Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

To support historical work like this, join me on Patreon: patreon.com/williamcfox ★

Features: Associate Professor of History and African American Studies at Duke University, Adriane Lenzt-Smith, A.J. Baime, New York Times Bestselling Author, and Clifton Truman Daniel, honorary Chairman of the Truman Library Association and eldest grandson of Harry Truman

★ Access exclusive original content and support your favorite creators. nebula.tv/exploringhistory

Social Media ▼
Twitter➜ @williamcfox
Instagram➜ @williamcfox
TikTok ➜ @williamcfox

1. The Accidental President amzn.to/47dRBA3
2. Dewey Defeats Truman amzn.to/43C7WeH
3. David McCullough. Truman. amzn.to/3JLHxnD
4. Truman Library. “Use of the Period After the "S" in Harry S....”
5. Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I amzn.to/3DiQeSw
6. Growing up with my grandfather by Clifton Truman Daniel 1995 amzn.to/3PTVSlH
7. Lyndon Johnson was a civil rights hero.... 2014 NBC Adam Serwer
8. Special Message to the Congress on Civil Rights. Harry S Truman. Yale
9. “The Civil Rights Report behind President...” Steven F. Lawson, Rutgers
10. Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truma, Ernie Roberts
11. “The World’s Experience After fighting for dem…” Adriane Lentz-Smith
12. “Jim Crow Shell Shock: African Americans…”- Adriane Lentz-Smith
13. To Secure These Rights Steven F. Lawson, Rutgers University
14. Truman and the NAACP. Accessed through JSTOR
15. “Saving Sergeant Caldwell,” Harvard Press, Racism in America
16. “Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac…” amzn.to/3Y5Ukr5
17. 1950 “Freedom to Serve” Equality of Treatment ...
18. PBS American Experience. 2021 The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Additional References:
Records of the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services (Record Group 220)
To Secure These Rights. The Report of the President's Committee on Civil Rights
Freedom to Serve Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services
Truman's Bold Strides for Civil Rights By Richard Gergel
PBS American Experience. MARCH 30, 2021 The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Thank you Truman Library Institute for help in procuring the interviews. If you'd like to join the celebrations in DC:
Truman Civil Rights Symposium will be held July 26-27 in Washington D.C. to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces.
REGISTER FOR IN PERSON EVENTS: 12130.thankyou4caring.org/events/to-secure-these-rights-in-person-events
REGISTER FOR THE LIVESTREAM: 12130.thankyou4caring.org/events/to-secure-these-rights-livestream
More info can be found here: trumanlibraryinstitute.org/civil-rights-symposium

00:00-5:12 Intro
5:13-7:36 The Quest & Early Life
7:37-15:37 White House - Awakening
15:38-18:39 The First Moves
18:40-26:10 Rebellion & the EOs
26:11-32:36 Flip the Narrative
32:37-35:51 WWI
35:52-38:53 Conclusion

Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images.