A Divided Society
"In the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth, Southern states and the federal government passed increasingly harsh segregationist laws and practices. In the infamous Plessy vs. Ferguson case of 1896, the Supreme Court established the "separate but equal" doctrine, essentially making segregation a federal policy."
~ Dr. Melton A. McLaurin, Historian, 2009
~ Dr. Melton A. McLaurin, Historian, 2009
"Separate but equal" was the American government policy with military and civil services segregated. When America entered World War I, Negroes enlisted hoping their service would contribute towards equal rights at home. They were bitterly disappointed.
"Every Negro who faced the guns at Metz to 'save democracy' in the last war will remember how much 'democracy' he got when he came back home. Why, they lynched Race soldiers in the South and beat them up in race riots in the North." ~ Revels Cayton, Union Leader, 1941
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The Chicago Defender, 1919
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The lives of Negro citizens and military continued to revolve around discrimination through the Great Depression until 1939 when World War II started.
The Use of Negro Manpower in War, 1925 Classified Report by Major General H. E. Ely (FDR Library)
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"Eventually there would be another war and America would need all its citizens to rally to freedom's cause. This next time, however, African Americans would not be content to fight for freedom abroad while ignoring their own plight at home. This next time whenever it might be, African Americans in uniform would fight for victory abroad and for victory at home. Their postwar experience taught them that they could not achieve this victory at home by serving in an unjust military. Widespread military service had changed Black Americans."
~ Rawn James Junior, Historian, 2013
~ Rawn James Junior, Historian, 2013