The Double V Campaign

Lea Lyon

doi:10.5771/9781538184660

The Double V Campaign

African Americans Fighting for Freedom at Home and Abroad

1. Edition 2024

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doi.org/10.5771/9781538184660
ISBN print: 978-1-5381-8465-3
ISBN online: 978-1-5381-8466-0
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham

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Abstract

The rousing story of the Double V Campaign, started during World War II to encourage Black Americans to fight for freedom overseas and at home.

When the United States entered World War II, young African Americans across the country faced a difficult dilemma. Why should they risk their lives fighting for freedoms in other nations that they did not have at home? The solution: fight two wars at once—for freedom abroad and freedom for Black people in America. A Double Victory!

In The Double V Campaign, Lea Lyondetails this fascinating, little-known part of American history. A young journalist, civil service employee, and aircraft plant cafeteria worker named James G. Thompson came up with the simple yet powerful Double V slogan to represent the fight for victory against the enemy abroad and the fight for victory against racial discrimination at home. Lyon shows how the popular Black-owned newspaper the Pittsburgh Courier, along with other Black newspapers, activists, the NAACP, and others, used the Double V Campaign to push for changes in the segregation and discriminatory practices in the military and defense industry, and how the campaign influenced and enhanced the Civil Rights Movement to come.

The Double V Campaign gave voice to African American communities throughout the war and inspired hundreds of thousands to continue speaking up against discrimination in the years that followed. It is a powerful story of fighting for what is right, of fighting for change and equality even when those in positions of power are telling you to stop, and the strength of a united voice to effect change.

Schlagworte

1940s American history A. Philip Randolph African American history Black History YA Black activists Black-owned newspapers Double V Campaign James G. Thompson James Gratz Thompson NAACP P.L. Prattis Pittsburgh Courier President Roosevelt Pullman Porters V for Victory WWII WWII history World War II civil rights acivists fight against racism history for YA military segregation racism in America

Chapter Expand | CollapsePage
Preface
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Important Names
- Introduction
1–4 1. James G. Thompson 1–4
5–10 2. War, Injustice, and a Letter 5–10
11–18 3. The Pittsburgh Courier 11–18
19–24 4. The Black Press and the Fight for Justice 19–24
25–34 5. The First March on Washington 25–34
35–44 6. Forcing the President’s Hand 35–44
45–50 7. Segregation in the Military 45–50
51–58 8. Fighting the War Department and Jim Crow 51–58
59–66 9. Rolling Out the Double V Campaign 59–66
67–76 10. “Stop the Black Presses!” 67–76
77–84 11. Journalism’s “Underground Railroad” 77–84
85–94 12. African American Women Fight for Victory at Home and Abroad 85–94
95–102 13. Slow but Steady Progress 95–102
103–108 14. The Short but Effective Life of the Double V Campaign 103–108
109–118 15. After the War the Fight on the Home Front Continues 109–118
119–126 16. Ready for the Future 119–126
127–130 Appendix 127–130
131–142 Notes 131–142
143–146 Bibliography 143–146
147–150 Index 147–150
151–152 About the Author 151–152

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