Blacks in World War 2
African Americans Fought for Freedom
at Home and Abroad during World War II
More than one million African American men and women served in every branch of the US armed forces during World War II. In addition to battling the forces of Fascism abroad, these Americans also battled racism in the United States and in the US military. The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps all segregated African Americans into separate units because of the belief that they were not as capable as white service members. Adding to this indignity, the Army frequently assigned White officers from the American South to command Black infantrymen.
Source:
The National WWII Museum
By Tyler Bamford, Contributor
February 1, 2020
The Black Panthers Enter Combat: The 761st Tank Battalion
Brought into existence on April 1, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, the 761st Tank Battalion trained amid the restrictions and racism of the Jim Crow South. As a segregated African American unit, it took part in the struggle for racial equality—a struggle in which the men of the 761st—the so-called “Black Panthers,”—would engage for the rest of their lives.
The 761st arrived in France on October 10, 1944, coming ashore at Omaha Beach and moving into Belgium at the beginning of November. General George S. Patton famously gave the Black Panthers a pep talk, saying in part: “Men, you're the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in my Army. I don't care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those Kraut sonsofbitches..."
Source:
The National WWII Museum
By: Ed Lengel, PhD
June 18, 2020
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/black-panthers-761st-tank-battalion
Black Americans Who Served in WWII
Faced Segregation Abroad and at Home
Although African Americans had participated in every conflict since the Revolutionary War, they had done so segregated, and FDR appointee Henry Stimson, the Secretary of War, was not interested in changing the status quo. With a need to shore up the U.S. Armed Forces as war intensified in Europe, FDR decided that Black men could register for the draft, but they would remain segregated and the military would determine the proportion of Blacks inducted into the service.
The compromise represented the paradoxical experience that befell the 1.2 million African American men who served in World War II: They fought for democracy overseas while being treated like second-class citizens by their own country.
Source:
History Channel online
By: Alexis Clark
Updated: August 3, 2023 | Original: August 5, 2020
https://www.history.com/news/black-soldiers-world-war-ii-discrimination
How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans
When lawmakers began drafting the GI Bill in 1944, some Southern Democrats feared that returning Black veterans would use public sympathy for veterans to advocate against Jim Crow laws. To make sure the GI Bill largely benefited white people, the southern Democrats drew on tactics they had previously used to ensure that the New Deal helped as few Black people as possible.
During the drafting of the law, the chair of the House Veterans Committee, Mississippi Congressman John Rankin, played hardball and insisted that the program be administered by individual states instead of the federal government. He got his way. Rankin was known for his virulent racism: He defended segregation, opposed interracial marriage, and had even proposed legislation to confine, then deport, every person with Japanese heritage during World War II.
Source:
History online
By: Erin Blakemore
Updated: June 21, 2023 | Original: June 21, 2019
https://www.history.com/news/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits