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African-American History ~ World War Two
Franklin Roosevelt framed World War II as a war to guarantee the "Four Freedoms" of democracy, though the military remained segregated and African Americans faced discrimination. While over 500,000 African Americans served, they were restricted to segregated units in non-combat roles. The "Double V" campaign called for victory over fascism abroad and an end to discrimination at home. This led Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941 creating the Fair Employment Practice Committee to address discrimination in defense jobs. Despite facing challenges, African American servicemen and women served with distinction including the Tuskegee Airmen and the black crew of the USS Mason.
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Similar to African-American History ~ World War Two
African-American History ~ World War Two
- 1.
- 2. The Four FreedomsFranklinRoosevelt sold World War II as a war on behalf of democracy. It was to be a war to guarantee the “Four Freedoms.”Many African Americans supported the concept, if the freedoms applied within the U.S., too.
- 3. Military: Same OldStoryOnce again, African-Americans had to “fight for the right to fight.Military was segregated.
- 4. Discriminationcommon within themilitary.
- 5. Marines barredAfrican-Americans at first.
- 6. Navy enlistedblacks in support positions.
- 7. Army enlistedblacks, but only in support & logistical positions.
- 8. Civilian violencetoward black servicemen.
- 9. “We were reallyjust stevedores & servants,” recalled one African-American soldier.Civilian JobsJob discrimination common in defense jobs.“Whites-only” hiring policies.
- 10. Housing segregation incities.
- 11. White hate strikes& violence against black co-workers.“Double Vee” CampaignSpearheaded by the NAACP, BSCP & the Pittsburgh Courier, called for victory against fascism abroad & at home.Called on Roosevelt to take action against: Segregation within the military
- 12. Discrimination bydefense contractors
- 13. 100,000-man MOWM,planned for Nov. 1941.
- 14. Executive Order8802 issued prior to the march, creating FEPCBlacks in Military ServiceAfrican-American community was better organized during WWII than WWI. 500,000 African-Americans serve in the war.
- 15. The draft wasconducted more fairly.
- 16. Serve insegregated units & train in segregated camps
- 17. Blacks eventuallyaccepted into general service in Navy & Marines (1942).
- 18. Navy commissionsblack officers in 1944.
- 19. Army opened officer training schools for blacks.
- 20. Army AirCorps creates a black flight schoolTuskegee Airmen
- 21. USS MasonA black-runship . . . except for the commander!
- 22. Black ProtestDouble VeeCampaign
- 23.
- 24. Nation of IslamBlackCivil Rights in the 1940sSmith v. Allwright (1944)C.O.R.E. founded (1944)S.C. Progressive Democratic Party (1944)Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)Executive Order 9981U.N. Declaration of Universal Human Rights
Editor's Notes
- #2 (copyleft 2007) Chad David Cover.Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 1.0 Generic. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/
- #3 Langston Hughes: “Jim Crow Army, / And Navy, too -- / Is Jim Crow Freedom the best / I can expect from you?” “You tell me that Hitler is a mighty bad man / He must have took lessons from the Ku Klux Klan.”
- #5 Job Discrimination:Housing:Mobile: 15,000 new housing units, but only 1,000 units for blacks in a city with 30,000 new black workers.Only 55 beds open to blacks in the city hospitals.Hate Strikes5/23/43: Race Riot at Alabama Dry Dock over FEPC directive ordering the company to allow blacks into skilled jobs.12 black weldersWhite mob began attacking black workers as they got off duty, yelling “No nigger is going to join iron in this yard.”Similar race riots in 1943: Springfield, MA; Port Arthur, TX; Detroit (34 killed, 200 wounded), Newark, NJ, Hubbard, OHResult: Segregated dry docks & ferries. 4 separate shipways where blacks could every job . . . but foreman. In the other
- #8 Flew around 15000 sorties in 1500 missions. Lost only one bomber, confirmed. (Some say as high as 25 to 26). 99th Fighter Group (North Africa, 2 Distinguished Unit Citations) -> 332nd Fighter Group, the Redtails (Italy, bombing runs over Eastern Europe, 1 Distinguished Unit Citations)In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946; about 445 deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in training or combat.The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8 Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars and 744 Air Medals.
- #9 A black-run ship . . . except for the commander.
- #10 Black soldiers joked that their headstones would read: “Here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man for the protection of the white man.”
- #11 Osceola McKaine: “We are living in the midst of perhaps the greatest revolution within human experience. Nothing, no nation, will be as it was before when the peace comes. . . . There is no such thing as the status quo.”“To Secure These Rights”: Truman’s special commission on civil rights. Called for federal anti-lynching law; equal opportunity in housing, education & employment; end to poll tax; desegregation of armed forces.