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African Americans participated in all the wars of the United States, serving their country and people. Military service offered them promotions in the economic, social, political, and military spheres. Thus, the participation of African-Americans must be understood in the context of the importance of racial issues that arose in the colonial era and shaped their unique expansion in the American armed forces.
During the colonial period, the northern colonies were much more willing to include African Americans in their militia than the southern colonies, which had a majority of slaves, although some used blacks as labor for militia expeditions. During the American Revolution, African-Americans served alongside in Lexington and Concord, and after the Revolutionary War, the new United States soon began accepting blacks into its ranks (Lamphear, 2017).
With the growing division and disenfranchisement of African Americans at the turn of the century, race became an issue in the United States. At the beginning of World War II, America turned increasingly to black powder when it needed more troops.
The person I chose to talk about is Sherian Grace Cadoria. She was the highest-ranking black woman in the army at the time of her retirement in 1990 with the rank of brigadier general. When Cherian Cadoria was promoted to this position, she became the highest-ranking African-American in the military and one of four female generals in the army. She was also the first woman to reach the rank of general, having passed through the military police in the traditionally male way, rather than through the nursing corps.
After high school, Sheridan entered Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she majored in business education. In the summer of 1960, she spent four weeks in the Women’s Army Corps training program in Marksville, Louisiana. The training was tough on Cadoria, but she admitted that she was fascinated by the lieutenant’s jobs. When she began her military career, she learned that there were restrictions on what was possible for African Americans in the military. For example, under Southern Jim Crow laws, a black officer could not pick up white soldiers from a base (Walton, 2017). However, this did not frighten Sherian at all; during the service, she faced more serious obstacles connected with discrimination based on race as well as gender.
Cadoria retired in 1990, having served her country faithfully. At the end of their service, she received such titles as General and then, Brigadier General (Lamphear, 2017). She also had military awards: the medal of the Supreme Commander of the Defense, the Legion of Honor, the Bronze Star with two clusters of oak leaves, the Identification badge of the General Staff of the Army, and many others.
Sheridan Grace Cadoria is an excellent example of an outstanding African-American serviceman in the U.S. Army. In today’s society, black women make up 30% of all women in the military, doubling their representation in the general population. The participation of African Americans in the U.S. armed forces has a long and distinguished history. However, it does not alleviate the issues connected with racism and discrimination. Although African-Americans were allowed to serve in all wars, they still faced hostility from both their countrymen and the enemy. Nevertheless, the U.S. military has achieved a certain level of success in this area that surpasses most civilian institutions.
Works Cited
Lamphear, John, editor. African Military History. Routledge, 2017.
Walton, Ben. Great Black War Fighters: Profiles in Service Revised Edition-2017. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, 2017.
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