Double Victory

by Cheryl Mullenbach

  AWVS

  The American Women’s Volunteer Service (AWVS) was open to black and white women. Their motto was “Unite and serve.” While the group members were united in their goals, they did not serve equally. White women held the top leadership roles, while black women were welcome only as workers who had to operate in groups separate from white groups.

  Much was accomplished by the AWVS volunteers. Every unit had a junior auxiliary of girls 14 to 18 years old who took training courses and provided a messenger service. The organization offered segregated classes in air raid precautions, communications, map reading, convoy driving, motor mechanics, defense photography, public speaking, navigation, home repairs, and nutrition. Black women completed the classes in their segregated units and were qualified to volunteer in positions in businesses and government agencies that were vacant because workers had left for the armed forces or for defense jobs. Their departures left openings in vital jobs—with few workers available to fill them. The women of the AWVS were ready to step in to do the work. Classes for nurse aides and receptionists prepared women for volunteer work in hospitals, daycare nurseries, social welfare organizations, and government agencies. Any woman who completed 100 hours of volunteer work earned the privilege of wearing the AWVS uniform. Many black women took advantage of the opportunities to learn new skills while serving their country in wartime.

  One black AWVS member from Harlem who completed a course in communications and map reading took a volunteer position with the War Department’s “interceptor command.” She worked with other women who plotted the movement of enemy planes spotted by air raid “spotters” at listening posts.

  Another black AWVS member became highly visible when she composed the lyrics and music for the organization’s official theme song, “American Women for Defense.” Mercedes Welcker-Jordan, head of an AWVS motor corps in Harlem, wrote the “catchy” tune that one newspaper described as “destined to be a great hit with orchestras and radio programs.” Mercedes donated the song to the AWVS on the condition that any proceeds from the performance of the song be divided three ways—among the national AWVS committee and the two Harlem units.

  Mercedes Welcker-Jordan, member of the AWVS, plays and sings the official AWVS marching song she composed, April 1942. National Park Service; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site; National Archives for Black Women’s History

  The Harlem AWVS units raised money to purchase an ambulance, and members of the organization were trained to drive it. In Beaumont, Texas, the AWVS unit fingerprinted over 1,600 children in anticipation of an emergency in which children could be separated from their parents, and raised funds to equip four nursery schools. The black AWVS unit in Galveston, Texas, built two air raid shelters in church basements for children and stocked them with fruit juices, water, medicines, and everything that would be needed in an emergency. In Omaha, Nebraska, the AWVS established a daycare for children of defense workers. The nursery was open to both black and white children. In Durham, North Carolina, the black AWVS home nursing classes built an incubator for premature babies and presented it to the city’s department of health.

  The Harlem American Women’s Volunteer Service (AWVS) raised money for and dedicated an ambulance at city hall in Harlem in July 1942. National Park Service; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site; National Archives for Black Women’s History

  AWVS chapters that were located near military camps offered relaxation and recreation for soldiers. In Baltimore the AWVS held dances every Saturday night for soldiers. In Washington, DC, the AWVS held air raid precaution classes in the spring of 1942. In Chicago AWVS members served as clerical workers at draft boards, trained women as fingerprinting experts, and made hotel and railroad reservations for soldiers and their families. In Los Angeles, when a group of soldiers gathered around the black organist after a church service and called out the titles of religious songs, she eagerly played all their requests. This gave the local AWVS chapter an idea. Each week they offered a weekly event at which entertainers performed hymns and spirituals. The events were packed with soldiers, sailors, and marines.

  Because Los Angeles was home to many Hollywood entertainers and sports personalities, the AWVS chapters were sometimes assisted by celebrities. Some entertainers joined the AWVS; others helped raise funds for AWVS projects. In October 1942 the Los Angeles AWVS benefitted from a boxing match between triple titleholder Henry “Hurricane Hank” Armstrong and Juan Zurita when the two boxers donated part of the proceeds from the match to the AWVS. The group’s Servicemen’s Benefit Fund received $4,000 from the event.

  AWVS members were visible to all when they wore their sky blue military-style uniforms. They were proud to be recognized as volunteers for the war effort. Even celebrity volunteers wore the uniforms when they were on AWVS business. The uniform let people know that the women were involved in war work. Sometimes it meant they were given special consideration by people who were grateful for their service. But in October 1942 the AWVS uniform meant little to Southern Pacific Railways employees.

  Twelve black AWVS members—including actresses Maggie Fleming, Patsy Hunter, Millie Monroe, Chinkie Grimes, and Alice Keye—had traveled to Arizona from Los Angeles to volunteer at the opening of an officers’ club at Fort Huachuca. The actresses performed for the thousands of military personnel stationed at the camp, and after the event the women purchased first-class tickets on Southern Pacific’s Argonaut for their return to California. When they boarded the train they were directed to the dirty, overcrowded Jim Crow car and told to find seats. The AWVS members told the usher they had already purchased first-class tickets and wanted to purchase sleeping berths for the overnight trip. They were ignored.

  The women decided they would not stay in the Jim Crow section of the Argonaut. They moved from car to car looking for open seats and ended up standing in the aisles throughout the 100-mile trip from Hereford to Tucson. Finally, after a “stormy session” with a conductor, they were given temporary seats. When passengers holding reservations for those seats got on the train at the various stops, the black AWVS volunteers had to move. When the women threatened to get off the train, rail personnel found seats for them. But they never got their sleeping berths. They sat up all night on the 500-mile ride.

  A rift occurred within the AWVS between white and black members in the spring of 1942 when three prominent black women resigned as a result of discrimination. The AWVS called it a “wrong impression.”

  Grace Nail Johnson, Lugenia Burns Hope, and Osceola Macarthy Adams, all volunteers in the AWVS, were well-known socialites and activists in the black community. They charged the AWVS with discrimination when segregated units were established in Harlem. They claimed that the AWVS did not encourage “full participation of the Negro in the defense program.” Grace had been asked to serve on the national sponsoring committee when the AWVS was created, but she felt that her name was used as “window dressing” and that she was asked to participate only to mask the group’s discrimination policies. Grace also criticized the AWVS for failing to include black women on their policy-making board. To show their displeasure with the AWVS, the three women resigned in February 1942. Their resignations were a way of protesting discrimination within the AWVS. But the AWVS called their actions “subversive”—a term that implied the black women were security threats during a time of war. An AWVS official remarked, “This is a subversive way of behaving. There has been an erroneous impression created by these ladies that they were more significant than they were.”

  The AWVS denied that they had discriminated against black women in Harlem. They said the two Harlem units included both black and white women. In addition, they pointed out that two black members of the Harlem unit were teachers for mixed black and white classes of volunteers.

  Although black women charged that the AWVS didn’t live up to its motto, “Unite and serve,” they overcame the barriers of segregation in order to serve in a variety of ways in AWVS
chapters throughout the country. Once again, they didn’t let discrimination stand in the way of doing their part for the war effort.

  WAND

  Black newspapers called women to action in the fall of 1942. A new volunteer women’s group had been established, and black women were encouraged to step up: “Give service to our country through the WANDs, whose wands point to VICTORY. No matter how little we give, remember, it looms large when all are giving.”

  The Women’s Army for National Defense (WAND) was started in November 1942 by Chicago’s Lovonia Brown. She had worked in other wartime organizations—including the OCD and American Red Cross. Through her work with those groups, Lovonia had seen women using executive skills that usually only men were given the chance to practice, such as leading and managing people. But typically these leadership positions were held by white women. Black women in those organizations were seldom given opportunities to lead or manage other members within the hierarchy. They did much of the work but received little of the glory, Lovonia said. Wanting to give black women the opportunity to sharpen their skills as leaders, she contacted nine other women and together they created the WAND.

  The motto of the group was “Working for victory, planning for peace.” It was a paramilitary group—part military, part civilian—with a structure similar to the US Army. Mary McLeod Bethune was the general. Lovonia Brown was lieutenant general. Marjorie Wickliffe, a social worker from Indiana, and Arenia Mallory, an educator from Mississippi, were colonels. They were assigned regions of the United States to recruit other women for the WAND. The organization was open to both black and white women. Each chapter was named for a well-respected black person. There was the Charlotta Bass Chapter named for the California newspaper publisher, the Margaret Simms Chapter named for a popular entertainer, and the Maudelle Bousfield Chapter to honor Chicago’s first black public school principal.

  Dedication of Women’s Army for National Defense (WANDs) dormitory for war workers in Chicago. Left to right: Announcer Jonathan Cole of WBBM; Lt. Irma Cayton, for whom the dormitory was named; Austin Scott, regional minorities consultant for the Manpower Commission; and Lt. Gen. Lovonia H. Brown, organizer of the WANDs. National Park Service; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site; National Archives for Black Women’s History

  The WANDs took on a variety of causes. In Illinois a chapter made slippers for wounded soldiers. In Alabama a chapter offered nurse aide classes and gave parties for servicemen. In Tennessee a chapter sponsored USO shows. In Mississippi, WANDs went house to house collecting money for the Red Cross. Several WAND chapters in the Chicago area worked together to provide a residence where women who had come to the city to work in government offices during the war could live. Rooms were also available to Women’s Army Corps members who were traveling through the city. They also maintained a childcare center for women who worked in war industries. The WANDs earned money to support their activities by holding teas. There were junior chapters in schools and colleges.

  The WANDs took their motto seriously. They not only worked for victory during the war; they also made plans for the postwar world. Toward the end of the war in 1945 every chapter of the WAND prepared to help returning servicemen and their families—providing information about housing, recreation, education, nursery schools, and business opportunities. Returning servicemen and -women would need assistance finding civilian jobs after the war, and they would need help understanding their rights under the GI Bill. The WANDs were there to help during wartime, and they’d be there after the war.

  In California, where state officials constantly feared enemy invasions along the coastline, the governor organized the Seventh Women’s Ambulance and Nursing Corps as part of the California State Militia. Faustina Johnson was commissioned as lieutenant—the first black woman ever to be given a commission by a California governor—and headed up the corps. She led 75 black women who served as volunteers. They had to provide their own uniforms, but they were proud to serve their state and country. They would be called into service only in the event of an actual invasion, but they were prepared. Four platoons of volunteers included clerical workers, nurses, nurse aides, doctors, ambulance drivers, and stretcher bearers.

  The United Service Organizations

  Across the country in Boston, Massachusetts, another group of black women was prepared to volunteer service to the country. But in 1943 there were barriers that they had to overcome first. In Boston there stands a statue honoring the legacy of Crispus Attucks. He was one of the first casualties of the American Revolution in 1770. Crispus was a black man who died in the Boston Massacre. He became a symbol of freedom and equality. Because of Boston’s commitment to the memory of such a famous black figure, many black people in the city found it especially disturbing when the United Service Organizations (USO) club located only about 50 feet from the Crispus Attucks statue on Boston Common was the site of racial discrimination in 1943.

  The USO was formed in 1941 when six existing organizations combined their resources and their efforts to serve military personnel and their families. The YWCA, YMCA, National Catholic Community Service, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the Traveler’s Aid Association, and the Salvation Army pooled their efforts under the newly created United Service Organizations (USO). It was authorized by the federal government to “serve the spiritual, social, and general welfare needs of soldiers and sailors.” USO clubs were set up wherever men and women of the armed forces were located—in the United States as well as overseas. The USO also provided services for defense workers in some communities. The clubs were run by paid workers and thousands of volunteers. There were over 3,000 USO clubs in the United States during the war.

  USO volunteers helped military wives who visited or wanted to live near their husbands at military camps around the country. It was difficult for these women to find places to stay, but it was even harder for black women because many boarding houses wouldn’t allow black people. Sometimes the women had babies with them. In addition to finding lodging for the women, USO volunteers provided childcare and other services. They also conducted classes in first aid and budgeting and provided advice about marriage and family relationships during wartime.

  In a New York City USO club a military wife could cook a meal for her husband and share it with him in a pleasant atmosphere. She could do her laundry or sew clothes. In Portsmouth, Virginia, the USO offered the Tiny Tots Checking Room where mothers could “park” their babies with volunteers while they ran errands or enjoyed a short rest. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, the USO offered military wives leisure-time activities such as music, arts and crafts, and discussion forums.

  In addition to helping the families of soldiers and sailors, the USO clubs provided recreation for servicemen and -women who were far from their homes. At the clubs they could play games, read a book, or attend a social event. The USO looked for volunteers who they considered outstanding “socially, morally, educationally, and from a spiritual standpoint.” Women volunteers trained to become hostesses. In their special training courses they learned how to greet visitors to the clubs. They wrote letters for the service personnel, organized games, and mended uniforms. Sometimes the volunteers were there just to talk to lonely servicemen and -women. Another duty of the volunteers was to dance with the servicemen at the USO dances.

  The USO was required to open its buildings for the use of all men and women in uniform—but the clubs were usually segregated. So-called Negro USO Clubs were created for the black military personnel. And sometimes problems arose about the locations of the black clubs. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a USO center for black soldiers was scheduled to open in June 1943. But 17 white citizens presented a petition of protest to the city. The signers insisted they weren’t opposed to the idea of a USO for black soldiers. But they thought a “more suitable” location could be found.

  While the USO clubs were often segregated, that wasn’t always the case. Many black women volunteered at USO clubs. Some worked at
segregated clubs and others worked at integrated clubs. But wherever the women volunteered, they did it because they wanted to serve their country during a time of crisis.

  There were integrated USO clubs at Sacramento, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Ayer, Massachusetts; and in other communities. The New York Stage Door Canteen served both black and white guests. The volunteers who operated it were also of both races. There were 200 black hostesses who worked there. A black hostess named Osceola Archer said that sometimes there were problems related to race. Although men and women of both races danced with each other, some visitors to the club resented this. The hostesses were trained to reply, “I am dancing with the uniform of my country.”

  At the USO Soldiers and Sailors Recreation Center, not far from the Crispus Attucks memorial on Boston Common, black USO workers faced discrimination in 1943 when the board of directors of the Boston USO refused to allow black hostesses to volunteer at the center on Boston Common. The group said there weren’t enough black soldiers using the club to justify the use of black hostesses. It explained that most black soldiers and sailors used another USO club on Ruggles Street, and there were black hostesses there. In May, after a month of negotiation with black leaders in Boston, the directors decided to allow black hostesses to volunteer at the Boston Common USO center. But in July, 25 white hostesses at the center threatened to resign if the black hostesses were allowed at the club. Finally, in August, 18 black women were certified by the USO to be hostesses in Boston. When five of them were requested to work at the Hotel Touraine USO center, they were told that they could dance only with black soldiers. The head of the board of directors who had approved the training of the black hostesses said he would never have approved the policy if he had known “mixed dancing was involved.” Even the Boston police commissioner said he would not approve mixed dancing on the Boston Common.