The 380,000 Black veterans of The Great War were targets of hate crimes during The Red Summer of 1919, including race riots & illegal public hangings. There were 25 race riots, and nearly 100 mob hangings. Four were killed in a GA. church, DC papers ran fake news about rapes

"At a high point of the mayhem, one Washington newspaper reported that the city had 'passed through its wildest and bloodiest night since Civil War times.'" These veterans should be recognized every Memorial Day

Pres. Wilson refused to act in response to these hate crimes against Black veterans, even those attacked in his city. He screened "Birth Of A Nation" in the WH. It became common practice in the U.S. to jump uniformed Black men in bus or train depots for decades

WW II & Korea Sgt. Medgar Evers was killed outside his home by a sniper hiding next to his driveway, who was not adult enough to confront him face-to-face concerning his disagreement Evers had a right to vote

Lt Col. Lemuel Penn was driving home from Ft. Benning to DC w/ two fellow reserves when three terrorists noticed their DC plates, followed them, & shot Penn to death on a bridge near GA's Rte. 172

Staff Sgt. Hosea Williams spent a month in a European hospital after a Nazi bombing. When he returned "home" he was beaten to what they assumed was death, by a group of terrorists for allegedly drinking out of a segregated water fountain @ a bus depot. En route to the funeral...

...home the hearse driver noticed Staff Sgt. Williams had a faint pulse. The nearby hospitals were Jim Crow, so he was driven 100 miles to a V.A. hospital. Williams organized the 1st attempt @ a march fr. Selma-Montgomery

Dr. King's chief aide Bernard Lee served in the USAF during the Korean Conflict. On May 24, 1961 Lee & other Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, MS for disturbing the peace (really riding a Greyhound bus to test interstate laws of physical distancing against the Negro)

Aaron Henry, a WW II vet, founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party & the Council of Federated Organizations. He & Amzie Moore (WW II vet) founded the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. It was the MFDP who challenged the MS delegation @ '64 DNC convention in Atl. City

Private Robert Williams of Monroe, NC served in the segregated Marines during WW II. In '57 he worked to end physical distancing laws which prevented tax paying Blacks in Monroe fr. using the public library & public swimming pools. Monroe had 7,500 KKK in a town of 12,000

Monroe applied for a rifle club charter w/ the NRA, since, you know, the 2A. When they heard the home of a physician was going to be attacked, they defended it, & were shot @ by terrorists. Williams & the NAACP defended a seven & a nine yr old Black boy who were jailed because...

...a little white girl kissed them. Nationwide canceled Williams' car insurance. Williams once protected a white couple in his home who had driven into Monroe during a period some streets were blocked as protests were taking place @ the courthouse. He was accused of kidnapping

In 1962 Private Williams wrote "Negroes With Guns", which was widely influential. In July, 1946 Sgt. Medgar Evers led 20 Black vets to vote in a primary in Decatur, MS. He was 21. An armed group of whites confronted them- Evers' group went home to gather their own weapons

First Sgt. Whitney Young trained in electrical engineering @ MIT. He was assigned a Black road crew supervised by white Southern officers. He mediated tensions between the groups. In 1961 he was named director of the Urban League

In July 1944 @ Ft. Hood, Lt. Jackie Robinson was ordered to move to the back of a military bus after sitting next to a Black woman the driver assumed white. A ruckus ensued that is described here, & led to a court martial: https://timeline.com/jackie-robinson-wouldnt-go-to-the-back-of-the-bus-bd637b346c3f

Sgt. Medgar Evers is interred @ Arlington National Cemetary. So is Joe Louis (the sergeant who lobbied f/ Jackie Robinson to get into Officers' Candidate School)