Read the following excerpt from Executive Order 9981 issued by President Harry S. Truman in 1948. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. The order is addressing the fact that up until this time, African Americans in the US military had equal access to jobs and pay. were segregated based on race. were represented equally in leadership. had access to better training programs.