Desegregation in the United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) is a desegregated force , made up of troops of all races working and fighting alongside each other . In 1776 and 1777 , a dozen Black American Marines served in the American Revolutionary War , but from 1798 to 1942 , the USMC followed a racially discriminatory policy of denying African Americans the opportunity to serve as Marines . For more than 140 years , the Marines recruited primarily European Americans and white Hispanics , along with a few Asian Americans . The USMC opened its doors to blacks in June 1942 , with the acceptance of African Americans as recruits in segregated all - black units . Other races were accepted somewhat more easily , joining white Marine units . For the next few decades , the incorporation of black troops was not widely accepted within the Corps , nor was desegregation smoothly or quickly achieved . Spurred by executive orders in 1941 and 1948 , the integration of non - white USMC personnel proceeded in stages from segregated battalions in 1942 , to unified training in 1949 , and finally full integration in 1960 . By 2006 , approximately 20 % of the USMC was Black American and 15 – 18 % Hispanic ; more than the 30 to 31 % of the U . S . ratio of minorities in the general population . History . Background . In America , blacks fought alongside whites in the Continental Army against Great Britain , and in every war up to the War of 1812 . The first black American to fight in a Marine role was John Martin , also known as Keto , the slave of a Delaware man , recruited in April 1776 without his owner ' s permission by Captain of the Marines Miles Pennington of the Continental brig USS " Reprisal " . Martin served with the Marine platoon on the " Reprisal " for a year and a half , involved in hard ship - to - ship fighting , but was lost with the rest of his unit when the brig sank in October 1777 . At least 12 other black men served with various American Marine units in 1776 – 1777 ; more may have been in service but not identified as blacks in the records . However , in 1798 when the Marine Corps was officially re - instituted , Secretary of War James McHenry specified in its rules : " No Negro , Mulatto or Indian to be enlisted " . Marine Commandant William Ward Burrows instructed his recruiters regarding USMC racial policy , " You can make use of Blacks and Mulattoes while you recruit , but you cannot enlist them . " This policy was in line with long - standing British naval practice which set a higher standard of unit cohesion for Marines so that they would remain loyal , maintain shipboard discipline and help put down mutinies . In the United States Civil War , some 180 , 000 African Americans joined the Union Army and mostly served in support roles as teamsters , laborers , construction workers and cooks . Some fought the Confederate Army under European American officers in segregated units . In later conflicts , the United States Army used black soldiers in the Spanish – American War and in World War I . However , when the United States Army Air Service was formed , only white people were allowed . Mexican Americans served in World War I integrated with European Americans in all of the service arms . The United States Navy used black sailors as cooks , stewards , construction workers and unskilled labor , but did not train them to fight . The Marine Corps , being a combat arm of the Navy , did not recruit any black soldiers . Instead , the USMC was serviced by US Navy supply personnel including black laborers . Unlike the US Army which had separate regiments that a soldier could remain in for his entire military career , Marines were individually transferred to various ship ' s detachments and naval bases . After World War I , the number of blacks in both the Navy and the Army was reduced to about 1 . 5 % of the total number of active servicemen , a proportion much lower than the number of blacks in the general population . Franklin Roosevelt administration . During the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt , the growing political power of African Americans was increasingly felt in Washington , DC . Civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) , the National Urban League , and the National Negro Congress called for greater equality between the races . In 1938 , the Committee on Participation of Negroes in the National Defense Program was formed by the " Pittsburgh Courier " , a newspaper with a large black readership . Further calls to increase the proportion of blacks in the military were published in 1939 . After wars broke out in the late 1930s in Africa , China and Europe , black community leaders determined to use the black workforce ' s loyalty as leverage to gain greater racial equality at home . In June 1940 , the NAACP ' s magazine , " The Crisis " , published a declaration that the fighting around the world was certainly bad , " but the hysterical cries of the preachers of democracy for Europe leave us cold . We want democracy in Alabama , Arkansas , in Mississippi and Michigan , in the District of Columbia , in the Senate of the United States . " During the 1940 presidential election , both parties courted the black vote . Incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was re - elected , partly because substantial numbers of black voters crossed previous party lines and voted for the Democratic Party candidate . In April 1941 the US Navy convened its General Board to discuss expansion of the USMC . Major General Thomas Holcomb , Commandant of the Marines , who lived in Delaware and Washington , DC in his early years and attended private schools , said that African Americans had no right to serve as Marines . He said , " If it were a question of having a Marine Corps of 5 , 000 whites or 250 , 000 Negroes , I would rather have the whites . " In 1941 , civil rights activists Bayard Rustin , A . Philip Randolph , and A . J . Muste pushed Roosevelt to order fair employment for blacks in the federal government . The activists threatened to march on Washington , DC , in July 1941 , and Roosevelt intended to prevent such a public relations disaster for his presidency . On June 25 , 1941 , Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 ; the elimination of racial discrimination from federal departments , agencies , the military , and from private defense contractors . The black activists cancelled their planned march . Directed by Roosevelt and US Navy Secretary Frank Knox to accept black recruits , Holcomb proposed a separate battalion of African Americans , a seacoast defense battalion armed with anti - aircraft and anti - shipping artillery . To make this battalion self - supporting , Holcomb determined that it would contain a rifle company , special weapons platoons , and a light tank platoon — all manned by black Marines . World War II . In early 1942 , Philip Johnston , a U . S . Army veteran of World War I , suggested to the USMC that they follow the example of the Army and recruit native speakers of the Navajo language to pass important tactical messages by radio , to serve as code talkers on the battlefield . On May 5 , 1942 , the first group of 29 Navajo recruits was accepted at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego . From 1942 to 1945 , some 375 to 420 Navajo trained as code talkers , part of about 540 Marines who were native Navajo speakers during World War II . All of these soldiers served in desegregated units alongside Marines of various races . A total of 874 Native Americans of various tribes served in the USMC in World War II . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , men of Japanese birth and descent were classified as enemy aliens and excluded from the United States draft . In addition , on the US mainland , the federal government forced most ethnic Japanese Americans to relocate from Pacific coastal areas to internment camps located inland of the Pacific and controlled by armed guards . It was not until 1944 that a fighting unit of Japanese - American Nisei ( American - born ) men were recruited and trained for military service . Japanese Americans were allowed to join only the Army , not the Navy , Marines or Air Corps . The 442nd Infantry Regiment , consisting primarily of Japanese Americans , fought in Europe . The USMC did not form battalions of Asian Americans . Rather , it integrated Asian - American recruits with European - American soldiers . The first Chinese American USMC officer , Wilbur Carl Sze , was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1943 . In contemporary times , proportionately fewer Asian Americans join the U . S . military than appear in the U . S . general population . On June 1 , 1942 , the initial group of black USMC recruits was admitted , but they were not immediately trained because separate , segregated facilities had not been completed . Black volunteers began their basic training in August at Montford Point in North Carolina , a satellite base to Marine Barracks , New River , later called Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune . The first black recruit to arrive in camp was Howard P . Perry on August 26 , followed that day by 12 others . These and subsequent recruits were organized into the 51st Composite Defense Battalion , a static artillery unit intended to hold land against attack . By October 29 , only 647 of a planned 1 , 200 recruits had passed entrance examinations — to avoid forming segregated training units to teach typing , truck driving and other specialist skills necessary to run the battalion , Holcomb required more than half of the recruits to demonstrate proficiency in these skills prior to acceptance . This requirement was dropped in view of the delay it caused in bringing the battalion up to strength . Recruits were taught specialist skills by white USMC instructors brought into Montford Point , or they were sent to nearby Army classes . The black recruits were not allowed in Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white Marine , and their service papers were stamped " Colored " . Although the U . S . was by this time fully engaged in war , the recruits were assigned to inactive duty in the Marine Corps Reserve . Their units were segregated — all the enlisted servicemen were black , with white officers and drill instructor s . The commander of the black Marines at Montford Point was Samuel A . Woods Jr who worked to enforce segregation , protecting his troops from being detained by local authorities while they were visiting town . By early 1943 , the white drill instructors were leaving for war and were being replaced by black sergeants and corporals . After accepting more black recruits , the USMC formed the 52nd Defense Battalion . Both the 51st and 52nd shipped out to fight in the Pacific War , but as defense units holding land far behind the front lines they did not see much action . In total , 19 , 168 African Americans joined the Marines , about 4 % of the USMC ' s strength ; some 75 % of them performed their duties overseas . About 8 , 000 black USMC stevedores and ammunition handlers served under enemy fire during offensive operations in the Pacific . Following the June 1944 Battle of Saipan , USMC General Alexander Vandegrift said of the steadfast performance of the all - black 3d Marine Ammunition Company : " The Negro Marines are no longer on trial . They are Marines , period . " 1948 to 1960 . After World War II , the USMC reduced in size ; the number of African - American Marines dropped to 2 , 000 men , which was one - tenth of wartime levels . In 1947 , the Marine Corps forced African - American men to choose between leaving the service or becoming a steward ( a food service position ) . A few non - white Marines advanced in grade , such as Kurt Chew - Een Lee , a Chinese - American soldier who was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1946 . Lee earned the Navy Cross under fire in Korea in September 1950 , serving in the 1st Battalion 7th Marines ; at the time this was a primarily Euro - American unit . On July 26 , 1948 , President Harry S . Truman issued Executive Order 9981 establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the U . S . military regardless of race . He appointed the President ' s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services , two of whose five members were African American . In January 1949 , the Fahy Committee ( nicknamed after its chairman ) met to hear concerns by armed forces ' leaders about the new executive order , and both the Army and the Marine Corps leadership defended their practices of segregation . The Navy and the newly formed United States Air Force announced their intentions to follow the order . The USMC said that it had only one black officer among 8 , 200 white ones . In late 1949 , all - black USMC units persisted , but the Marines had black and white recruits beginning to train together . The few black USMC officers were assigned exclusively to black units ; they were not asked to lead white Marines into combat . In 1952 after two years of the Korean War , the Marines cautiously integrated blacks into combat units . In the late 1950s , black Marines were not rewarded with preferred or high - visibility assignments , such as embassy guard duty and guard duty in the nation ' s capital . By 1960 , full integration of the races had been completed by the USMC , but racial tensions flared up through the next decade , a period of civil rights activism in the larger society . Representation in other media . In May 2011 , The Black Rep of Saint Louis , Missouri gave the world premier of " The Montford Point Marine " , a new play by Samm - Art Williams about a veteran of the unit and his life after his groundbreaking training and service in Korea .