Homefront: How WWII and the US Military Provided the First Spark for the Civil Rights Movement 1 / 2

by Nomad

When it came to the civil rights movement, the US military played a surprisingly important and largely under-recognized role. And it began much earlier in the story than a lot of people realize.  

War is hell on Earth. You'd think that people would have had enough of it. Yet, there's always somebody somewhere declaring war on somebody else, expending vast sums of money, and terrorizing and killing thousands of innocent people and wrecking the otherwise pleasant planet we live on.

On very rare occasions, we can look back and (with a great deal of hesitation) , say that something not all that bad resulted from the war. Scientific advancements, like the mass production and use of antibiotics, are usually cited.

Sometimes, there are more subtle unexpected effects that take years to mature.

In the Name of National Defense

In the spring of 1941, months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was a blue-collar employment boom, particularly in urban areas. Preparation for the US entry in World War II required re-tooling not only of American industry but of the profile of the American workers that serviced that industry.

A significant number of African-Americans had moved to the cities in the north and west and were at that time applying for work. However, when it came to jobs in the defense industry, many African Americans were met with discrimination and sometimes violence. The trickle-down theory- even in these circumstances- seemed to stop at the feet of the black American. 

Enter one of the Civil Rights largely forgotten warriors, the ideological father for future civil rights leaders a generation later. His name was Asa Philip Randolph.

April 12, 1945- The Day America's Father Died

by Nomad

Today marks the seventieth anniversary of the death one of America's greatest presidents. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's passing left the nation not only struck dumb with grief but also a world poised on a new and dangerous age.

Shock and Disbelief

On this day seventy years ago, one of America's most beloved president died suddenly at the "Little White House," his Warm Springs, Georgia retreat since the 1920s.

Shortly after lunch, the care-ridden president had sat in the living room of his cottage, signing letters and reviewing documents. He was sitting for his portrait, reportedly engaged in a lively conservation.

Then, without warning, he was seized by a sharp pain in his head and collapsed. He slumped backward in his chair in an apparent coma. His staff carried him to his bedroom. Doctors were summoned but there was very little that could be done.
In a few hours- at about 3:30 p.m- the 63-year-old president would be dead from a massive cerebral hemorrhage.