World War II was a drastic armed conflict that took the lives of 3% of the world’s population. The majority of estimated deaths occurred due to confrontation, but the rest are connected to famine and war-related diseases. World War II was the battle of all races: white, Asian, and Black people. This essay will discover whether they were treated differently during and after the initial strife.
As controversial as it sounds, World War II was a starting point of the significant changes concerning African Americans. Abroad, they fought for their rights and freedoms in their home country. Moreover, due to this, America’s first national hero was Doris Miller, an African American navy soldier who also became the first black person to receive the Navy Cross (Höhn, 2018). During the war, the United States president had officially prohibited discrimination in the defense industry, which was a huge step forward for the country.
Furthermore, the people of color launched a double V campaign, which was aimed to end the discrimination towards African Americans. By 1942, thousands of black people could finally showcase their talents by enrolling in black universities and colleges, which offered new courses (Höhn, 2018). The government supported the fight by releasing several documents prohibiting discrimination and supporting democracy. It was a massive step towards future equality, which is yet to be achieved.
To conclude, during World War II, America’s black community became actively fighting for their rights and moving the country towards democracy. Although this period was unfortunate for the whole world, it was also a point of the global democracy revolution. The African American community experienced partial help from the government. Although the existing law officially protected them, they were still experiencing discrimination, which meant a long way to go in the context of human rights.
Reference
Höhn, M. (2018). African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for democracy abroad and at home. Military Times.