During World War II, African American and white soldiers who were bonded on the battlefield were divided at home. The US 12th Armored Division was one of only ten US divisions during World War II that had integrated combat companies.
Despite the overarching segregation in the military at the time, more than one million African Americans fought for the US Armed Forces on the homefront, in Europe, and in the Pacific.
After battling for freedom and defending democracy worldwide, African American soldiers returned home after the war only to find themselves faced with the existing prejudice and “Jim Crow” laws, which imposed “separate, but equal” segregation.
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