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The outer circle

In document Empathy and Politics (pagina 33-38)

2. Circles

2.2. The outer circle

Instead of focusing solely on the civil rights activists as individuals, in this part of chapter two the civil rights movement will be described more as one entity, because the interaction

between the NAACP and the BSCP on the Presidential decision making is vital in

110 Clifford and Holbrooke, Counsel to the President, 209.

understanding the political pressure from these activists as one united force, even these movements did not always agree with each other. The following books are mostly

used: The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of Racial Equality in America by political scientists Philip A. Klinkner and Rogers M. Smith; Fog of War: The Second World War and the Civil Rights Movement edited by historians Kevin M. Kruse and Stephen Tuck; Divided Arsenal: Race and the American State During World War by political scientist Daniel Kryder and Fighting for Rights: Military Service and the Politics of Citizenship by political scientist Ronald R. Krebs.111 These books provide a thorough understanding of the development and production of the civil rights program during the second World War and, in the case of The Unsteady March, also other periods. The political pressure from these movements has been shown, but it is important to be aware that this sentiment for change coming from the activists did not correspond to public opinion in the U.S.112 Furthermore, it is important to realize throughout this thesis that there was in general not enough public backing for the

desegregation of the troops (and the U.S. as a whole), which will be handled in depth in the next chapter.

In their book Klinkner and Smith describe that instead of a “steady march”, the civil rights evolution is a process where change happened with “two steps forward, one step backwards” and where the end of the race is not even in sight.113 The fight for civil rights has a long history and the authors trace it back to the so-called “era of slavery.” At the end of this period the first steps to racial equality are taken with the abolishment of slavery. However, the end of slavery did not mean that Black Americans are equal to White Americans. Instead, they are still considered inferior to the White establishment. Even though some changes to get to a more racial inclusive society were made during brief periods of time, overall these

changes did not result in an equal social status of the Black community. According, to the political scientists, World War II changed the “racial status quo.” Due to the fight against the Nazi’s, known for their racial ideology, the idea to use such a policy was morally

unjustified.114 Krebs agrees with this statement, but he disagrees with the opinion that World War II had a great impact in the fight for civil rights. Instead, he argues that due to being considered anti-patriotic, which especially during wartime is worrying, the Black activists

111 Klinkner and Smith, The Unsteady March; Kruse, Fog of War; Daniel Kryder, Divided Arsenal; Krebs, Fighting for Rights.

112 Steven White, World War II and American Racial Politics, 26, https.

113 Klinkner and Smith, The Unsteady March, 5–9.

114 Klinkner and Smith, 200–201.

tempered their actions; a mindset which would be kept after the war had finished.115 Even though there is a discussion on the impact of World War II in the fight for civil rights, both Krebs and the duo of Klinkner and Smith agree that the war and, especially the treatment of Black Americans in pre-war conditions, was the way of the past and that a new future laid ahead. The influence of the Black activism on President Truman is noticeable and especially Asa Philip Randolph was very active trying to convince the President.

The impact of the War on the civil rights evolution remains a point of discussion, but to understand this discussion the main players and organizations need to be clarified. As mentioned before, two organizations and two representatives of these groups are mentioned as having the most impact on the Administration(s). First, Asa Philip Randolph and the BSCP will be discussed. Randolph, born April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, Florida, became an activist for social equality during his years in New York city after encountering Chandler Owen, a Black socialist. He started to work together with Owen and Randolph and became convinced that the working man was able to start the social revolution. To fulfill his vision, he became more and more involved with labor organization and in 1925 Randolph was elected as president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). The BSCP was originally an organization to represent the porters of the Pullman Company, which was one of the single largest employers of Black people. After years of negotiations, strikes, and firings, a contract was agreed in 1937; with the employees gaining two million dollars in pay increases, a shorter workweek and overtime pay. The success of these negations contributed to the status of Randolph, who became one of the most visible spokesmen for social equality. Especially during World War II, the role of Randolph in the fight for civil rights grew. Kryder explains the reason how Randolph was able to get into this position. He argues that the main playing fields, where the activists had influence were; industry, agriculture, and the military.116 These areas were the economic cornerstones during the progress of the Second World War and so by acting in these operating fields, the reformers could add pressure for reforms.

In 1941 Randolph, together with associations like the NAACP, was organizing a march on Washington to protest racial discrimination in war industries, the Jim Crow laws, and propose an anti-lynching law and the desegregation of the American Armed forces.117 The operation was part of a greater plan by activists to promote the fight for the improvement of Black Americans. The movement became known as the double V campaign. To achieve

115 Krebs, Fighting for Rights, 151–53.

116 Kryder, Divided Arsenal, 4.

117 Klinkner and Smith, The Unsteady March, 150–60.

victory abroad but also at home in the US. Randolph was the great protagonist for this protest and therefore became a negotiation partner for the Roosevelt administration. The possible danger of a mass strike combined with a huge crowd of Black people would not only be an embarrassment to the Roosevelt administration, but a potential threat of violence.118 Such a force needed to be reckoned with and Eleanor Roosevelt tried to persuade Randolph to call off the march, but Randolph insisted on changes to racial inequity. Changes were established after President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, or the Fair Employment Act. With the Executive Order, the Committee on Fair Employment

Practice (FEPC) was founded, which would investigate discrimination in the employment sector and on the working floor, but the other demands were not met. Despite the incomplete outcome, the march was canceled by Randolph because a first step had been made. Although Klinkner and Smith declare the establishment of EO 8802 as a historic event, Kryder

disagrees with its impact.119 He argues that “the Roosevelt administration implemented policies that may have appeared progressive, but other purposes – the full mobilization of industrial production and the maintenance of the party coalition – outweighed in importance the principle and the goal of egalitarian social reform.”120

Due to the success of EO 8802, Randolph’s star was rising, which continued after Roosevelt’s death. With a new Administration, new possibilities laid ahead and Randolph was invited to meet Truman with other Black Activists on March 22, 1948, to discuss the role of Black Americans in the military. During this meeting, Randolph told Truman: “Mr. President, after making several trips around the country, I can tell you that the mood among Negroes of this country is that they will never bear arms again until all forms of bias and discrimination are abolished.”121 Whether this was true or not is a point of discussion, because the tactics of Randolph were not supported by all the Black leaders, but his strategy to threaten and bluff lead to the establishment of EO 9981 according to Klinkner and Smith.122 The pressure from Randolph becomes even more clear when taking a closer look at online collections of the Truman Library. For example, between December 10, 1947 and January of the following year, Randolph wrote Truman multiple times to persuade him to meet in person to discuss equal treatment in the armed forces. Even though he was not allowed to meet Truman at first, he had to speak with Niles instead. Finally, Randolph would meet Truman in March as

118 Ibid., 157.

119 Ibid., 160.

120 Kryder, Divided Arsenal, 4.

121 Klinkner and Smith, The Unsteady March, 218.

122 Ibid., 221.

explained above.

Although Randolph is most of the times contributed for his hard work, the NAACP was also active to improve the rights of Black Americans. The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People was formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for Black Americans. This collective became one of the most important advocates for the Black community and, during World War II, the NAACP grew from 50,000 members to 400,000 at the end of the war.123 The growth and prominence of the NAACP can be traced back to several reasons; one of them was the leadership of Executive Secretary Walter Francis White. White grew up as a child with a mixed background, could be seen in his skin color. He defined himself at the start of his autobiography as, “I am a Negro. My skin is white, my eyes are blue, my hair is blond. The traits of my race are nowhere visible upon me.”124 Due to his skin color, he was able to pass for a white man, something which was especially of use during his time as an investigator of lynching in the South. In the South White’s position in the organization grew due to the results of the lynching investigations. Although the NAACP published information about the atrocities against Black Americans, not much was done by the local and federal government. Even though White was able to operate in the South for a couple of years, he was eventually almost caught by racists, such as the KKK, and needed to flee to save his life. He was sent to Washington D.C. to lobby for the improvement of the rights of the Black community. The NAACP kept activities going on in the whole country, also in the South, finally leading to the legal decision of the Brown v. Board of Education trail in 1954, where the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn school segregation.125

During this time White’s position in Washington as an important negotiation partner grew steadily and eventually he met President Truman himself. In his book White recalls the meeting of September 19, 1946, where he was the spokesman for the group of civil rights advocates. He explained to the President what atrocities happened to Black veterans, such as Isaac Woodard, all over the country, which shocked Truman, who “exclaimed in his flat, Midwestern accent, “My God! I had no idea it was as terrible as that! We’ve got to do something!””126 Sergeant Isaac Woodard Jr. was a Black veteran, who was decorated for his actions in World War II. On February 12, 1946, while still wearing his uniform, he was

123 Patricia Sullivan, "Movement Building during the World War II era: the NAACP’s legal insurgency in the South," In Kruse, Fog of War, 70-86, 71.

124 Walter Francis White, A Man Called White: The Autobiography of Walter White (New York: Viking Press, 1948), 3.

125 Sullivan, ‘Movement Building during the World War II era,' 84.

126 White, A Man Called White, 325-328, 330–31.

attacked by White police in South Carolina leaving him permanently blind. This response is consistent with a later statement by Truman as a response to Southern Democrats, who

disagreed with an easing policy: “But my very stomach turned over when I learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of army trucks in Mississippi and beaten. Whatever my inclinations as a native of Missouri might have been, as President I know this is bad. I shall fight to end evils like this.”127 Truman’s humanistic nature, which was highlighted in the first chapter as an important part of his decision-making process, can be found in both statements and these statements also clarify that not only Randolph of the BSCP was interested in the desegregation of the military, but the NAACP was also involved in this process. Grown exponentially during the war the NAACP had become an important voice for the Black community and, although White followed a more top-down strategy than Randolph, it resulted also effect. The combination of pressuring the top of the Truman Administration by Randolph and the growth of the NAACP and other Black activist organizations (and therefore the social pressure for change of the civil rights of Black Americans), helped the progressive thinking government officials, such as Nash, Niles, Clifford, and Forrestal, to prioritize desegregating the armed forces, but in the end it was Truman who made the decision. Of course, the question arises; did Truman make a political decision or humanistic one? This question will be further examined in the next chapter, where the popular opinion, the Presidential election of 1948, and the Cold War situation will be discussed.

In document Empathy and Politics (pagina 33-38)