U.S. Army sets aside convictions of 110 Black Soldiers convicted in 1917 Houston Riots

Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth has approved the recommendation of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to set aside the courts-martial convictions of the 110 Black Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment (also known as the Buffalo Soldiers), who were convicted following the World War I-era Houston Riots. The records of these Soldiers will be corrected, to the extent possible, to characterize their military service as honorable.

"After a thorough review, the Board has found that these Soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials," said Wormuth. "By setting aside their convictions and granting honorable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight."

The Houston Riots took place on Aug. 23, 1917 following months of racial provocations against members of the 24th — including the violent arrest and assault of two Black Soldiers. Following the assaults, and amid rumors of additional threats to Soldiers, a group of more than 100 Black Soldiers seized weapons and marched into the city where clashes erupted. The violence left 19 people dead.

In the months that followed, the Army convicted 110 Soldiers in a process that was, according to historians, characterized by numerous irregularities. Ultimately, nineteen men were executed in the largest mass execution of American Soldiers by the U.S. Army. The first set of executions occurred in secrecy and within a day of sentencing, leading the Army to implement an immediate regulatory change which prohibited future executions without review by the War Department and the President.

In October 2020 and December 2021, the South Texas College of Law petitioned the Army requesting a review of the courts-martial. Shortly after, the Army received petitions from retired general officers requesting clemency for all 110 Soldiers.

“As a Texas native, I was grateful to participate in this process early in my tenure at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, and I am proud that the Army has now formally restored honor to Soldiers of the 3-24 and their families,” Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said. “We cannot change the past; however, this decision provides the Army and the American people an opportunity to learn from this difficult moment in our history.”

The Secretary of the Army asked the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to review records pertaining to these court-martial cases and to provide recommendations about the appropriateness of each individual conviction. After careful review, board members adjudicated each case and found that significant deficiencies permeated the cases. These deficiencies led the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to acknowledge that the proceedings were fundamentally unfair. The board members unanimously recommended all convictions be set aside and that, to the extent possible, the Soldiers’ military service be characterized as "honorable."

“With the support of our experts, our dedicated Board members looked at each record carefully and came up with our best advice to Army leaders to correct a miscarriage of justice,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Review Boards Michael Mahoney, who oversaw the review. “We’re proud of the hard work we did to make things right in this case.”

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been deeply involved as this case has unfolded and is prepared to assist any family members upon receipt of the corrected records.

Relatives of the Soldiers may be entitled to benefits. Instructions for applying to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records can be found at https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/abcmr-app.html. Family members may apply online at https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/online-application.html or submit a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record by mail to: Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA), 251 18th Street South, Suite 385, Arlington, VA 22202-3531. Applications should include documentation to prove a relationship to one of the 110 formerly convicted Soldiers.

Family members or other interested parties may request a copy of the corrected records from the National Archives and Records Administration, in accordance with NARA Archival Records Request procedures found at: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records.

For more information about these corrections, please contact the Army Review Board Agency at: army.arbainquiry@army.mil.

Explore the complex history of Black Americans who enlisted in the U.S. military in “BUFFALO SOLDIERS: FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS”

PBS and WORLD Channel announce the presentation of Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, an award-winning documentary feature that explores the complex history of Black soldiers in the United States military. Director and producer Dru Holley weaves together the testimony of historians, experts and descendants of Buffalo Soldiers with archival photographs, reenactments and animation to tell the story of how newly free Black Americans enlisted in the U.S. Army, a reliable path to income and greater respect, and in the process helped to both fulfill America’s Manifest Destiny and disrupted the lives of Indigenous peoples. Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts will premiere Tuesday, June 13 at 9 pm on WOUB. The film will be available to stream on the PBS app, WORLDChannel.org , YouTube and on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.

“The rise and role of Black Americans in the military is an important and overlooked part of American history, from conflicts abroad and on Indigenous lands at home,” said Chris Hastings, executive producer for WORLD Channel at GBH in Boston. “WORLD Channel is proud to bring Buffalo Soldiers to viewers on Juneteenth. With this film we hope to honor the contributions of brave Black soldiers and officers, and to acknowledge the painful legacy of westward expansion and colonial pursuits.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, explores the often-contradictory role played by the Black soldiers throughout American history, with particular emphasis on the settling of the American West and colonialism abroad.

After the ratification of the 14th Amendment by Congress in 1868 granting full citizenship to Black men, many of them enlisted in the military. But they faced structural and social barriers to equal opportunity and fair treatment. Black soldiers helped lead the United States expansion westward; they helped build and guard transcontinental railroads and served as park rangers in places like Yosemite before the U.S. government established the National Park Service.

These Black soldiers fought bravely in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. However, the Buffalo Soldiers also participated in the subjugation of Indigenous peoples as the United States appropriated tribal land, the persecution of striking silver miners in Idaho, and against Filipinos fighting for independence during the Spanish-American War, resulting in a complicated legacy.

“The Buffalo Soldiers are key American figures whose tenacity to battle against overwhelming odds in service to the country has forever shaped history,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming at PBS. “PBS is proud to present this eye-opening and deeply moving story to audiences this summer, directed by one of the selected creators from our Open Call for Emerging Filmmakers.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts was produced and directed by Dru Holley, a filmmaker passionate about producing inspiring stories that empower viewers to re-think broken systems. Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts is his feature directorial debut.

“The story of the Buffalo Soldiers involves historical complexities like race, class, power, colonialism and western expansion. It is particularly relevant today as our country is roiling with the agony of racial strife,” said Holley. “As a Black filmmaker, I feel a responsibility to tell our story, to provide an inspiring story about history often left out of school textbooks. We want young kids to know the accounts of people like them that stretch across the nation, to have more knowledge of their past than we did.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts is a film from PBS’s Open Call for Emerging Filmmakers, which provides support for creators with unique ideas that will resonate, foster dialogue, and bring new engagement across the public media system. Whether in early concept stages or nearing completion, PBS will offer funding support for selected films that may be distributed across PBS platforms, including PBS.org and PBS Digital Studios. The films include a broad array of stories from a diversity of perspectives in genres ranging from arts & culture, personal history, social justice, health, immigration, economics, environment, democracy, and civics. Information about each film, creator and distribution partner will be announced on a rolling basis.

The film Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts was an official selection at the Seattle International Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Astoria Film Festival and Vashon Film Festival in 2022. It was the 2022 Audience Award Winner at the Tacoma Film Festival.

For more information, visit www.WORLDchannel.org or follow @worldchannel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.  Join the conversation on social media with #BuffaloSoldiersPBS.

Houston Law School & NAACP to Continue Fight for Clemency for Camp Logan Soldiers Unjustly Convicted, Punished in Houston in 1917

A large crowd of community leaders gathered at South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) Friday to officially commemorate the law school’s ongoing collaboration with the NAACP Houston Branch to fight for clemency for the 110 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment convicted by General Courts-Martial for their alleged role in the 1917 Camp Logan uprising.

“This incident was one of the first projects the NAACP Houston Branch ever investigated a century ago, and it continues to be important to us today,” said Dr. James Dixon, NAACP Houston Branch board president. “We must address this past injustice and educate people about the wrongs that occurred so they don’t happen again. We are determined to seek clemency for these soldiers because it is never too late to do the right thing.”

Geoffrey Corn, the Gary A. Kuiper Distinguished Professor of National Security Law at STCL Houston and retired U.S. Army JAG officer, explained the Camp Logan history leading to this work.

“On Aug. 23, 1917, members of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment — an all-African American Army unit with a distinguished history of combat service (often called the Buffalo Soldiers) — marched out of its encampment in Houston to confront what it believed was a white mob setting upon the soldiers,” Corn noted at the event.

The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 11 locals and six soldiers, was the culmination of weeks of racially charged confrontations between members of the unit and the local Houston police.

“The actual violence that night lasted approximately three hours, but the implications of the unjust convictions and punishments that occurred afterward have lasted a century,” Corn said. “These soldiers – regardless of the circumstances of the violence that occurred – did not receive due process and had no opportunity to appeal. The justice system failed them.”

“The NAACP Houston Branch and South Texas South Texas College of Law Houston share a common priority: a focus on justice,” said Michael F. Barry, STCL Houston president and dean. “We also have a shared interest in ensuring an accurate historical narrative of the events that transpired at Camp Logan and the stories of the soldiers involved. Finally, we have a common interest in restoring the proper honor and respect for the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Camp Logan – soldiers who were some of the bravest men in our nation.”

Professor Angela Holder — great-niece of Cpl. Jesse Moore, one of the soldiers convicted and executed in 1917 — gave a personal perspective during the event. “These 24th Infantry Regiment soldiers are not just names in history. They are real people. They are my Aunt Lovie’s brother. My Uncle Jesse. They sacrificed for our country, and now they deserve clemency.”

Because of their shared commitment to equal justice under the law, the NAACP Houston Branch and STCL Houston will continue collaborating to fulfill the mission of obtaining clemency for these Camp Logan soldiers, Barry said.

In the years following the 1917 incident, the NAACP led an effort to draw attention to this rush to judgment, which led to pressure on President Wilson to intervene and demand legal review of the two courts-martial that followed the first trial of 63 soldiers (the largest criminal trial in U.S. history). This review, and the public outrage over the first trial, led President Wilson to commute a number of death sentences to life in prison.

However, clemency remains the goal. The NAACP Houston Branch led an effort, initiated on the 100th anniversary of the incident in 2017, to seek a pardon for the 13 soldiers sentenced to death in the first trial. Unfortunately, that effort stalled without a successful outcome.

Professor Corn was asked to provide advice to the NAACP group working on this effort, and he continues to be actively involved. Professor Dru Brenner-Beck — also a retired U.S. Army JAG officer who will join the STCL faculty this summer — has led an effort along with historian John Haymond to conduct a comprehensive review of the records related to this incident and these military trials, based on extensive historical records here at the law school and other records throughout the country.

South Texas librarians and law students working in the Actual Innocence Clinic have contributed substantially to this effort by providing important research and narratives of the many soldiers convicted in the trials.

“We and the NAACP Houston Branch are committed to the Camp Logan soldiers in part to restore their honor; in that sense, this effort is about the past, about righting a historic wrong,” Barry said. “But this effort benefits us all tomorrow, as well, helping ensure that the violations of due process of a century ago will never be repeated.”