War Manpower Commission pamphlet, RG 220, Truman Library. Scan by author.

A. Philip Randolph, OWI photo by Gordon Parks, LC-USW3-011696-C, Library of Congress.

A. Philip Randolph, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-119496, by Ed Ford, NYWT&S Collection.

Thurgood Marshall by Thomas J. O'Halloran, LC-U9-1027B-11, Library of Congress.

African American soldiers on patrol somewhere in Europe during World War II. US Army Signal Corps, LC-USZ62-133628, Library of Congress.

African American nurses in England, US Army Signal Corps, LC-USZ62-119985, Library of Congress.

Mary McLeod Bethune at a luncheon at the First WAC Training Center, Fort Des Moines, Iowa, with Captain Dovey M. Johnson on the right. During World War II, Mary McLeod Bethune served as special assistant to the secretary of war for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. OWI photo, LC-USZ62-132477, Library of Congress.

Harry Truman penned his first thoughts about race on his family's farm in Grandview, Missouri. Pictured from left to right Martha Ellen Truman, Harriet Young, and Harry Truman, Truman Library.

Harry Truman in his World War I military uniform, Truman Library.

Harry Truman delivering his kick-off 1940 Senate reelection campaign speech in Sedalia, Missouri, June 16, 1940, Truman Library.

Harry Truman at the 1944 Democratic National Convention, where he received the Vice Presidential Nomination, Truman Library.

W.E.B. Du Bois by Cornelius M. Battey, LC-USZ62-16767, Library of Congress.

Circular No. 124, which guided the utilization of black soldiers in the military up to 1950 when it was revised to reflect Harry Truman's Executive Order 9981. RG 220, Truman Library. Scan by author.

Paul Robeson by Gordon Parks, LC-USF34-013481-C, Library of Congress.

Harry Truman receiving A Program for National Security from the President's Advisory Commission on Universal Training. Anna Rosenberg is pictured third from the right and Truman Gibson is second from the right. Truman Library.

Harry Truman addressing the NAACP on June 29, 1947. Photo by Abbie Rowe, National Park Service, Truman Library.

Howard Uriah Omohundro's reaction to Harry Truman's push for civil rights, October 5, 1948. OF 596-A, Truman Library. Scan by author.

The family of Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton who came to accept posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions that he had taken in the Korean War. Cornelius's father, Van, is pictured second from the left and Army Secretary Frank C. Pace, Jr. is in the center. Truman Library.

Two African American soldiers engaged in combat during the Korean War, Truman Library.

An African American soldier takes a break from his duties during the Korean War to eat, Truman Library.