Page "Jackie Robinson" Paragraph 13

In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) then located at Fort Riley.

Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race-neutral, practically speaking few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership.

As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months.

After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis ( then stationed at Fort Riley ) and the help of Truman Gibson ( then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War ), Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization ; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five-star Chase Park Hotel in St. Louis.