"Negro Share of Battle Deaths Has Declined Slightly to 13.7%."
New York Times, October 13, 1968, p. 18.
This article reports on the percentages of African-Americans killed in Vietnam to the total
number of deaths in the conflict as well as the percentage of African-Americans serving in
the armed forces to the number of armed forces as a whole. The Pentagon began keeping these
statistics "after some Negro leaders charged that Negro servicemen were bearing a heavier
share of the fighting role proportionately." The percentage of African-Americans killed
from 1961 to June of 1968 declined .4% from what was reported to the end of 1967. The
percentage of African-Americans in the armed forces increased slightly by .7% during the
same time periods.
|
