Change In The Modern World – Civil Rights (USA)

Resource Description

Civil Rights in the USA 1945–1968

Survey- The position of African Americans at the start of the period

• The impact of World War II on the circumstances of African Americans in the United States

Experiences of AA’s in the Military:

• In Europe, blacks were welcomed
• The outbreak of WWII US military was segregated 
• Navy accepted limited numbers is non- combat positions such as cooks, US Marine and Army Air Corps barred enlistment of blacks
• Early 1941: President Roosevelt banned racial discrimination in defence industries to ensure production needed for WWII.
• African Americans gained more jobs, more access to education, and witnessed how minorities were treated in Europe = better pay, literacy, economic independence, higher expectations
• Serving in the armed forces, many blacks noticed a huge gap in pay and working conditions.
• WWII = inspiration for black people to fight for equality and justice = groups such as CORE and NAACP.

Experiences of AA’s on the Homefront:

• Blacks left the South in search of work and opportunities in North
• 1940- half a million AA’s were in search of a job 
• African Americans serving in the war served to heighten the awareness of civilian blacks of the gap between their reality and a typical USA 
• African Americans found work in the years of WWII, however, employment preference was given to whites 
• 1940- 100,000 workers employed in aircraft industry, 240 were black (1% to 3%) 
• Pearl Harbour increased participation in the workforce 
• Women- the war gave black people opportunities to work in jobs they never had before 
• Although, Jim Crow Laws were still existent in the underlying racism 
• The integration of workers for the war effort increased tensions and therefore sparked rioting and violence
• For African American civilians, the impact saw economic progress and the first opportunity to vote