Remember when FDR integrated the defense plants with Executive Order 8802? See this photo

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b09429/

Manpower. Negro bomber plant workers. American manpower draws its skills from various racial groups alike. Here, in a large Eastern bomber plant, huge transparent plastic bomber noses are being conditioned for installation on planes which will carry America's offensive to the far conrers of the world. Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant. Baltimore, Maryland




http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=84

In 1940 the U.S. population was about 131 million, 12.6 million of which was African American, or about 10 percent of the total population. During World War II, the Army had become the nation's largest minority employer. Of the 2.5 million African Americans males who registered for the draft through December 31, 1945, more than one million were inducted into the armed forces. African Americans, who constituted approximately 11 per cent of all registrants liable for service, furnished approximately this proportion of the inductees in all branches of the service except the Marine Corps. Along with thousands of black women, these inductees served in all branches of service and in all Theaters of Operations during World War II.

During World War II, President Roosevelt had responded to complaints about discrimination at home against African Americans by issuing Executive Order 8802 in June 1941, directing that blacks be accepted into job-training programs in defense plants, forbidding discrimination by defense contractors, and establishing a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=72

In June of 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy.


In early July 1941, millions of jobs were being created, primarily in urban areas, as the United States prepared for war. When large numbers of African Americans moved to cities in the north and west to work in defense industries, they were often met with violence and discrimination. In response, A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and other black leaders, met with Eleanor Roosevelt and members of the President’s cabinet. Randolph presented a list of grievances regarding the civil rights of African Americans, demanding that an Executive order be issued to stop job discrimination in the defense industry. Randolph, with others, threatened that they were prepared to bring "ten, twenty, fifty thousand Negroes on the White House lawn" if their demands were not met. After consultation with his advisers, Roosevelt responded to the black leaders and issued Executive Order 8802, which declared, "There shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries and in Government, because of race, creed, color, or national origin." It was the first Presidential directive on race since Reconstruction. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Committee to investigate incidents of discrimination.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. Good topic

However I doubt most of us on DU are old enough to remember.

Once again though thanks for an interesting post.

[4b5f940728b232b034e4]

2. Why can't we do this again?

[amandabeech]

7. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an executive orders with similar provisions covering

the federal governments and contractor are in effect now and have been since the 1960s.

[SheilaT]

3. Some years back I was able to read old Life Magazines.

Sequentially. Starting with the first issue in November, 1936. I spent several years doing it, while I was attending two different universities that fortunately had the bound issues. I got up through March of 1945, and have not been able to find physical bound issues of the magazine since.

Anyway, among the very many things I got from the readings, was that you could tell that somewhere down the road, after the war was over, African Americans (Negroes as they were called then) were not going to be content to go back to the way it had been. They were not going to return willingly to the servitude and social conditions they'd endured for so long. Because during the war they were finally able to get better jobs at decent pay. African American women could find work other than as a domestic.

I'm not saying there were any actual stirrings of what became the Civil Rights Movement, but things had changed forever, and there would be no going back.

[murielm99]

5. Find a smaller college or university

in your area that has a good library. See if they will allow you to access their bound periodicals, if they still have them. Some of the small places still do. Give them a donation if you can, or find some way to support them.

Small town libraries or historical societies often have bound periodicals, too.

As a retired librarian, I understand the issues of space and physical deterioration. But I know that it is fun to read old magazines and newspapers in their original form!

[SheilaT]

8. I should probably

check around where I live now, Santa Fe. I had no luck finding them when I lived in Kansas.

It takes at least a couple of hours to read each issue, in part because they often had rather lengthy articles in them, and because the advertizements can be totally fascinating.

I really would like to find out how the war ended. It's clear that the war in Europe is almost over, but also that we will be fighting at least another year in the Pacific.

Obviously, I do actually know the outcome of WWII, but I can put myself right back there as if it's the end of March, 1945, and I don't know exactly what will happen next.

I do know that Life has digitized all its issues, but the big problem in trying to read them is that the magazine was a large format one, and you can't read the full page at once. Often photographs were spread across both pages, and digitized you get to see one part of the photo and then the rest of it. Makes the experience not even worthwhile, in my opinion.

[mountain grammy]

4. thank you.. it's our history and it's important we know it.

[TheKentuckian]

6. This allowed my grandfather to have a decent middle class life.

Thanks Steve!