African Americans in Oklahoma Before 1954
Military
Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers
Ruben Rivers (Cherokee) was born in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, in 1921. His large family moved to Earlsboro in 1930, where he worked on the family farm and attended school. For a short period after high school, he worked on the railroad. Upon US entry into World War II, Rivers enlisted and was assigned to the 761st Tank Battalion under George S. Patton. In 1944, with Allied forces advancing through France, Rivers was in the lead tank and came upon German soldiers that had placed heavy roadblocks to prevent the tanks’ advance. In the face of enemy fire, he got out of his tank, attached a cable to the main barrier in the roadblock, and managed to tow the obstacle out of the way. He survived this assault, but about a week later, Rivers was killed in another attack he led.
Rivers would not receive this posthumous Medal of Honor until 1997. In 1993, a study had been conducted and concluded that Black service members had been discriminated against in the awarding of Medals of Honor. The report noted that, in 1993, no Medal of Honors had been awarded to Black service members for their service during World War 2. The selection of seven service members for Medals of Honor in 1997, which included Rivers, attempted to begin to address this discrimination.
Ruben Rivers (image courtesy Congressional Medal of Honor Society).
Brigadier General Roscoe “Rock” Conkin Cartwright
Brigadier General Roscoe “Rock” Conklin Cartwright was born in 1919 in Kansas but grew up in Tulsa, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School. He returned to Kansas to attend college but ran out of money. He worked around Tulsa until he was drafted into the US Army in 1941, receiving training at Fort Sill. He attended Officer Training School during this time and was commissioned a second lieutenant for the 599th Field Artillery Division. From there, he traveled with his unit and fought in Italy. At the end of the war, he transferred to the “regular” army and gained promotion to captain. He served in Korea and Vietnam, retiring from the military in 1971. He died tragically in a commercial airplane crash with his wife in 1974. Members of the US Army formed an organization called The ROCKS, Inc., that has grown into the largest professional military organization with a primarily African American membership.
Brigadier General Roscoe Cartwright (image courtesy Tulsa World).
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen served in a segregated US military during World War II. Generally, African Americans were given low-status support positions such as cooking and moving supplies. Some African Americans managed to be assigned to combat positions. Before World War II, the leadership in the military did not believe African Americans could be successful pilots. In 1940, bowing to pressure from Black Americans, Franklin Roosevelt included anti-discrimination language in the Selective Service Act and the War Department began a program to train African Americans in aviation, from ground crew to pilots. The location of this program was Tuskegee, Alabama. The Army Air Corps assigned the airmen to North Africa as the 99th Fighter Squadron and then the 332nd Fighter Group. They were led by Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first African American to attain the rank of brigadier general in the US Air Force. During the remainder of the war, they offered support for bombing runs in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe. The Tuskegee Airmen continued their service after the war as the military transitioned to a period of occupation. They were known as the “Redtails” because the tails of their airplanes were painted red.
Three airmen have connections to Oklahoma: Lieutenant Faythe A. McGinnis and Lieutenant Robert C. Smith of Muskogee, and Major Charles B. Hall, who settled in Oklahoma City after the war. McGinnis was the first casualty of the Tuskegee Airmen, tragically losing his life in 1942 on a training mission. In 1943, Charles Hall was the first Tuskegee Airman to shoot down an enemy plane. In 2016, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to all three men.
Faythe McGinnis (image courtesy CAF Rise Above).
Charles B. Hall in the cockpit (image courtesy CAF Rise Above).
