Cultural Issues, Africans & African Americans, Prejudice & Discrimination
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Overview
In January 1997, seven black veterans were awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor in World War II. They had been overlooked because of racial prejudice. Michael L. Cooper, author of Hell Fighters: African American Soldiers in World War I, describes the problems black servicemen faced in their fight for a double victory. The Double V Campaign, as it was called, inspired black soldiers to fight on the front lines abroad as well as to fight segregation and inequality at home. Tracing the activities of two reactivated black infantry divisions, the Ninety-second in Europe and the Ninety-third in the Pacific, the author succinctly describes key battles and the individuals who fought in them. At warÆs end, black veterans joined other African Americans in battling racism on the homefront.Recounts how African Americans fought two wars during World War II, one against enemy dictators abroad and the other against racial discrimination at home.
Editorials
Children's Literature -
African Americans were not treated well in America, even after the exploits of Black troops during WWI. There was resistance to their joining the armed services and when accepted menial tasks and segregated facilities were the order of the day. In 1941 Roosevelt issued an Executive Order that abolished discrimination in the war industries and armed services. It was a long hard struggle and Cooper does not omit the racial violence between black and white soldiers and the struggle by black soldiers to achieve recognition in spite of inadequate training and leadership by white officers. World War II forced the integration of blacks and whites in American society and laid the foundation for proving that the races could work in harmony. A collection of black-and-white photographs from the National Archives, maps, chronology of major events, a bibliography and an index round out the book.School Library Journal
Gr 6-8-Cooper examines the two-part campaign waged by African Americans during the Second World War, which emphasized the defeat of fascist states abroad and the improvement of civil rights and economic opportunities at home. He provides brief background about both the causes of the war and the levels of discrimination that blacks faced in the U.S. He explains how the constant efforts of countless individuals broke down some of the racial barriers within the armed services. The author describes the training blacks received, their treatment by and their difficulties with the white power structure, and their battlefield performances. He is objective about his subject, detailing both the strengths and weaknesses of the African-American servicepeople. Numerous black-and-white photographs show the participation of these men and women in all aspects of the war effort. This book will draw both report writers and general readers. It complements titles such as Jacqueline Harris's The Tuskegee Airmen (Dillon, 1995) and Joe Trotter's From a Raw Deal to a New Deal? (Oxford, 1996), which places the black war experience in the broader context of an era and provides a fuller explanation of how the Double V campaign influenced the post-war civil rights movement.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MOBook Details
Published
July 1, 1998
Publisher
New York : Lodestar Books, c1998.
Pages
96
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780525675624