Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
African Americans in World War II: Origins of the Civil Rights Movement HIS 265 Preparing for War Only 5,000 blacks in army in 1940 Selective Service Act (Sept. 1940) forbade discrimination – Many draft boards only accepted whites on grounds there were no separate facilities for blacks – A. Philip Randolph, Walter White & T. Arnold Hill submitted plan to FDR to desegregate armed forces & institute equal training & merit-based promotion Token steps in Fall 1940: – Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. promoted to Brig. Gen. – William Hastie appointed civilian aide to Secretary of War – ROTC units added at W. Virginia State, Hampton, Tuskegee & Prairie View The March on Washington Movement Industrial plants hired white unemployed first, so blacks took jobs vacated by whites A. Philip Randolph proposed 100,000-man march for July 1, 1945 FDR issued Executive Order 8802 June 25, 1941 Fair Employment Practices Committee received & investigated complaints, but had no authority to punish Welders African Americans in World War II Over 3 million black men registered for draft, but 18.2% rejected on educational or medical grounds (compared to 8.5% of whites) Approx. 1 million African Americans served in armed forces African Americans in armed forces, Sept. 1944: – 701,678 in Army (86,000 in combat units) – 165,000 in Navy – 17,000 in Marine Corps – 5,000 in Coast Guard – 24,000 in Merchant Marine – 4,000 in Women’s Auxiliary Corps 497,566 serving overseas by Feb. 1945 A Segregated Army War Dept. issued order in Oct. 1940 that whites & blacks would attend same officer training schools & held to same standard – some camp commanders reluctant to recommend blacks at first – Only Air Corps had segregated training Mostly served in segregated units under white officers, as in previous wars Too often placed in support roles – Blacks made up 20% of engineering corps, 33% of transportation corps & 44% of quartermaster corps – Only 12% of soldiers served in combat units The European Theater 22 black combat units in Europe: – 9 field artillery, 1 anti-aircraft, 2 tank, 2 – – – – tank destroyer, & 8 engineer combat battalions 1st Army integrated some units at platoon level in 1945 due to manpower shortages 761st Tank Battalion fought in Battle of Bulge 92nd Division earned over 12,000 decorations & citations fighting in Italy Capt. Charles L. Thomas of 614th Tank Destroyer battalion & 1st Lt. John L. Fox of 92nd Division among 7 recipients of Medal of Honor in Jan. 1997 Logo of the 92nd Division nd 92 Division in Action, Italy Machine Gun Crew near Massa Entering Genoa The Tuskegee Airmen Lena Horne and some of the Tuskegee Airmen Served overseas in Mediterranean theater Escorted bombers & flew strafing runs 94th Pursuit Squadron initially part of 79th Pursuit Group with 3 white units Moved to all-black 332nd Fighter Group in 1944 Commanded by Col. Benjamin Davis, Jr. Over 80 pilots won Distinguished Flying Cross The Pacific Theater Blacks allowed to enlist in Navy & Marine Corps for the first time in spring 1942 – Dorie Miller became hero for shooting down 4 Japanese – – – – – planes during Pearl Harbor attack Howard Perry was 1st black Marine 51st Defense Battalion assigned to guard duty in Marshall Islands in 1944 By fall 1944, 500 black seamen serving on 25 large auxiliary vessels, mostly in Pacific 12,500 served in Seabees 24,500 served in merchant marine - 18 ships named after African Americans 24th Infantry helped take New Georgia Islands in May 1942 93rd Division saw action at Bougainville, Treasury Islands, Morotai & Philippines Howard Perry & Dorie Miller Trouble on the Home Front Most camps located in South, so racial incidents occurred inevitably – Some camp commanders banned black newspapers & segregated transportation and entertainment – War Dept. issued order in July 1944 forbidding segregation, but met with hostility – Serious riots at Ft. Bragg, Camp Robinson, Camp Davis, Camp Lee & Ft. Dix Renewed Great Migration led to renewed racial tension in northern cities – 65 black colleges participated in Engineering, Science & management War Training Program - represented triumph of Booker T. Washington’s model – June 1943 riot in Detroit left 25 blacks and 9 whites dead Detroit Riot, 1943 The “Double V” Campaign Pittsburg Courier launched “Double V” campaign to fight racism at home as well as abroad NAACP membership increased from 50,000 to 400,000 James Farmer founded CORE (Congress Of Racial Equality) to fight segregation in Chicago Wartime Propaganda Office of War Information hired Ted Poston as advisor – Used black journalists, artists & photographers Propaganda emphasized U.S. as egalitarian melting pot in contrast to Nazi racism – Films featured multiethnic platoons, but rarely included African Americans – Frank Capra produced The Negro Soldier in 1944 – became mandatory viewing for all soldiers Liberals Rethink Race Blatant racism of Nazis caused white liberals to reassess importance of racial discrimination Ashley Montagu’s Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race & Ruth Benedict’s The Races of Mankind were best-sellers in 1942-43 Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma (1944) was exhaustive study – Saw discrimination as glaring exception to the “American Creed” – Called on Americans to live up to their ideals and eliminate prejudice and segregation Truman and Desegregation Freedom to Serve (1948) outlined steps Executive Order 9981 began process All jobs opened to qualified personnel regardless of race in 1949 Gen. Matthew Ridgeway integrated army in Korea, 1950-51