Double Victory

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Double Victory Page 8

by Cheryl Mullenbach


  Black leaders explained that they were not opposed to the plan because it called for bringing in Japanese American women—they were opposed to the idea of bringing any women to Baltimore to be nurses when there were plenty of local women who could fill the positions. They organized a letter-writing campaign to the city’s mayor protesting the plan. The letter writers urged the mayor to use his influence with hospital officials to open the programs to black women. The hospital did abandon its plan to train Japanese American women from the internment camps, but continued to refuse to accept black women into the nurse training program. They explained that there were no housing facilities available for black women. “But there are housing facilities available for the Japanese American women?” the black leaders asked. Then the hospital administrators explained that patients in the hospital would be more accepting of Japanese American women from the internment camps than of black nurses.

  Once again, it appeared that a public hospital—supported by black taxpayers—was discriminating against black nurses. It seemed hospital administrators were inventing flimsy excuses to justify discrimination.

  Too Many Questions

  Crystal Bird Fauset, Mary McLeod Bethune, Thomasina Walker Johnson, and Mabel Staupers were well-known activists to most black Americans in the war years. Inda DeVerne Lee, on the other hand, was not a name most would recognize. But this black woman made an impression with American servicemen serving in India in 1945 when she protested discrimination on a day that was revered by all Americans as a day to celebrate freedom.

  DeVerne Lee was a woman who liked to try on a pair of shoes before buying them. She liked to slip a pretty dress over her head and check out her image in the dressing room mirror before deciding it was the perfect outfit for a special occasion. But DeVerne was a black woman. In some states she couldn’t try on a pair of shoes or a dress in a department store. She could purchase the items—but trying them on first wasn’t allowed.

  DeVerne was always questioning the rules that people of her race were expected to obey in the 1940s. All that questioning didn’t go over well in the community where she was a teacher. After a while, her superintendent suggested she find somewhere else to teach. DeVerne did move from that community and that teaching position, but she never stopped questioning.

  After leaving her teaching job, DeVerne joined the Red Cross and volunteered to go overseas in 1945. She ended up in Calcutta, India, working as a staff assistant at the Cosmos, the Red Cross club for black soldiers. Both black and white soldiers came to Calcutta for rest and relaxation. There were three Red Cross clubs—two for white soldiers and one for black soldiers.

  The heat in Calcutta (today known as Kolkata) could be unbearable, so the US Army built a beautiful new pool for soldiers and Red Cross workers. Black soldiers and Red Cross workers, however, could enjoy the pool just two days a week and every third Sunday. All other days were reserved for white soldiers and white Red Cross workers.

  Shortly after the pool was built, the army decided to hold a big grand opening celebration on July 4. It would be a joint celebration for the pool opening and American Independence Day. That is, a celebration on July 4th for white soldiers and white Red Cross workers but on July 3rd for the black soldiers and black Red Cross workers!

  The black troops and workers, led by DeVerne, decided to boycott the July 3rd celebration. In other words, the army threw a big party, but no one came. It was an embarrassment to the army and the Red Cross party planners.

  Some of the black soldiers were punished for their participation in the boycott. To show their displeasure with the discrimination, DeVerne and some of her coworkers at the Red Cross—Geraldine Smith, Eloise Ligon, Mary Robinson, Bertha Shaw, Willie Lee Johnson, and Alice Johnson—sent a letter to the Red Cross headquarters. They wrote, “July 4th is a day long honored and respected by Negroes as well as other Americans for its significance to democracy and the principles upon which our government was founded. Such a day’s celebration involving Americans anywhere on the face of the globe becomes an insult to whatever minority group is excluded from participation.”

  Because of the incident, DeVerne and the other black Red Cross volunteers requested their return to the United States. But it was wartime, and transportation was dependent on the military. Since the women couldn’t be sent home immediately, the Red Cross assigned them to other positions until their travel could be arranged. DeVerne was given a position that separated her from the other black women and the black soldiers. The women were on the first ship back to the United States as soon as the war ended a few months later.

  The Activists That Never Were

  Many black women were actively working to bring about change for black Americans. Activism took many forms—women’s clubs, letter-writing campaigns, and political activities. Many black people saw social activism as one way to draw attention to—and eliminate—racism and discrimination. But in the 1940s many white Americans saw this kind of activity as dangerous because it threatened a way of life that they viewed as normal—a way of life that allowed and encouraged discrimination. Those Americans looked for opportunities to portray black activism as a frightening element in American society.

  In 1943 a rumor began to circulate among white women who employed black domestics. According to the rumor mill, there was a secret network of black women activists trying to undermine the long tradition of black women working as maids for white women. The current system depended upon the false idea that black women were inferior to their white mistresses, but the (completely fictitious) network was supposedly populated by black maids who preached social equality and formed clubs to further their cause. And, according to the story, they were instigated by America’s First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. That’s why they were known as Eleanor Clubs.

  No one knows exactly how the legend started, but by early 1944 many white women who employed black maids believed the rumors—causing alarm among those individuals who saw this as a threat to their way of life. Here’s how the network supposedly worked: Black maids formed Eleanor Clubs and pledged loyalty to the First Lady. The maids who joined promised to resign from any job where members of the household spoke unfavorably about Mrs. Roosevelt, whom club members referred to as the Great White Angel or the Great White Mother. The clubs’ goal was for all black maids to leave their jobs with white families by Christmas 1943 or January 1944. White women would have to do their own work in the kitchen. The maids’ mottos were “Out of the kitchen by Christmas!” and “A white woman in every kitchen by Christmas!”

  The rumors were so outrageous that it was surprising anyone believed them. But many did. One story that ran the circuit was that a black maid left during the middle of a meal she was serving because one of the guests had said something she didn’t like about Mrs. Roosevelt. And she had been instructed by the Eleanor Club to leave if ever the First Lady was insulted.

  Another rumor was that a white woman in South Carolina walked into her dining room one day and saw three places set at the table. She asked her maid if her husband was bringing a guest for lunch. The maid said no. When the woman asked why the extra place was set, the maid replied, “In the Eleanor Club we always sit with the people we work for.”

  Another widely circulated rumor described a white Florida woman who drove to the house of her maid when the maid didn’t show up for work. She arrived at the house and blasted her car horn. The maid didn’t come out. When she went to the door, she saw the maid lying down. The white woman asked if she was sick, and the maid said she wasn’t. When asked why she hadn’t come to work, the maid reportedly said because she had been to an Eleanor Club meeting where they had been told to demand higher wages, and the club leader had told the women not to respond to car horns from white women.

  Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong supporter of civil rights for black citizens. Many Americans criticized her because of her support of some civil rights causes and her friendships with black women. Her actions at a time when racial discrimination wa
s acceptable made her a target for people who believed in the separation of the races.

  Also, many black maids were leaving domestic service to work in war industries, where the salaries were better and they would receive Social Security benefits. This was an unsettling idea to white women who benefited from the current system, which required black women to work as servants for low wages. It meant white households might have to pay more for maid service, and they might have to provide better working conditions. But the most troubling aspect to them was that it meant black women were making demands—believing they were equal to whites. The Eleanor Clubs seemed like a possible reason for the exodus of black maids from the kitchens of America. And the First Lady’s habit of speaking out against discrimination and associating with black people appeared to explain black women’s bold demands.

  The rumors became so widespread that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took them seriously and conducted an investigation to determine if the clubs existed. It released a statement in January 1943 reporting that their agents had failed to verify the existence of the Eleanor Clubs. They were activist groups that never existed—except in the minds of people who were eager to encourage racist beliefs that black women were to be feared and that activism of any sort by black Americans should be squelched.

  The women who fought for black Americans to join the military, work in war plants, and participate in July 4th celebrations had no interest in secret clubs like the fabled Eleanor Clubs. Activists like E. Pauline Myers, Pauli Murray, Layle Lane, Mabel Staupers, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Thomasina Walker Johnson wanted to call attention to discrimination. Like many American women during World War II, they wanted to do their part for their country. But for these black women, who believed racism hurt the war effort as much as any enemy bomb, supporting the war effort meant fighting discrimination both at home and abroad.

  3

  IN THE MILITARY

  “Will All the Colored Girls Move Over on Th is Side”

  I went to the coffee shop for breakfast, but I was told I could not be served unless I desired to eat in the back of the shop. I left the place unserved because I know that I could be lynched in the U.S. uniform as well as a man in overalls.

  —Louise Miller

  “Will all the colored girls move over on this side.”

  Everyone knew it wasn’t a question. It was a command.

  At the sound of those words, a small group of black women who were about to make history stepped aside as a much larger group of white women were called by name, one by one, and led off to their new living quarters.

  New quarters also awaited the black women. But the living quarters that housed the black women were separate from the whites.

  The women were the first to serve in a newly formed organization called the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp—the WAAC. The women—or “WAACs” as they were called—were settling into their new homes at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

  The WAAC had been established a few months earlier by the US Congress. With so many men needed to fight on the battlefields, the government decided to use women to help in noncombat jobs. A bill was introduced by Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers, and on May 15, 1942, the WAAC was created.

  Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps Is Formed

  The women who arrived in Fort Des Moines in July 1942 were members of the first WAAC officer candidate class. As officers, these women would train and lead the enlisted WAACs, called the auxiliaries. Most of the officer candidates were women who had attended college; many were college graduates and had been working as teachers, secretaries, or social workers in civilian life.

  The plan called for a total of 440 women to make up the first group of officer candidates. Forty were to be black women. In 1942, an estimated 10 percent of the population in the United States was black, so Congress decided to limit the percentage of blacks in the WAAC to 10 percent as well. The group of black candidates became known as the Ten Percenters.

  When the idea of forming the WAAC was brought up, owners of black newspapers and leaders in black communities wrote letters asking the president and Congress to include black women in the corps. Mary McLeod Bethune was working in the War Department in Washington, DC, when discussions began about forming the WAAC. Mary did all she could to make sure black women were given a chance to train as officer candidates. When the decision was made to allow black women to serve in the WAAC, many black people across the country were pleased. But when it became known that the WAAC would “follow the policies of the regular Army,” which included segregating the races, they were very disappointed. Military officials explained that the policy of separating black and white soldiers had been in place for a long time and that they believed the practice worked well for “everyone.” They ignored the fact that it didn’t work well for black soldiers who were restricted to certain jobs within the military and denied basic civil rights.

  When a woman from a southern state was appointed director of the WAAC, many black women were disheartened and skeptical of her capacity to be fair when racial issues arose. The director, Oveta Culp Hobby, promised that there would be no “deliberate displays of discrimination,” but she said the separation of the races would be necessary. She explained, “The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps will follow in general the policies of the regular army of the United States. These policies have been long-formulated and have been found to be workable and time-tested.” The army refused to admit that racial segregation was discrimination.

  Organizations that had been fighting for equality for black women in the WAAC said they would continue the fight. A spokesperson from the National Council of Negro Women said, “Now is the time to change the ‘present procedure’ of the army. If we can’t have democracy now, when in heaven’s name are we going to have it?”

  Recruitment

  “This is a woman’s war as well as a man’s war. Every woman must do her part. One way to do your part is to join the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.” These words appeared on the back cover of a government brochure that outlined the requirements for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942.

  Telegram sent to Vera Campbell, a black podiatrist from New York, announcing her acceptance in the first class of officers in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, 1942. Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center; Vera Campbell Collection

  Across the country, posters, brochures, and newspaper ads encouraged women to support the war effort by joining the WAAC. The hope was that women would take the words seriously and apply for the WAAC officer positions or the lower-ranking auxiliary openings.

  By May 27, army recruiting stations around the country had been supplied with 90,000 application forms. The response was astonishing. WAAC headquarters in Washington, DC, was swamped with women eager to join. Local recruiting stations were flooded with applicants.

  The requirements were straightforward. Candidates had to be between the ages of 21 and 45, stand at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more. Single and married woman could apply. If mothers could prove that their children would be cared for during their absence, they could join. Black women were encouraged by leaders in the black communities to apply, but some reported that officials at recruiting stations refused to give them application forms.

  All across the country black women responded to the call for women to “do their part.” In Chicago two friends, Violet Ward Askins and Mildred Osby, applied together. Charity Adams had just completed her fourth year as a math teacher in Columbia, South Carolina, when she received a written invitation and application form from the WAAC asking her to apply to the first officer training. She had been recommended by the dean of her college. Mildred Carter, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, had danced in Broadway productions and was the first black woman to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She was operating her dance studio—the Silver Box Studios—in Boston, where she taught ballet, tap, and interpretative dance, when she left to enter the first class of WAAC officers. Vera Campbel
l, a podiatrist from New York, and Cleopatra Daniels, a school superintendent from Alabama, also volunteered.

  Dovey Johnson’s grandmother was a personal friend of Mary McLeod Bethune, so when Mary encouraged Dovey to apply to the first WAAC officer class, she entered the recruiting station in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a sense of confidence and asked for an application form. But the white army recruiter tried to squash Dovey’s enthusiasm by shouting at her—and ordering her out of the building. He threatened to have her arrested. So Dovey traveled to a city north of Charlotte where she hoped to escape Jim Crow practices. In Richmond, Virginia, Dovey finally was able to complete an application—resulting in her acceptance into the first class of officer candidates.

  By June 4—the deadline for submitting completed application forms—over 30,000 women had gotten forms and returned them to local recruiting stations across the country. Four hundred and forty would be chosen to attend officer candidate training. The others would be auxiliaries.

  The black women who applied to officer candidate school gave many reasons for their interest in the WAAC. “At this time of history when the entire world is at war, it is the duty of every citizen, regardless of race or creed, to do his share to bring back peace and security to our country,” explained Mary Frances Kearney of Bridgeport, Connecticut. “If we are to win the war, it must be won with the help and cooperation of all of us,” said Cleopatra Daniels.

  Some of the candidates said they were looking for an adventure. Some were bored with their civilian jobs. Some of the black women believed Oveta Culp Hobby when she said that the WAAC would offer “equal opportunity for all.”

  And Director Hobby reminded everyone that “American women have not failed to realize that they owe a debt to democracy. A debt in return for all the privileges which they have enjoyed as free citizens of a free nation.”

 

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