Double Victory (6 page)

Unwise to Forget

In April 1945 the Women's Bureau of the US Department of Labor issued a bulletin titled “Negro Women War Workers.”
The document highlighted the work that black women had contributed across a variety of industries and businesses. Readers were reminded that “their contribution is one which this Nation would be unwise to forget or to evaluate falsely.” But throughout the war years the nation ignored and devalued the contributions black women made in every facet of war work. And after the war ended, the nation
did
forget. It was not only unwise; it was wrong.

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze…

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth …

—“Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol

Those words are the haunting lyrics of a protest song made famous by black jazz singer Billie Holiday in 1939. The symbolism of rotting fruit hanging on trees was used to tell the story of the lynching of a black man in the South in the 1930s. The words from the song “Strange Fruit” were still meaningful during the war years of the 1940s.

Some people believed there was good news in the Tuskegee Institute report released at the beginning of 1944: lynchings in the United States were down. Only three persons were reported lynched in 1943—down from five in 1942. Those numbers were little comfort to the families of two 14-year-old black boys from Shubuta, Mississippi.

Ernest Green and Charlie Lang were good friends who wanted to do their part for the war effort. They were almost always together. When people in Shubuta saw Charlie, they knew Ernest wasn't far behind. And when they saw Ernest, they knew Charlie was right around the corner. It would be difficult to find anybody in Shubuta who would say the two were good students, but everybody said they were ace scrap collectors. Around the tiny town of Shubuta the two boys were often seen digging through ruins of deserted houses or rummaging through dump piles. They were looking for iron, copper, aluminum, or old tires to turn in to government centers that made the scrap materials into valuable war supplies. Ernest and Charlie were too young to join the military, but at home in Shubuta they could do their part to win the war.

That's what the two were doing on a Tuesday afternoon in October 1942—collecting scrap for the war effort. They were concentrating on an area around a bridge on the edge of town. Ernest was under the bridge and Charlie was on top when a 13-year-old white girl who knew the boys came along on her way home from school.

What happened next is unclear. One report stated that a white passerby driving over the bridge saw the three together. He went to town and told the girl's father that Charlie was “annoying” the girl. Another report stated the girl escaped from the boys after they attacked her and that she ran home and told her parents about the attack. There were other accounts—all with varying details. It's uncertain what actually happened on that October day. But by the following Monday there was no uncertainty about the fate of Ernest and Charlie.

The local sheriff was swift in reacting to the situation. He quickly arrested the two boys. They were taken to the county
jail at Quitman, Mississippi. At about 1
AM
on Sunday a mob pounded on the door of the jailhouse. According to the county sheriff, a blanket was thrown over his head, he was locked in a cell—and that was the last he saw of the two black boys.

The next day the local citizens were having a gala celebration in honor of Columbus Day. Someone removed two black bodies—Ernest Green and Charlie Lang—hanging from the bridge at the edge of town. They were delivered to the black undertaker in Shubuta. Some reports said there were signs the victims had been tortured. There was a great deal of ambiguity in the reporting of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two boys in their little town in Mississippi.

How could people get away with such horrific acts in 1942 in the United States? That was a question many people asked. It seemed especially outrageous at a time when black men and women were fighting for their country in a war for democracy. Was this the America they were fighting and dying for? Roy Wilkins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said that the lynching of black Americans hurt the nation's war effort “as much as a bomb in an airplane factory or shipyard.”

When black men were discriminated against by the United States military, when black women were denied employment in war plants that received government contracts, when black citizens could not eat at cafeterias in government buildings, black students could not attend public universities, black nurses could not treat white soldiers, and black Americans could not attend a July 4th celebration, these, too, were situations that hurt the war effort in the eyes of black Americans.

But most black citizens refused to let the injustices keep them from contributing. Many found ways to continue to support
their country, while protesting the indignities. Many who led the protests were women. And they laid the groundwork for a bigger struggle that was to come in later years.

The Right to Work and Fight

Some people called A. Philip Randolph “the most dangerous Negro in America” in 1941. He was considered “dangerous” because he wanted to change America. He wanted to change the way black people were treated in employment and in the armed forces. Philip was a well-respected man who had organized black railroad porters into a union in 1925. It was the first labor union for black workers. He had proved things could change when he organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP).

So when A. Philip Randolph announced plans for a massive march on Washington, DC, in January 1941, black and white people paid attention. They knew he could make it happen. He wanted the president of the United States to do something to help black citizens. And he intended to make it happen—not in a dangerous way—but in a way that would get everyone's attention.

“I suggest that 10,000 Negroes march on Washington, D.C., the capital of the nation with the slogan: ‘We loyal Negro American citizens demand the right to work and fight for our country.' Our demand would be simple … jobs in national defense and placement as soldiers and officers of all ranks we are qualified for in the armed forces. What an impressive sight 10,000 Negroes would make marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., with banners preaching their cause for justice, freedom, and equality,” Philip said. The event would be called the March on Washington.

The very same month that Philip called for the March on Washington, President Franklin Roosevelt gave the annual
State of the Union address to the nation. In his speech he outlined “four freedoms” that he said “all Americans” enjoyed.

“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression…. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way…. The third is freedom from want…. The fourth is freedom from fear.”

Many black Americans thought the president's words were meant for them. This president seemed to believe in a world free of discrimination. But it didn't take long for them to realize that things were not going to change.

In March 1941 the US Congress passed a law called the Lend-Lease Act. It allowed the United States to provide billions of dollars of war materials to countries “vital to the defense of the United States.” President Roosevelt had asked Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act after British prime minister Winston Churchill asked for help.

Not everyone was happy about the passage of the act because it appeared that the United States was getting involved in the war that was being fought, not on its own soil, but in Europe. A group of about 500 protested the signing of the Lend-Lease Act in a demonstration in front of the White House in April 1941. They carried signs:
GET OUT AND STAY OUT OF WORLD WAR NO. 2, FIGHT EVERY STEP TO WAR
, and
ALL OUT AID FOR BRITAIN MEANS TOTAL WAR FOR AMERICA
. In his campaign for the presidency in 1940, Franklin Roosevelt had promised that the United States would
not
get involved in the war. “I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again; your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”

The Lend-Lease Act was good news for owners of companies that manufactured products needed by the warring countries. It meant the US government was issuing billions of dollars in
contracts with these companies to produce materials to ship to the countries that were “vital to the defense of the United States.” That meant the companies with the government contracts needed more workers. These companies were willing to pay workers well for their work. And the government was willing to train workers to learn skills needed to work at the jobs.

All of this was good news to black people who were eager to improve their job opportunities and to learn new skills. Companies that had never considered hiring black people were beginning to hire black men and women because they needed all the workers they could get. But reports of discrimination in the defense industries, the military, and in everyday life made people realize that things were not different. It was difficult to sustain hope when discrimination persisted. Many black Americans did not believe others in their country felt the four freedoms were meant for black people too.

Although the United States was not yet at war, the government wanted to be ready for any possibility. In September President Roosevelt had signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. It required all men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register with the government for military service. The government began to draft men for service. At first black Americans were hopeful. There were many black men and women who were eager to serve in the US military. The act specifically stated, “In the selection and training of men under this act, there shall be no discrimination against any person on account of race or color.”

But early in 1941 the military
did
discriminate. Black men in the army lived and worked in segregated units. They were not allowed to join the Army Air Corps. They were allowed to join the navy—but were assigned only to “mess” duties. This meant they were like servants. The Marine Corps did not accept black
men. Women of any color were banned from all branches of the military.

So when A. Philip Randolph called for a “nonviolent” march through the streets of Washington, DC, on July 1, 1941, many black Americans thought it was a good idea. Philip said black people wanted the four freedoms that President Roosevelt had mentioned in his State of the Union address—freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear. But they also wanted a fifth freedom—freedom from discrimination.

Philip was a powerful man, a passionate speaker, and a convincing motivator. But he wasn't much of an organizer. He needed other people who could do the day-to-day work of organizing a massive march of thousands of people. Marchers would be coming from all over the country to the nation's capital. Philip needed help, and he had someone in mind for the job.

The Woman Behind a March

Layle Lane was a tiny woman—only five feet, two inches tall. She was the only black teacher at Benjamin Franklin High School in New York City, where she taught history and English. Although she was very strict, students wanted to get into her classes. Layle was the first black female vice president of a teachers' labor union—the American Federation of Teachers. Most important, Layle Lane was as passionate as A. Philip Randolph when it came to fighting discrimination. And Layle was a great organizer. Philip wanted Layle to help with the March on Washington because she had worked for him in the 1920s when he organized the black porters into the BSCP. She had encouraged workers to join the union, and they did. So he knew she could be very persuasive.