TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on Nov 14, 2023

In a landmark acknowledgement of past racism, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records on Monday announced it had overturned the court-martial convictions of 110 African American soldiers, including 19 who were executed, reports Reuters. The board found the court-martial cases were so fundamentally unfair that all the convictions should be set aside. The order restores their service records as having concluded honorably and will make their descendants eligible for military benefits, the Army said in a statement. The Army convictions arose out of the Houston Riots of Aug. 23, 1917, a violent outbreak that followed months of racist taunts against Black soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.