Justice Reclaimed: US Army Overturns 1917 Convictions of Black Soldiers
In a historic move, the United States Army has overturned the convictions of 110 black soldiers involved in the 1917 Houston riot. These convictions for murder, mutiny, and assault, set aside by Deputy Secretary of the Army Michael Mahoney, address a century-old injustice stemming from a volatile period marked by racial tensions.
The soldiers, stationed at Camp Logan, were tasked with guarding the base after the U.S. declared war against Germany in 1917. The situation escalated on August 23, 1917, when a confrontation with local white residents led to violence, resulting in the deaths of 17 people, including five police officers. The incident began when law enforcement arrested a soldier for allegedly interfering with the arrest of a black woman, triggering a series of events that included the head injury of Cpl. Charles Baltimore and a subsequent armed march by over 150 black soldiers towards Houston city limits.
The context of these events, occurring during the Jim Crow era and not long after the abolition of slavery, raises questions about the fairness and racial bias in the treatment of these soldiers. Jason Holt, an attorney and descendant of one of the soldiers, highlighted the questionable nature of the proceedings.
Following the riot, three courts-martial indicted 118 men, leading to the execution of at least 19 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment. The recent decision to overturn these convictions, a century later, is a significant step towards acknowledging and rectifying past injustices. A ceremony at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum will honor the legacy of these soldiers, and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth’s decision will enable their families to become eligible for benefits. As Angela Holder, a relative of Cpl. Jesse Moore, expressed, this action cannot bring back those lost but offers a sense of peace and closure to their families and communities.
