeted with resistance. Truman’s 1948 executive order inspired many Black men to join, believing the military would provide an equality of opportunity the greater American society lacked.
It was in the Korean War, that African Americans were able to serve shoulder to shoulder with soldiers of all races and backgrounds for the first time. A message resounded throughout the nation – if people of different races could serve as comrades in combat abroad, they could live as neighbors at home.
The quest for racial equality extended far past the barracks or on the battlefield – but that same quest for racial equality returned home with Black soldiers.
At just the age of seventeen, Charlie Rangel left school and joined the Army to help his mother support his family. Soon after his enlistment in 1948, he deployed to Korea for what he thought was a police action but soon realized it was a full scale war. With a fighting spirit, he found himself in combat during the Korean War and risked his life to rescue 40 soldiers from behind enemy lines.
Returning home to Harlem, NY, Rangel was first elected to Congress in 1970 and would go on to serve 23 terms in this body. For it not for Mr. Rangel – we would not be here today. Mr. Rangel is the proud co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Today, America is faced with a turbulent reality as the Trump administration is still trying to purge our U.S. Armed Forces of Black officers, diversity, and honoring Black history.
In February 2025, President Donald Trump fired General Charles “CQ” Brown, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The words Trump used to justify his firing, like “woke” and “DEI” — we know what they mean. He was the Air Force’s first Black commander of the Pacific Air Forces, and later its first Black Chief of Staff, making him the first African American to lead any branch of the U.S. military. Why would they apply the term “woke” to him?
In March 2025, Arlington National Cemetery erased from its website educational materials about the history of Black service members, including the Tuskegee Airmen and even General Colin Powell, the first Black Joint Chiefs chairman.
Let me clear — the White House and the so-called “Department of War” appear determined to undermine, discredit, and even erase the evidence of Black patriotism and Black servicemembers who have faithfully served our nation.
Against this backdrop, we must remain vigilant against these attacks on Black servicemembers and veterans, recognize their valor and sacrifice, and work diligently to offer them the promise of this country that they deserve.
In all too many instances, Black veterans have had to fight for equal access to benefits and respect upon returning home. Black veterans have struggled and died in a dual battle: fighting abroad in defense of country and fighting at home for opportunity, change, and their rights as American citizens.
Millions of Black Americans have answered the call to “serve and protect” the American people from all threats, both foreign and domestic. Today, 350,000 Black men and women serve in the U.S. military and there are over 2.4 million Black veterans.
Thank you, and I will now yield to my colleague – the gentlewoman of Ohio, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty.