What makes people think desegregation the US Military ended racism in the ranks

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Desegregation of the US Military is often used to back the arguments of breaking down barriers in everything from the military to private clubs. It is held up as the shining example of how people from different backgrounds can co-exist better when forced to associate with each other. I question the validity of that argument. In the 17 years I spend in a US Army uniform, I saw and heard all sorts of examples of racism. Yes, learning more about people of different races or backgrounds can help foster understanding and tolerance. On the other hand, it can also get in the way. One of my 1st SGTs was once accused of racism. Our barracks were made up of 3 person rooms. Someone noticed that the 3 people in each room were almost always the same color. Black soldiers had Black roommates, Latino soldiers usually had Latino roommates.. and so on. It turned out that the apparent racism wasn't the cause of the "segregation". The cause was music. The 1st SGT explained that differing tastes in music was one of the major causes of fights in the barracks. To "fight" the problem, all new troops were asked what kind of music they liked most... bunk assignments were then based on the answer. It may not come as a surprise to many of you, but we basically segregated ourselves. On the other hand, it wasn't rare to see people that would probably never have been friends in the civilian world become life long buddies. Cowboys, Punks, Metal heads, ciy boys.. etc. Each became friends when the may not have wanted anything to do with each other in anything but a military setting. The fact that many got to know each other in uniform before they saw each other in their usual style of dress had a lot to do with that. Then there is the racism. The myth is that the racism gradually died a generation after desegregation. The reality is, it is alive and well and just as sickening. I knew some Black NCOs and Officers who made it pretty clear that the only troops in their unit that were going to make rank before mandatory time in service requirements were going to be Black troops. Yes, I saw the same among White and Latino NCOs and Officers too. These "leaders" were just "taking care of their own". On the opposite side of that coin, I knew a Black soldier who worked hard to get transfered to our platoon. We wondered why it seemed so important to us. Our platoon had the hardest mission, the longest working hours and the fewest weekends off. The guy wasn't lazy at all, he would do his job, and do it well.. but he also wasn't the most self motivated troop around. The only reason he wanted to transfer was, our platoon had the only Black Platoon Sergeant in the unit. He was so excited when the 1st SGT finally approved his transfer. That excitement was short lived though. He quickly found out that our platoon sergeant was the kind who "took care of his own". "His own" wasn't the subordinates who had the same skin color, though. He treated everyone the same. Man that pissed of the Black troop! Then there was just the plain ol' ordinary, old time racism. The hatred of others based on race. This was the same kind of racism seen everywhere else. Racist troops didnt' have any choice on who they had to work with, but no one could force them to associate when they were off duty. Then there is the idea that all you have to do is get to know a few people from different backgrounds and the friendships will grow. Like everything else, that only happens if you want it to. For many, it was the learning more about each other that got in the way. Stereotypes are stereotypes because they have a basis in truth. right? Seeing that truth only reinforces the racism if that's the way people want to see it. You see, desegregation didn't do diddley against racism. So next time you want to use desegregation of the military as a shining poster child for future social engineering... think again, because you are citing a myth.