What did the 54th do in response to unequal pay?

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first African American units in the Civil War, protested their unequal pay by refusing to accept their wages for several months, as they were paid significantly less than white soldiers. In July 1863, many soldiers of the 54th, including their commander Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, decided to return their pay in a symbolic act of defiance against the injustice. Their stand brought attention to the issue of racial inequality in the military and helped spur changes in pay policies for Black soldiers. Ultimately, the federal government increased their pay to match that of white soldiers in 1864.