EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 AT 70: WHAT INTEGRATION MEANS FOR TODAY’S MILITARY

We are better than we were, in that our communities [and individuals] are more integrated, but not necessarily totally so

This podcast is the second of two commemorating the seventieth anniversary of EO 9981 and its influence over the U.S. armed forces today. WAR ROOM welcomes Brigadier General Earl Simms, U.S. Army Retired, whose thirty-three year career culminated as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute. BG Simms relays his experiences as an African-American officer in the early days of integration and his perspectives on the state of race relations in the U.S. military and society today. Army War College Professor of Leadership and Cultural Studies Chuck Allen moderates.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Blubrry | Podchaser | Podcast Index | TuneIn | Deezer | Youtube Music | RSS | Subscribe to A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

Brigadier General Earl Simms, U.S. Army Retired, culminated his career as Commanding General, U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute. Charles Allen is Professor of Leadership and Cultural Studies at the U.S. Army War College. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.

Photo: Air Force Colonel Fred Vann Cherry attends the unveiling of his portrait in the Pentagon, 1981. Col. Cherry was a colonel and command pilot in the U.S. Air Force. A career fighter pilot, he served in the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Col. Cherry was also the first and highest ranking black officer among U.S. Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War.

Photo Credit: National Archives Photo by Mickey W. Sanborn, public domain

Other posts in the “Anniversaries” series:

• MAY DAYS: OR CELEBRATING A BETTER PEACE AFTER V-E DAY
• OUR 300^th FREAKIN’ EPISODE!
• EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 AT 70: WHAT INTEGRATION MEANS FOR TODAY’S MILITARY (RE-RELEASE)
• EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 AT 70: DESEGREGATING THE ARMED FORCES (RE-RELEASE)
• THE DODO’S PROBLEM (AND THE REASON FOR WAR ROOM) – THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY
• EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 AT 70: WHAT INTEGRATION MEANS FOR TODAY’S MILITARY
• EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 AT 70: DESEGREGATING THE ARMED FORCES
• LOOKING TO THE PAST TO CHANGE THE FUTURE
• REMEMBERING THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
• A ZOMBIE ALLIANCE OR ALLIANCE AGAINST ZOMBIES? NATO AT 70 YEARS