"Help us get some of the blessings of democracy here at home before you jump on the 'free other peoples' band wagon and tell us to go forth and die in a foreign land." - P. B. Young, editor of the Norfolk Journal and Guide, an African American newspaper
"The nation cannot expect the colored people to feel that the U.S. is worth defending if they continue to be treated as they are treated now." - The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt
There were about one million African Americans that fought in WW2. African Americans fought, lead, and died in WW2 in the battlefield to free people around the world. Their actions on the battlefield changed American armed forces permanently.
When Adolf Hitler rose to power, black activists and the black press took advantage of the situation that was happening in the war with Nazi racism to bring to light what was going on in America with the abuses of the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws mandated that blacks have separate facilities for travel, lodging, eating and drinking, schooling, worship, housing, and other aspects of social and economic life.
Throughout the war years African Americans had to fight on the war front with the enemies overseas and the everyday racism that existed back home. Civil rights activist significantly stepped up their rhetoric when America entered the war and struggled against Nazi Germany.
African Americans were proud to be an American and wanted to fight and work for it, but they also wanted to end discrimination against them and insisted on full citizenship for serving in the military which they were eventually granted but the segregation and racism continued. In June 25, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 8802 which was the path to official racial integration in the Defense Program. This signaled the end of racial discrimination in the US military, but the military generally kept to a policy of segregation through the end of WW2.
Under the command of white officers the 92nd Buffalo Soldiers and the 93rd Blue Helmets which were all black divisions were activated and sent aboard. These African American Soldiers were in segregated units. 90 Percent of African American troops were forced to serve in supply and labor units, they were not allowed in the more elite combat units because black people were classified as unfit for combat. They were often given combat support roles such as, cooks, quartermaster, and grave diggers. Black soldiers were not allowed in white soldiers units.
Civil right leaders put pressure on the government and convinced them in 1941 to set-up an all black combat unit as an experiment. This all black unit was formed to see if they could perform military tasks on the same level as a white units. Only a few African Americans were allowed to train as pilots in the segregated Tuskeegee Airmen. As the first African American Tuskeegee Airmen they had a lot to prove and they did. They protected the American bombers from the German fighter planes and protected the harbors in Italy. In the 200 missions the Tuskeegee Airmen performed they never lost an American bomber to enemy fire.
The only time African American Soldiers were allowed in the combat units in WW2, which were still strictly segregated, was in the winter of 1944 for a few short weeks during the Battle of the Bulge when commanders were desperate for manpower.
After the defeat of Germany the country was hardly a country free of racism still but it was the first time African Americans experienced a society without formal segregation. They weren’t identified as Negroes, they were identified as victorious warriors for the uniforms they wore. African American Soldiers enjoyed their time abroad and didn’t look forward to returning home because of the racism and segregation.
African American Soldiers were part of the victorious army that liberated Europe from Nazi rule. After WW2 the US Army had black soldiers occupy Germany. They were to democratize the Germans and get rid of all forms of racism, still serving in strictly segregated units.
The experience of the war convinced many of these veterans to continue their fight for equality when they returned home to the US. They got involved in the civil rights movement and became foot soldiers for the cause. This movement changed the face of our nation and encouraged millions of suppressed people across the globe.
The Executive Order 9981 officially ended racial segregation in the US military following WW2. It was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman.
Interview with Eugene Toler World War II veteran Eugene Toler was interviewed for the documentary "City at War: Soldiers of Kankakee." Mr. Toler served in the African American 92nd Infantry Division, also known as the "Blue Helmets."