African Americans faced discrimination in the military. Prior to 1940, 30,000 African Americans had tried to enlist in the United States Army. However, they were not allowed to enlist. In the United States Navy, African American could only serve as messmen. African Americans were not allowed to serve in the Air Force or in the Marines.
The attack at Pearl Harbor opened up opportunities for African Americans in the military. African Americans were allowed to enlist in the military. However, they served in segregated units. Black women also were allowed to serve as nurses. While the war opened opportunities for African Americans, they were only allowed to serve in the Army and in the Navy. Some black servicemen were appointed to limited roles such as cooks, laborers, or messmen in the Air Force and in the Marines.
African Americans faced segregation in several ways in the military. Besides fighting in segregated units, African Americans were housed in barracks that were separate from the barracks where the white soldiers stayed. These barracks were often far from the main camp, and oftentimes they were of poorer quality than the barracks available for the white soldiers.
Many African Africans felt it was ironic that they were fighting for freedom and equality elsewhere, but those conditions did not exist for them in the United States. The Double V Campaign was the African American fight for victory in the war and for victory over racism at home.
African Americans experienced discrimination in the military.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-was-black-americas-double-war/
https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/African-Americans-in-the-Military_.pdf
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