The National WWII Museum African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip videoconference Before your Virtual Field Trip TEACHER GUIDE 1. To better prepare your students for their Virtual Field Trip, please share with them the enclosed African Americans in WWII Fact Sheet the day or week before. 2. Print out the song and poems on pages 4-6. Make copies for your students and be prepared to distribute them during your videoconference. 3. You must make a Test Call to The National WWII Museum at least one day before your Virtual Field Trip. E-mail virtualclassroom@nationalww2museum.org to arrange your test call. The National WWII Museum s IP address: 72.158.213.42 On the day of your Virtual Field Trip 1. Dial The National WWII Museum s IP address. 2. If there is a loss of connection during the videoconference, hang up and try to re-dial the IP address. The telephone number in the Museum s distance learning studio is 504-527-6012, x 351. 3. The Museum educator will greet your students and conduct the session. Students will be asked to participate by raising their hands. You will be asked to select students to answer questions or perform certain activities. You will be called upon to distribute hand-outs at the appropriate time. You are required to remain in the room during the entire videoconference. After your Virtual Field Trip 1. A list of post-visit activities is attached. 2. The Museum will email an evaluation form for you to fill out and email back. By filling the form out, you will help the Museum improve its educational programming. Program funds provided by E.L. AND THELMA GAYLORD FOUNDATION African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 1
The National WWII Museum African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip videoconference LEARNING OUTCOMES The National WWII Museum in New Orleans has created this Virtual Field Trip videoconference to introduce students to the history of African Americans in WWII. By participating in this Virtual Field Trip, students will: Explore the following topics and vocabulary: o Discrimination o Dorie Miller o Double V Campaign o Executive Order 8802 o Executive Order 9981 o Higgins boats o Home Front o Medal of Honor o Montford Point Marines o Oral history o Pearl Harbor o Production o Propaganda o Racism o Red Ball Express o Segregation o Tuskegee Airmen o War bonds And, according to the National Standards of Social Studies, apply those standards in World History, American History, Economics, Civics, and Government and sustain the following learning expectations: o Understand the causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs; o Understand the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world; o Identify various constitutional and societal principles which contradict the perceived American definition of freedom as it applies to African Americans during World War II; o Distinguish the choices made by individuals, firms, or government officials that often generate long term unintended consequences that can partially or entirely offset the initial effects of the decision; o Examine genres of literature of the time to discern the impact of events on culture; and o Maintain a working environment where the solution is teamwork. Explore artifacts, gaining insight into history through object-based inquiry Read primary documents related to African Americans in WWII and: o Determine whether a document is a primary or secondary source; o Analyze the contents of documents; o Compare and contrast different type of documents; o Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different type of documents for historical research o Discuss and determine ways of further analyzing documents Gain an appreciation through historical example for the values of teamwork, courage, optimism, and sacrifice African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 2
African Americans in World War II Fighting for a Double Victory African Americans served bravely and with distinction in every theater of World War II, while simultaneously struggling for their own civil rights from the world s greatest democracy. Although the United States Armed Forces were officially segregated until 1948, WWII laid the foundation for post-war integration of the military. In 1941 fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military and only twelve African Americans had become officers. By 1945, more than 1.2 million African Americans would be serving in uniform on the Home Front, in Europe, and the Pacific (including thousands of African American women in the Women s auxiliaries). During the war years, the segregation practices of civilian life spilled over into the military. The draft was segregated and more often than not African Americans were passed over by the all-white draft boards. Pressure from the NAACP led President Roosevelt to pledge that African Americans would be enlisted according to their percentage in the population. Although this percentage, 10.6%, was never actually attained in the services during the war, African American numbers grew dramatically in the Army, Navy, Army Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. While most African Americans serving at the beginning of WWII were assigned to non-combat units and relegated to service duties, such as supply, maintenance, and transportation, their work behind front lines was equally vital to the war effort. Many drove for the famous Red Ball Express, which carried a half million tons of supplies to the advancing First and Third Armies through France. By 1945, however, troop losses virtually forced the military to begin placing more African American troops into positions as infantrymen, pilots, tankers, medics, and officers in increasing numbers. In all positions and ranks, they served with as much honor, distinction, and courage as any American soldier did. Still, African American MPs stationed in the South often could not enter restaurants where their German prisoners were being served a meal. On D-Day, the First Army on Omaha and Utah Beaches included about 1,700 African American troops. This number included a section of the 327 th Quartermaster Service Company and the 320 th Anti-Aircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion, which protected troops on the beach from aerial attack. Soon the all-black 761 st Tank Battalion was fighting its way through France with Patton s Third Army. They spent 183 days in combat and were credited with capturing 30 major towns in France, Belgium, and Germany. The Army Air Force also established several African American fighter and bomber groups. The famous Tuskegee Airmen of the 332 nd Fighter Group became part of the 15 th Air Force, flying ground support missions over Anzio and escorting bombers on missions over Southern Italy. The Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties May 1943 and June 1945. Bomber crews often requested to be escorted by these Redtails, a nicknamed acquired from the painted tails of Tuskegee fighter planes. Sixty-six Tuskegee Airmen died in combat. Stephen Ambrose identified the lamentable American irony of WWII, writing, The world s greatest democracy fought the world s greatest racist with a segregated army (Ambrose, Citizen Soldier). During the global conflict, African American leaders and organizations established the Double V campaign, calling for victory against the enemy overseas and victory against racism at home. This new black consciousness and the defiant rejection of unjustifiable racism planted important seeds for the post- War civil rights movement. The National WWII Museum honors the contributions of African Americans in Word War II. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 3
Uncle Sam Says Written by Josh White and Waring Cuney, 1939 Well, airplanes flying close to land and sea, Everybody flying but a Negro like me. Uncle Sam says, 'Your place is on the ground; When I fly my airplanes, don't want no Negro 'round.' The same thing for the Navy when ships goes to sea, All they got is a mess boy's job for me. Uncle Sam says, 'Keep on your apron, son; You know I ain't going to let you shoot my big Navy gun.' Got my long government letter, It's my time to go, When I got to the Army, found the same old Jim Crow. Uncle Sam says, 'Two camps for black and white.' But when trouble starts, we'll all be in that same big fight. If you ask me I think democracy is fine, I mean democracy without a color line. Uncle Sam says, 'We'll live the American way.' Let's get together and kill Jim Crow today. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 4
Poetry by African Americans during WWII Civil Service My desk sits facing yours across the floor, Yet your fair head is stiffly held aloof From my own darker one, though neath our roof With one accord we do a job. For war Has linked us as no pleading could before. Yet, seemingly, you wait for further proof That we are spun the same the warp and woof Of new, strong fabric, draped at Freedom s door For you are still reluctant to obey The impulse that would bring you to my side; You send your memos on a metal tray, And coldly killed each overture I ve tried. Why hope to rid charred continents of gloom Till we have learned to smile across a room? Constance C. Nichols, The Crisis, April 1945. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 5
Poetry by African Americans during WWII Only in America ONLY, IN AMERICA Can a child Sit and Dream: Golden Dreams. Fantastic Dreams, Dreams that are aggrandized; And then awake one morning, To find them Realized! ONLY, IN AMERICA Can a person start from scratch; Scummy Scratch, Scrawny Scratch, Barrenly imbued And shed Scratch like a motley d shell; Rebirthed Rebreathed Renewed! ONLY, IN AMERICA Is a whole Nation Free; Free to vote, To enterprise, With impartiality; And Opportunity lends to ALL A Free and Equal hand Did I say ALL? Well, that is ALL except the Negro Man. Rhoza A. Walker, The Crisis, February 1945. ONLY, IN AMERICA Can a mother tell her Son Someday, You ll be the President! Leader of the Mass! And before Age tints with silver tones, This thing has come to pass. ONLY, IN AMERICA Can a Man boldly say; He doesn t like the government Or the men who run the state: Here the laws are FOR THE PEOPLE: This does not alternate. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 6
African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip POST-VIDEOCONFERENCE ACTIVITIES To re-enforce the lessons learned during your Virtual Field Trip, do one or more of the following activities with your class: 1. Invite a local African American person who lived through WWII to visit your school and address your class. Have students prepare question relevant to the African American experience during WWII. 2. Analyze the Langston Hughes poem, Will V-Day be Me-Day Too? The poem is on page 8. 3. Have students conduct research and prepare reports on one of the following topics: The Double V Campaign African American women in the military during WWII The Tuskegee Airmen The 761 st Black Panther Tank Regiment One of the seven African American Medal of Honor recipients Mary McCloud Bethune A. Philip Randolph The Black Press during WWII The African American community in your town during WWII 4. Hold a class discussion using one or more of the following questions as starters: At the beginning of WWII, the War Department stated that African American participation in the Army would be based on its proportion of the population. Do you think that seeking proportional representation of racial groups in the armed forces is a good idea? Why or why not? What about proportional representation in other areas like politics, universities, businesses, etc.? Tuskegee Airman Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Carter stated, We proved that the antidote to racism is excellence in performance. What did he mean by this statement? Do you agree with him? Why or why not? African American women were faced with a double form of discrimination during WWII they were black and they were women. In their struggle for equal treatment during the war do you think that these women felt a stronger kinship to African American men, who also often faced racism, or white women, who also often faced sexism? How could you find out what really happened between these three groups? During WWII many African Americans felt conflicted about striving for civil rights at home at a time when the need for national unity and cooperation was at its highest. In a time of war is it appropriate to campaign for civil rights at home? Why or why not? Can you think of any current issues that relate with this conflict? If you were a social studies teacher teaching a lesson on African Americans in WWII, how much time and attention would you devote to exploring the achievements of African Americans during the war and how much time and attention would you devote to exploring the discriminations they faced during the period? In simplistic terms would you focus on the positive or the negative aspects of the story? Justify your answer. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 7
Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too? Langston Hughes Over There, World War II. Dear Fellow Americans, I write this letter Hoping times will be better When this war Is through. I'm a Tan-skinned Yank Driving a tank. I ask, WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO? I wear a U. S. uniform. I've done the enemy much harm, I've driven back The Germans and the Japs, From Burma to the Rhine. On every battle line, I've dropped defeat Into the Fascists' laps. I am a Negro American Out to defend my land Army, Navy, Air Corps-- I am there. I take munitions through, I fight--or stevedore, too. I face death the same as you do Everywhere. I've seen my buddy lying Where he fell. I've watched him dying I promised him that I would try To make our land a land Where his son could be a man-- And there'd be no Jim Crow birds Left in our sky. So this is what I want to know: When we see Victory's glow, Will you still let old Jim Crow Hold me back? When all those foreign folks who've waited-- Italians, Chinese, Danes--are liberated. Will I still be ill-fated Because I'm black? Here in my own, my native land, Will the Jim Crow laws still stand? Will Dixie lynch me still When I return? Or will you comrades in arms From the factories and the farms, Have learned what this war Was fought for us to learn? When I take off my uniform, Will I be safe from harm-- Or will you do me As the Germans did the Jews? When I've helped this world to save, Shall I still be color's slave? Or will Victory change Your antiquated views? You can't say I didn't fight To smash the Fascists' might. You can't say I wasn't with you in each battle. As a soldier, and a friend. When this war comes to an end, Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car Like cattle? Or will you stand up like a man At home and take your stand For Democracy? That's all I ask of you. When we lay the guns away To celebrate Our Victory Day WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO? That's what I want to know. Sincerely, GI Joe From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes published by Alfred A. Knopf/Vintage. Copyright 1994 by The Estate of Langston Hughes. African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 8
African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 9 The National WWII Museum www.nationalww2museum.org
Bibliography Bowers, William T., William M. Hammond and George L. MacGarrigle. Black Soldier White Army. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Government Printing Office, 1996. Cooper, Michael L. The Double V Campaign: African Americans and World War II. New York: Lodestar Books, 1998. Harley, Sharon. The Timetables of African-American History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in African-American History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Honey, Maureen, editor. Bitter Fruit: African American Women in World War II. Columbia: Univeristy of Missouri Press, 1999. Lanning, Michael Lee (LTC, Ret.). The African-American Soldier; From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press, 1997. MacGregor, Morris J., Jr. Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Government Printing Office, 1981. Sandler, Stanley. Segregated Skies: All-Black Combat Squadrons of WWII. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1992. Takaki, Ronald. Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. World War II Black Medal of Honor Recipients. Posted on U.S. Army Center of Military History Homepage, http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohb.htm African Americans in WWII Virtual Field Trip Teacher Guide, p. 10