African-American History - Essay Example

Introduction World War II for many African Americans holds many memories while for the current generation it is a time that saw another huge ideological and social shift in black consciousness. This period also opened a chapter in history where the white racial perspectives were put into clearer focus. African Americans in the US armed forces were way above half a million by 19431. It is important to note here that most of these African American soldiers were not allowed or rather offered a chance to fight externally and therefore were based within United States borders. In case they went for war both white and black soldiers fought side by side at times for the sovereignty of the United States2. Post-war period therefore brought with it huge and significant changes that are worth researching and elaboration. USA for centuries now has been dragging a huge burden of racial criticism and such periods in history as WWII have come to make the racism aspect more pronounced. This paper will look into the history of African Americans during and after the World War II while shedding light on the ideological shifts regarding racial segregation after the war together with white racial perspectives. Historians and researchers alike have come to offer their sentiments regarding World War II in a rather convergent manner. They have stated in a collective approach that this war was tyrannical and at the same time representing liberty. This war is analysed to have been between fascism and totalitarianism on one side and democracy on the other on a rather simple scale but its complexity in respect to American perspective was interesting. On one hand United States fought the Germans and Japanese because of their evil despots related to their lack of recognition for equality and freedom. This is where the complexity and irony creep in as far as United States is concerned. Right in their battle fields and within the armed forces, African Americans were hugely segregated in favour of white soldiers. The freedom and equality being fought for was being given by one hand and taken with the other by the United States from the African Americans. The reality that dawned on the African Americans was that they were in battle fighting two fronts at the same time; Jim Crow laws on one side (internally) and Axis powers on the other (externally)3. Racism and segregation were what the African Americans faced from their countrymen. For the black soldiers at war different living conditions which were obviously lower than those of the rest were in the offing. This as mentioned earlier was despite the fact that they all fought side by side at the battle front. When the war started and the blacks started to be absorbed in the armed forces, it became apparent that many fault lines existed in regards to the whole hiring affair of the African Americans. They were being hired in very low numbers and quite slowly. The wages were also low for African American soldiers as compared to their white counterparts4. This wage difference was in all sectors of the economy. They were also being placed in lower level positions even after intensive and extensive training that they were undergoing. The other notable feature was the issue of promotion. Only white soldiers were being promoted while their black counterparts regardless of their achievements and competence received little if any recognition, let alone promotion5. These aspects made many African Americans to call for protests and riots that ranged the whole nation. Their leaders on the other hand organised a march to Washington to protest the plight black people in the military. It is at this time that President Roosevelt found the need to curtail this march by setting a committee to look into employment practices in order to make them as fair as possible6. Although even after fair employment practices were put in place discrimination still continued. However, the African American population at least had a sigh of relief that for the first time their plight as a people was under the government limelight but of important to note is that both the congress and Roosevelt were not involved in these discussions. A good example of excellence in the armed forces is depicted by Doris Miller on December 1941 when he helped to bring down many Japanese planes alone at Pearl Harbour while helping those already injured7. Due to this act of heroism he was awarded the Navy Cross being the first African American to receive that accolade. America was at the time of the war quite a racist driven society and the mistreatment of the black soldiers was a clear reflection of the wider American society. This widespread discrimination of the black citizens was creating tensions not only within the armed forces but also in the general population. It was clear to the general population that the blacks in the armed forces were being openly discriminated. Some of the indicators were the training of the Tuskegee Airmen8. These were highly trained aviators in the US military who were of black descent. They were particularly discriminated and set in segregated units. It is worth mentioning that they were offered lower ranks irrespective of their obvious competence and offered fewer responsibilities. It is sad to state that for the blacks and white soldiers, separate blood banks were in the offing for the blood not to mix. This particular scenario was one of the huge highlights that captured the true racial phenomenon that was manifested in the United States during the 2nd World War9. When the US armed forces captured German soldiers it was the norm for them to be offered front position while the African American soldiers took back positions in the railroad cars. The painted picture of this trend was that opposing army captives were better placed than the African American soldiers since they were whites. There was growing tension among in the armed forces due to the race factor. There was hence the rising need to change this situation. It is through these rising tensions that the Double-V slogan emerged. African Americans after the 2nd World War broke out, were quite cynical about the Americans intensions of accepting them in the armed forces with Roosevelt proposing that they be offered positions in respect to their population size10. The reason for the sceptic approach was that United States, unlike many European countries, did not appreciate the contribution of the black officers in the 1st world war11. African American saw this as another opportunity that the US government wished to use their skills for their own gain. For this reason there were huge indifferences among the African American population as to whether it was prudent to engage in 2nd World War or not. However, many still believed that the war against Axis powers was necessary. For this reason they engaged in this war to fight fascism and Axis powers on one hand and racism at home on the other. The government and the white population were put to test at this point with the emergence of Double-v slogan. Double-v slogan Double-v slogan became quite famous and popular among the black soldiers as well as the African American community. The slogan represented two issues; victory at home and victory abroad12. From the victory abroad part of the slogan the black soldiers were to stay focused to their line of duty by fighting the enemy in the front lines. The enemy here was the proponents of fascism from Europe and Asia. The victory at home part represented the fight against the so called American Hitlers who spread hatred based on ethnicity in the United States mostly by use of the Jim Crow laws13. These laws offered the most explicit of segregation and discrimination against African Americans in general. These laws served United States from the 1880s. The following is a sample of state laws that comprised the bigger category of Jim Crow laws. State of Alabama In regards to nurses and nursing in Alabama the law was that white female nurses were not to serve in wards where black patients were. There was also separate ticketing as well as waiting rooms for white and African Americans. Conductors of passenger trains were authorised to separate passengers in partitions made for each race14. Restaurants were also to serve individual races and attendants were also to be from one race. Any violation was to result to licence cancellation. It was also unlawful for whites and African Americans to be seen to play a game together. Toilet facilities were supposed to be built being separate for each race and employers were bound to ensure this separation as well as in the workplaces. State of Florida Intermarriages between African Americans and whites were null and void and were forever prohibited. Imprisonment was in the offing not exceeding 12 months for cohabitation. The schooling programs were separate between the two races. Georgia It was unlawful for a black barber to attend to white women and girls. Black people were not to be buried in areas set aside for the burial of white people15. Parks set aside for white people’s enjoyment were not to be used or frequented by the African Americans and the same was prohibited for the parks set aside for blacks. Mississippi Hospital entrances were supposed to be separated in racial lines such that patients and visitors of either race had their own entrance to the premises. In prisons whites and blacks had separate eating and sleeping quarters. Oklahoma There was no teacher or instructor who was allowed to teach in a school that enrolled both blacks and whites. This was an offence that was fined by law16. Boating, bathing and fishing were allowed to be segregated by The Conservation Commission. Separate telephone booths were supposed to be maintained for the separate races by The Corporation Commission. Above are some of the prevailing laws at the time in few selected states. This gives brief highlights of how expressly set the laws were and how discriminative they were against the African Americans. The Double-v campaign was hugely fuelled by African American soldiers both at home and abroad. They were all fighting for their country just as the whites but they were not being recognised. The victories that the Tuskegee pilots achieved as escort pilots made headlines and their competence in the air was unmatched17. Historians have attributed the Double-v movement to the later Civil Rights Movement that came after the war. As earlier stated the number of African Americans in the armed forces was low as compared to that of the whites and their ratios did not match the respective population sizes of the two ethnicities. The equipments that the blacks accessed were less powerful and sophisticated than those of their white counterparts. The blacks operated as truck drivers, offered a support position behind the frontlines and were allocated mess men duties. During training African Americans were trained separately from the whites and under white officers18. This led to the white officers mistreating the blacks terribly during training sessions. African American soldiers did not have much of a choice but to act as required of them. This however did not go for long as many started some internal rebellious moves. There were many frustrations that they met from the whites despite their continuous hard work and rather obvious competence. As time passed by black soldiers found the means to express their views was only through violence. It is after this that numerous violent incidents arose, well over 20 nationwide mostly in the southern states which were pro-slavery in the slavery days19. A notable incident pertains to the Indiana state – Freedman Field where a couple of African American soldiers went into a club exclusively for whites. They were arrested and thrown to jail although they were later released due to public outcry and as publicity stance. After the war there was huge debate on all that had gone on in regards to the relations between the whites and blacks in America. Many were arguing that there was no need to segregate officers at war under any circumstance. This was being regarded to be a recipe for failure. The other debate related to the indisputable competence depicted by the African American soldiers20. This to a huge extent changed the perception that many whites had towards their black countrymen. It was quite clear that the blacks were as loyal to United States as the whites were. For this reason, segregation was seen to be a huge waste of resources both financially and time wasted. Segregation and the discrimination in offering African American soldiers opportunities were seen to be a huge waste of valuable opportunity for the whole nation. The armed forces through the violent conduct of the African American soldiers saw the need to scrutinise the need (or rather the lack of it) of continuing with segregation21. The US government concluded that use of manpower cannot be efficiently executed with segregation in place. Integration was seen as more beneficial in first of all reducing the escalating violence within the armed forces. The above Indiana incident went a long way in offering a lead on how to conduct demonstrations and rebellious movements in cases of oppression. The soldiers never resulted to violent conduct but rather offered themselves for arrest. They relied on the system to work its ways in shedding the light on who was wrong in this scenario. However, the system seemed not to be fast enough and as efficient as public pressure. This move was seen as the one that spearheaded and shown the way for civil rights activists, notably Martin Luther22. These leaders of the civil rights movement during the post war period and more so in the 1950s and 1960s used the same non-violent means to hold demonstrations. They also in the process tried to rally support from the fellow Americans and the willing white citizens as this offered the much needed public support. Civil rights movement is regarded as the 2nd reconstruction era as it was established to ensure that America opens a new chapter of equality and respect for one another as American citizens23. Even though the movement can be termed as having achieved its mission, American society is not completely liberalised along racial lines. Conclusion 2nd World War saw many African Americans enter to defend American interest on their own volition. This aspect did not seem to make whites realise that African Americans were as dedicated to their country just as they were. Due to the increased segregation and discrimination within the forces, violence erupted which was only calmed by various orders by high ranking officials ordering that fair treatment be offered to all on equal terms. African Americans had been seen to excel in the battle front at sea, on the ground and in the air. Many laws and orders had been given in regards equal treatment and they later spilled to the general African American population to be the famously know Civil Rights Movement which for more than two decades fought tirelessly to liberate them from the perennial oppression. This movement has seen many changes take place although divisions still exist but far less pronounced than they were just before and during World War II. With the election of the first black president of the United States - Barrack Obama, there is hope that these divisions in the long term will fade to have one America and equality for all. Reference list African American Odyssey. Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Dorie Miller with his Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor, May 27, 1942. Color-offset poster. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-2328 (8-10) Brandt, Nat. Harlem at War: The Black Experience in WWII. Syracuse. Syracuse University Press, 1996. Cole, David. Account of an African American Soldier in WWII, the US Army Corps. Sourced from Florida State University records. Gerald, Jaynes and Murphy, Williams. A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society. National Academy of Sciences, 1989. Gilbert, Dennis. The American Class Structure. New York, Wadsworth Publishing, 1998. Jet magazine. Medal of Honor Given to Blacks Who Fought in WWII, Jet magazine article, 27 Jan 1997. Kirk, John. Martin Luther King, Jr. London, Longman, 2005. McMillen, Neil. Remaking Dixie: The Impact of WWII on the American South. Mississippi, University Press of Mississippi, 1997. Sitkoff, Harvard. Toward Freedom Land: The Long Struggle for Racial Equality in America. Kentucky, University Press of Kentucky, 2010. Todd, Moye. Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Oxford University Press, 2010. Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: Americas Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965. New York, Penguin Books, 1987. Read More