This saw the passing of Executive Order 8802 which banned discrimination in government hiring as Randolph had requested. As well as this, the Fair Employment practice committee was set up to address reports of noncompliance. However, the FEPC had little staff and finance and had little power. Many refereed to Executive Order 8802 as a victory as it meant more jobs for African Americans and it showed that the federal government supported integration and equality. However, a number of white companies failed to enforce Executive Order 8802 as they feared their white workers would leave.
Nevertheless, by 1943, 8% of those in defence jobs were African American. Other improvements for African Americans included the fact that they were able to work in positions earning higher pay, thus narrowing the gap between white and black workers.
As the war progressed, 700’000 African Americans immigrated from the South to the North and West to take up defence jobs. However, this lead to an increase of racial tension in key cities, shown in the race riot of Detroit, resulting in the deaths of 34, hundreds of casualties as well as $2million in property damages.
In these riots, police reportedly arrested and injured African Americans at a much higher rate than white rioters. Though warned about the threat to key cities, Roosevelt did nothing to recognize the factors that caused these riots. However, following the riots, several cities established interracial commissions to prevent similar incidents as these addressed the core root of the conflicts.
On the military front, African Americans still pursued their equal rights. African Americans tried to enlist in the military only to be turned away. Initially, the marines and Army Air Corps did not accept African Americans and the Navy only accepted them as support stuff. The army only accepted African Americans in segregated units, most being non combat.
However, there was progress in 1940, when a 10% quota for African Americans in the military was decided. They were also allowed into the Army Air Corps, Many African Americans distinguished themselves for their outstanding service in he armed service during this period, such as Doris ‘Dorie’ Miller, who earned a medal of distinction when he commanded an anti air craft and shot down to Japanese planes during the Pearl Harbor attack.
However, there were still cases of discrimination and inequality, where African Americans had poor working conditions and continued working in humiliation. For example, 202 African Americans died after they were given the dangerous job of unloading ammunition.
In addition, African American soldiers also faced difficulties in the South. For example, in 1942, officers sent Paul Parks and his fellow soldier to buy supplies from town. Paul Parks witnessed his comrade being beaten to death by white vigilantes. Examples of violence used against African Americans continued during World War II and thus questions the actual ‘progress’ for African Americans.
The Second World War period held a number of contradictions for African Americans. For one, although African Americans were able to serve in the military, they still suffered from racial violence and unites were segregated. The institutions set up to help them achieve equality were limited in power. And while Blacks fought abroad against Hitler, oppression was still used against them in America.
However, despite this, the Second world war can still be referred to as a ‘watershed’, as it brought about the further political action of the NAACP and brought about the beginning of significant civil right groups such as CORE. African Americans in the military gained access in training for new jobs, education and were granted greater freedom in other countries such as England. African Americans on the home front were able to learn new jobs and improved their quality of life by fleeing the South and the Jim Crow segregation. Furthermore, even after the war, African Americans continued campaigning for ‘victory’ on the home front, igniting a new spark in their hearts in their call for equality.
