World War II

African Americans

Among the first areas of American society to experience profound changes as a result of the U.S. participation in the conflict were the armed forces. At the outset of World War II, the U.S. armed forces were segregated, as was much of American civilian society. This began to change as the United States needed greater manpower during the war.

In 1941, there were fewer than 4,000 African Americans serving in the U.S. military, and only 12 were commissioned officers. Most of those in the military served in noncombat support roles. By 1945, more than 1.2 million African Americans were in uniform, serving in both the European and Pacific theaters in combat, as well as in support roles on the home front. Likewise, there were thousands of African American women serving in the various women's auxiliary corps of the armed services, such as the Women's Army Corps and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.

The first African American war hero emerged on the first day of the war. Mess attendant Doris “Dorie” Miller served aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, which was caught in the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Though African Americans were not trained for combat in the military at this time, Miller manned an antiaircraft gun on the stricken vessel and even downed several Japanese planes prior to being ordered to abandon ship. In addition, he helped several injured crewmen, including the critically wounded captain to safety. His actions earned Miller the Navy Cross, the first ever awarded to an African American.

During the initial year of the war, African Americans were routinely passed over by all-white draft boards that doubted their combat ability. Pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pledge that African Americans would be enlisted based on their percentage of the total U.S. population.

In addition to African Americans’ growing military participation, war production and the need for labor drew many blacks from the south to head north to work in mills and factories. This movement was later referred to as a Second Great Migration. The resulting influx of new people exacerbated racial tensions in some northern areas and resulted in racially motivated riots in Detroit.

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