In what ways were the lives of African Americans affected by the Second World War?

African Americans were affected in a number of ways by World War Two. More than 2.5 million African American men registered for the draft during the war, and over one million actually served in the armed forces. Many African American women also volunteered for military duty. Many hoped that by patriotically serving the United States during the war, they could improve their station once they returned home.
During the war, many African Americans started calling for a "double-victory campaign." They hoped to help defeat the enemy abroad by serving bravely in the fight against fascism. Additionally, they hoped to achieve a victory at home against racism and discrimination. To help achieve these goals, several new civil rights organizations were formed. The most well known of these was the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.). These groups sought to use the African American war effort as a backdrop to address racial equality in the North. They also took on the issue of unequal pay since most African Americans working in factories that provided military materials received less pay than their white counterparts.
On the home front, the ramp-up in industry to support the war effort meant a lot of new jobs became available to African American workers. This resulted in a migration of many from the South to the Mid-West, the Northeast, and to a lesser extent, the West Coast. As such, many African Americans were able to escape the Jim Crow laws of the South.
Once African Americans arrived in new parts of the country, they often encountered new problems. They certainly were not welcomed with open arms. There was often resentment towards African Americans as they moved into previously all white neighborhoods and factories. In fact, in certain cities, such as Detroit, there were race riots in which many African Americans were violently attacked.
The double victory campaign brought attention to the contribution of African Americans in the Allied victory. However, it would be several decades more until its goals of desegregation were achieved.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-african-american-soldiers-saw-world-war-ii-two-front-battle-180964616/

https://www.umbc.edu/che/tahlessons/pdf/Continuity_or_Change_African_Americans_in_World_War_II(PrinterFriendly).pdf