Race relations between white and black Americans in the Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II ran the gamut from harmonious to hostile, depending upon the unique circumstances existing within each unit, command, and theater. In analyzing racial policy as it was implemented throughout the chain of command, are a number of themes relevant for an understanding of the utilization of African Americans during the war. First, the AAF never willingly accepted black soldiers. This service had totally excluded them for over two decades before they were permitted to enter, and then used them only reluctantly. The fact that the AAF even opened its doors to African Americans and proceeded to make additional opportunities available to them was due to pressures aimed at the War Department and the AAF. Individuals and organizations within the black community and white liberals in and out of Congress were quite vocal and were able to exert sufficient pressure to force the War Department and AAF to examine and modify their policies and practices throughout the war. Another recurring theme was that leadership within the War Department and AAF assumed that segregation was the most efficient system of race relations and accepted the separate-but-equal doctrine. Even if we accept separate-but-equal as the law of the land, the AAF did not, in fact, maintain equal facilities for black soldiers, and they were not afforded equal treatment. Thus, the policy of segregation was unsatisfactory for African Americans, and the duplicated facilities that were necessary to maintain the system were far too expensive in terms of the results obtained. And because of deeply ingrained racist beliefs, the Americanpublic and the military were willing to accept the additional financial burden, social unrest, and inefficiency of segregation in an attempt to keep African Americans in their place.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
United States Government Printing OFFICE
ISBN-10
0160515912
ISBN-13
9780160515910
eBay Product ID (ePID)
119167976
Product Key Features
Book Title
Separate and Unequal : Race Relations in the Aaf During World War II
Author
Alan M. Osur
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Military / World War II, Military / United States, Social History, Ethnic Studies / African American Studies