As war appeared imminent, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916 – a move that would establish Army officer training programs at more than 500 colleges and universities around the country. African-Americans were excluded initially – until a native Texan and African-American, Emmett J. Scott, convinced the government to include them.
The Student Army Training Corps – or SATC – provided training for officer candidates to over 140,000 young men, white and black, at 525 educational institutions – including historically black colleges like Wiley College.