On July 26, 1948, with the stroke of a pen, President Harry S. Truman changed the course of American history. By signing Executive Order 9981, “Establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services,” Truman did what Congress would not: he desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces and signaled that Americans could no longer reconcile racial inequity with the values our nation had fought to uphold. Seventy-five years on, a three-day symposium in Washington, D.C., will commemorate the anniversary
of this watershed decision.

The Truman Civil Rights Symposium opens with a dramatic program featuring Rep. James E. Clyburn, and Judge Richard Gergel, United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and author of Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring, and, Dr. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress.

Register for the live stream event.
Due to limited seating, the in-person event is by invitation only.

This public program is offered in conjunction with the Truman Civil Rights Symposium, a three-day national commemoration honoring the 75th anniversary of President Truman’s executive order to desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, all events are offered free of charge. Learn more >