- Blacks in America during World War II

Let’s first examine the role of African Americans in the m

Dating back to African Americans first arriving to the new world, African Americans have been oppressed and treated poorly through slavery, lynching poverty and yes, even in wartime. From the Civil War up until World War II, African Americans fought with inadequate weaponry and in segregated units. “Initially as in World War I, they (Black soldiers) were assigned to non combat duties, in accordance with policy and tradition with the war department.”1 African American soldiers during the 1930’s and 40’s not only struggled through adversity of justice and equality during civilian life, but also at the beginning of their respective draft days even during wartime. It was then in 1941 when A. Phillip Randolph (the president of the brotherhood of sleeping car porters) organized and unified separate protests and directed to the national government. Randolph along with other African Americans wanted equality in the workforce, especially in the military. Black marchers were 100,000 strong in Washington, D.C. in 1941. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was prompted to have his aides draft an executive order to not only end segregation in the defense industry and the government, but mainly to have A. Phillip Randolph to call off the march. Executive Order #8802 states in part: “I do hereby affirm the policy of the United States that there should be no discrimination in the employment of workers in the defense industry of government because of race, creed, color or national origin.”2 With Executive Order #8802, the federal government bore the responsibility for black and minority rights in employment including the military. However, as in all other previous executive orders for equality, problems tend to follow.

African Americans were valiantly fighting for equality, justice and economic liberty during this time. But despite all of the pressing issues, education was held in its highest regard before and at the beginning of World War II. In fact, Negro education was held to be the cornerstone of achievement to African Americans. The only drawback was that during wartime the surging interest of a Negro education at higher institutions were suddenly brought to an abrupt halt. This was due to the comm

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