A 1942 armed conflict between Black U.S. Army soldiers and military and civilian police in Phoenix exposed deep racial tensions in the wartime American West.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 26, 1942 (Thanksgiving)
- Deaths
- 3
- Injured
- Approximately 12
- Arrests
- Over 100 regiment members arrested
- Courts-martial
- 15 soldiers court-martialed
- Unit involved
- 364th Infantry Regiment (all African American)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 364th Infantry Regiment, composed entirely of African American soldiers, was stationed in Phoenix in June 1942, where pervasive racial segregation and discrimination created ongoing tensions. On Thanksgiving night, soldiers on leave encountered a confrontational arrest by military police that involved shots being fired, triggering an exaggerated report back at the base.
Armed infantrymen returned from their base to Downtown Phoenix, initiating a firefight with military police and local law enforcement. Phoenix police cordoned off 28 blocks of the city's African American neighborhood, conducting door-to-door searches and firing into homes. By morning, three people were dead and roughly a dozen wounded.
More than 100 soldiers were arrested, 15 faced courts-martial, and one received a death sentence later commuted. The military declared Phoenix off-limits to personnel, spurring a local business-led reform movement. The 364th Regiment was subsequently relocated to Mississippi and then Alaska. Historians have identified racial tension as the root cause of the incident.
Political Outcome
Three killed, ~12 injured; over 100 soldiers arrested, 15 courts-martialed, one death sentence later commuted; Phoenix declared off-limits to military personnel; 364th Infantry Regiment relocated.
364th Infantry Regiment stationed in Phoenix amid racial segregation and discrimination
Military banned personnel from Phoenix; regiment transferred; local reform movement initiated