Equality or Discrimination? African Americans in the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War

Equality or Discrimination? strives to close the gap in existing literature and address the often-neglected field of research on the discrimination of African Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Despite the awakened interest of academics, authors, artists, and experts from a multitude of fields and the vast selection of literature on the Vietnam War and its veterans, African Americans have received little attention until now. Based on initial findings, Dr. Kimbrough analyzes key issues including whether or not African Americans experienced racial discrimination while serving. The study also focuses on whether the Vietnam War was indeed the first fully integrated conflict in which the U.S. attempted to engage in militarily without racial division.The findings contradict the traditional image of equality in the U.S. Armed Forces and provide the basis for the dissertation. Proving that soldiers in the Vietnam War were NOT treated equally, Dr. Kimbrough argues that African Americans experienced various forms of discrimination during a tumultuous time in U.S. history in which the opposite treatment of its soldiers was required.

Natalie Kimbrough is an Assistant Professor in History at the Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, in Baltimore, MD.