US scraps ‘unfair’ WWI-era convictions of Black soldiers

WASHINGTON: The US Army on Monday announced it is setting aside the “unfair” convictions of 110 Black soldiers who were court martialed over 1917 unrest in Houston, Texas.

The soldiers -- who were guarding the site where a military camp was being constructed -- took up arms following months of racial abuse, discrimination and assaults and marched into the city, where 19 people were killed in clashes.

The military subsequently convicted 110 of the soldiers over the violence and put 19 of them to death in what the Army said was its largest mass execution of American troops. “After a thorough review, the board has found that these soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials,” US Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in a statement, referring to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. “By setting aside their convictions and granting honorable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight,” she said.