A Threatened March on Washington--1941

"Why Should We March?" March on Washington fliers, 1941. A. Philip Randolph Papers, Manuscript Division (8-8) Courtesy of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Washington, D.C..

The papers of A. Philip Randolph document his protests against segregation, particularly in the armed forces and defense industries during the war. Randolph led a successful movement during World War II to end segregation in defense industries by threatening to bring thousands of blacks to protest in Washington, D. C., in 1941.

The threatened March on Washington in 1941 prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802, stating that there should be "no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin." The Committee on Fair Employment Practices was established to handle discrimination complaints. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart8.html

Freedom Riders Seek to Integrate Southern Transportation

Background Map: 1961 Freedom Rides. [New York]: Associated Press Newsfeature, [1962]. Printed map and text. Geography and Map Division. (9-4)

The Freedom Riders of the early 1960s, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), rode through the South seeking integration of the bus, rail, and airport terminals. This Associated Press release, authored by Sid Moody, includes a map and an exceptionally descriptive text that illustrates the routes taken and the history behind the freedom rides. Together, the map and text record the individual cities visited, when and where violence occurred, and how many Freedom Riders were arrested. The text also describes some disturbances resulting from the staged sit-ins and forced recognition of CORE's causes and issues. Looking at the map and reading the text, one can perceive the struggles that these Freedom Riders endured in their quest for full citizenship in 1961. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html

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Women and the War Effort During World War II the U.S. government mounted an extensive propaganda campaign encouraging women to join the war effort. In the fall of 1943, the Office of War Information mounted the "Women in Necessary Services" campaign. The Saturday Evening Post enlisted Norman Rockwell to create a cover for its Labor Day issue. His illustration shows a woman clad in Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) red, white, and blue and encumbered with Cover illustration for the the accouterments of defense work, Saturday Evening Post, including air raid warning equipment. September 4, 1943 Color photomechanical print General Collections (71.3) http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm144.html

Activists & Reformers Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez Grows Up Working conditions for migrant workers were harsh and often unsafe. Their wages were low, and it was difficult to support a family. Cesar's family frequently did not have access to basic needs such as clean water or toilets. Because a large number of migrant workers were Mexican American, they also often faced prejudice, and their children had to skip school to earn wages to help support the family.

During the 1940s, many migrant Cesar Chavez attended about 30 schools in farm worker families lived in government-sponsored camps as California as his family moved from place to place they moved from place to place to find work. After the eighth grade Cesar had to quit school to support his ailing parents. Have you ever had to change schools because your family moved? Can you imagine what it would be like to have to do this 30 times? http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/chavez/growup_2