"With a Stroke of a Pen": Executive Order 9981 in American Memory

Abstract

Abstract: On July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump banned transgender personnel from serving in the military via Twitter. This blow to civil rights did not happen on a random date. Sixty-nine years earlier, President Harry Truman had issued Executive Order 9981 which, according to public memory, ended racial segregation in the American military "with a stroke of a pen." This article takes a closer look at how Truman's federal directive has been remembered and commemorated since its passage. By analyzing newspaper articles and speeches, it reveals the exclusion of Black activism as well as the overemphasis on presidential leadership and resolve.