Source: Records of ASD (M) 291.2.
Table 25—Rates for Reenlistments, 1964-1967
| Year | Army | Navy | Marine Corps | Air Force | ||||
| White | Black | White | Black | White | Black | White | Black | |
| 1964 | 18.5 | 49.3 | 21.6 | 41.3 | 12.9 | 25.1 | 27.4 | 50.3 |
| 1965 | 13.7 | 49.3 | 24.2 | 44.8 | 18.9 | 38.9 | 19.1 | 39.2 |
| 1966 | 20.0 | 66.5 | 17.6 | 24.7 | 10.5 | 19.5 | 16.0 | 30.1 |
| 1967 | 12.9 | 31.7 | 16.7 | 22.5 | 10.7 | 17.4 | 17.3 | 26.9 |
Source: Records of ASD (M) 291.2; see especially Paul Memo.
The low percentage of black officers, a matter of special concern to the Civil Rights Commission and the Gesell Committee as well as the civil rights organizations, remained relatively unchanged in the 1960's (see Table [24]). Nor could any dramatic rise in the number of black officers be expected. Between 1963 and 1968 the three service academies graduated just fifty-one black officers, an impressive statistic only in the light of the record of a total of sixty black graduates in the preceding eighty-six years. Furthermore, there were only 116 black cadets in 1968, a vast proportional increase over former years but also an indication of the small number of black officers that could be expected from that source during the next four years (Table 26). Since cadets were primarily chosen by congressional nomination and from other special categories, little could be done, many officials assumed, to increase substantially the number of black cadets and midshipmen. An imaginative effort by Fitt in early 1964, however, proved this assumption false. Fitt got the academies to agree to take all the qualified Negroes he could find and some senators and congressmen to relinquish some of their appointments to the cause. He then wrote every major school district in the country, seeking black applicants and assuring them that the academies were truly open to all those qualified. Even though halfway through the academic year, Fitt's "micro-personnel operation," as he later called it, yielded appointments for ten Negroes. Unfortunately, his successor did not continue the effort.[22-45]
Table 26—Black Attendance at the Military Academies, July 1968
| Academy | Class of 1969 | Class of 1970 | Class of 1971 | Class of 1972 | Total Negro | Total Attendance |
| Army | 10 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 31 | 3,285 |
| Navy | 2 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 4,091 |
| Air Force | 6 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 52 | 3,028 |
| Totals | 18 | 25 | 26 | 47 | 116 |
Source: Office, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Civil Rights).
The ROTC program at predominantly black colleges had always been the chief source of black officers, but here, again, there was little hope for immediate improvement. With the exception of a large increase in the number of black Air Force officers graduating from five black colleges, the percentage of officers entering the service from these institutions remained essentially unchanged throughout the 1960's despite the services' new equal opportunity programs (Table 27). Some civil rights leaders had been arguing for years that the establishment of ROTC units at predominantly black schools merely helped perpetuate the nation's segregated college system. Fitt agreed that as integrated education became more commonplace the number of black ROTC graduates would increase in predominantly white colleges, but meanwhile he considered units at black schools essential. Among the approximately 140 black colleges without ROTC affiliation, some could possibly qualify for units, and in February 1965 Fitt's successor, Stephen N. Shulman, called for the formation of more ROTC units as an equal opportunity measure.[22-46] The Army responded by creating a unit at Arkansas A&M Normal College, and the Navy opened a unit at Prairie View A&M in the President's home state of Texas. Balancing the expectations implied by the formation of these new units were the growing antiwar sentiment among college students and the special competition for black college graduates in the private business community, both of which made ROTC commissions less attractive to many black students.
Table 27—Army and Air Force Commissions Granted at Predominantly Black Schools