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When the United States went to war in 1941, a lot of people immediately signed up to serve their country. After all, they were Americans and their country was now in peril. And so millions of Americans went to war to fight to defend the freedoms they enjoyed so much. African Americans signed up to defend their country as well, but things weren't quite the same for them. Instead of receiving the honor and respect they deserved, African Americans faced the same discrimination and segregation in the armed forces that they had lived with in civilian life. And, naturally, they were given the lowest jobs available. In the Navy, that usually meant serving in the mess as a cook or being on permanent clean up detail.
But in 1943, the Navy sent a group of African Americans to Port Chicago in northern California. There, they loaded huge cargoes of ammunition onto waiting ships. The men immediately noticed that only African Americans were doing this potentially dangerous job, although they had to be supervised by white Naval officers, since the Navy didn't have an black officers.
Then, on July 17, 1944 at 10:18 PM, as a second shift of men were loading the ammunition, an explosion occurred that was felt for miles around and which killed 320 men instantly. Among that number were 202 African Americans. At first, everyone thought the explosion was an enemy attack, but they soon realized what had happened.
A few weeks after being moved to another port, the surviving men were ordered back to loading ammunition. Afraid of what had happened to their friends at Port Chicago, 258 African American sailors refused to obey the order. In fact, they were willing to obey any other order, but that one. After being told to pack their gear, they were crowded onto a prison barge. Eventually, most of the men would return to their jobs. In the end, 50 sailors would be charged with mutiny and court marshaled. And in the trial that followed, they would be found guilty, even though it was clear that the trial was biased, the judge taking the word of the white officers over that of the black sailors.
NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall watched the trial closely and when the guilty verdict was announced, immediately started preparing an appeal. And though the appeal was not successful, the 50 sailors were eventually returned to active service, though they carried the stigma of mutiny throughout their lives.
And yet, Steven Sheinkin contends, these 50 sailors did more for changing the civil rights of African Americans serving their country than they are given credit for, eventually helping to remove the practice of discrimination and segregation in ALL branches of the armed services.
Sheinkin has done it again. First with
Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, now with
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the Fight for Civil Rights. The moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Sheinkin has once again written an exciting nonfiction narrative about a little know part of American history. In
The Port Chicago 50, he brings to life many of the men involved, especially Joe Small, whom the Navy considered to be the ringleader of the mutiny. You will meet other unforgettable men in this book, some heroic, some a bit scoundrelly. But they will all rivet you to their story.
As with all good nonfiction, there are plenty of photographs throughout the book, along with the names of each of the 50 sailors listed in the front matter. Back matter includes extensive source notes, as well as works cited, a list of oral histories and documentaries used and the records of the U.S. Navy regarding the Port Chicago explosion and subsequent trial.
The Port Chicago 50 is a well written, well documented addition to the history of African Americans, their history of the Navy and the history of Civil Rights and a book not to be missed.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
I first heard about the Triple Nickles when I read the book
Jump into the Sky by Shelly Pearsall, the story of a young African American boy whose father was a paratrooper in 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, or the Triple Nickles.
Now, Tanya Lee Stone's
Courage Has No Color tells the true story of the Triple Nickels, America's first and only all black unit of paratroopers in World War II. She begins their story by describing in graphic detail what it feels like to jump out of an airplane and parachute back to earth, to give you an idea of the level of courage it takes to be a paratrooper. It is not something I think I would want to ever do.
From there she writes about the kind of treatment black soldiers received in the military: segregated and relegated to service work and treated like servants. It was demeaning and demoralizing to the men who joined the military to fight for their country and freedom. One man, Walter Morris, a first sergeant in charge of Service Company of The Parachute School, saw how being treated like servants was affecting the men serving under him. Morris devised a plan to teach his men how to feel like soldiers again. It was his plan to teach them what they needed to know to become paratroopers. And so after the white serviceman were finished practicing for the day, and the black servicemen arrived to start cleaning up after them, they also began their training. And someone noticed how well they learned what was needed to become a successful paratrooper. Pretty soon, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, long a proponent of equality, got into the act.
In 1941, The 99th Pursuit Squadron, or the Tuskegee Airmen, was formed and the men trained to be the country's first African American aviators. And in 1943, these airmen were finally sent into combat overseas. But the 555th Paratrooper Infantry Battalion was finally formed in February 1943. Though trained as paratroopers, the Triple Nickles would never be used in combat, instead they were sent to Oregon to fight fires. Turns out those fires were started by balloons sent over by Japan for that very purpose.
All of this and much more about the people and history of the 555th is detailed in
Courage Has No Color, including an in-depth explanation of how they got their name - yes, there more to it than just 555. It is a fascinating book covering this little known aspect of the United States military and World War II and an exceptional contribute to the history of African Americans in this country.
Stone has done an exemplary job of gathering primary source material, including interviews with some the of members of the 555th and lots of archival photographs, to bring to life the courage and heroism of these men and their accomplishments even against all odds. Included is a very eyeopening timeline of the desegregation and the Triple Nickles,
Sadly, the United States Military was not desegregated until 1950.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was obtained from the publisher
Oh yes, remember that description of jumping out of an airplane I mentioned, well, you too can experience what it is like to be a paratrooper by reading it
here.
A very useful teaching guide including Common Core connections, can be downloaded
here.
February is Black History Month and way back in 2011, I looked at a book about African American soldiers in World War II called
The Double V Campaign: African Americans and World War II by Michael L. Cooper. The Double V Campaign demanded that African Americans who were risking their lives fighting for freedom and democracy abroad should be given full civil rights at home - Victory at home AND abroad. Cooper's book is an interesting, well-researched book, but it doesn't tell the whole story of the Double Victory Campaign. The Double V campaign was also waged on the home front, and women played a very important part.
In her book,
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II, Cheryl Mullenbach brings together the lives and work of a number of strong, brave women in four areas: women who worked in the war industry, women who became political activists, women in the military, volunteers and of course, women in entertainment.
Here are only a few of the many stories covered in Mullenbach's book:
High school teacher Layle Lane was asked by A. Philip Randolph, a Civil Righs leader, to help organize a March on Washington in 1941 to end discrimination in employment, since most defense plants would not hire African Americans. The march never happened, but Lane was in on the talks with President Roosevelt that led to the issuance of Executive Order Number 8802, which meant if you discriminate, the Fair Employment Practices Committee can investigate you. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.
Pauli Murray, a female law student, let students from Howard University in peaceful direct action sit-in at a restaurant that refused to serve African Americans. Three by three the students entered, sat and asked for service. When that was refused, they stayed seated and began to quietly study. Police couldn't arrest them because by not being served, they weren't breaking the law. The owner closed for the day, but when he reopened the next day, the students held a peaceful picket outside and after a few days of lost business, the Whites Only sign came down.
The women who joined the WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) once it was opened to African Americans discovered the racism and segregation followed them into the military, just as it had followed men of color. Nevertheless, the women soldered on and succeeded. And eventually, Charity Adams even became the first African American woman officer in the WAACs and commanded the 6888th Central Postal Battalion (see
Mare's War by Tanita Davis for an interesting and accurate fictional account of one women's experience in the 6888th).
Star power carries a lot of weight and in WWII it was not different. When the Hollywood Victory Campaign was formed, actress Hattie McDaniel was asked to be in charge of "Negro talent" section. Hattie, who had won an Academy Award in 1940 for playing Mammy in Gone with the Wind, helped to organize black entertainers to perform in the segregated all black units of the armed forces. This work required the entertainers would need to meet frequently, usually at Hattie's house. But she lived in a restricted area, meaning no blacks allowed. So when the white homeowners filed a legal complaint, Hattie fought back and won.
Lena Horne, one of my favorite singers, was a favorite during the 1930s and 1940s and she was also part of the Hollywood Victory Campaign. Mullenbach tells about the time on a southern USO tour, Lena performed one night to a white only audience, and the next morning in the mess hall, she was to perform for the black soldiers. But in the front row were German POWs. She left the stage, stood in front of the black soldiers, back to the Germans and sang. She ended up quitting the USO tour over this, but continued entertaining soldiers throughout the war.
These are just a few of the many interesting women included in
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II. It is a well-researched, nicely presented book with lots of supporting photographs and detailed back matter. It is intelligently written, yet very accessible for young readers. The fact that she introduces us to ordinary women doing extraordinary things in wartime makes it all the more valuable. And while it is good to know that anyone can make a difference, not just famous people, it is also nice to read about the contributions of so many African American women, which are often overlooked.
Kathryn Atwood started a narrative about women and their courageous acts in WWII in her work
Women Heroes of World War II and Cheryl Mullenbach has extended that narrative to include African American women in
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an E-ARC from
Net Galley
For more on the Double Victory Campaign, see
Newspapers - The Pittsburgh Courier and
Fighting For Democracy - African Americans
*****Spoiler Alert*****
Caleb’s War is a home front coming of age historical novel set in rural
Georgia during the spring and summer of 1944. The main protagonist is Caleb Brown, 15, an intelligent, but angry, frustrated young African American man, and not without cause.
Things at home are sometimes not much better. Caleb and his father often fight and his father believes his is teaching his son to behave by beating him with a leather strap on bare skin. When his father whips him for fighting with some white boys, Caleb decides he can’t work with his father learning carpentry for the summer and ends up washing dishes at Dixie Belle Café, a restaurant he can’t eat at because it is for whites only.
Meanwhile, the town has received some German POWs to help in the fields since so many men are away at war and one, Andreas, is a trained chef and brought to work at the café. Andreas and Caleb become friends; they are, after all, both considered to be pariahs by the white townspeople. Or is this really true for both of them?
Dudley does an excellent job capturing the attitudes of white people towards African Americans ranging from condescending benevolence (the owner of the Dixie Belle Café) to unadulterated hatred (the Hill brothers.) The feeling of fear, uncertainty and anger that African Americans lived with on a daily basis is palpable, and I read many passages with anxiety, thoughts of incidents of lynching, cross burnings, fatal beatings in the back of my mind. Yet, Dudley manages to find a way of getting things across without being so graphic that a young reader would put it down.
Dudley also creates some interesting parallels without sounding forced. For example, while his beloved older brother Randall is off in Europe fighting to defend not only his own country’s freedom, but also free others oppressed by Nazism, Caleb is denied many of the basic freedoms other Americans enjoy. And around the same time that Randall is taken prisoner by the Germans, the previously hated, ostracized POWs, including Caleb’s friend Andreas, are allowed to eat in the Dixie Belle Café.
I started Caleb’s War with a great deal of enthusiasm, which remained right up until the last third of the story. At the beginning of the story, Caleb and his friends are baptized, and while he is underwater, Caleb hears a voice saying “Behold my servant.” He hears this voice more than once, eventually thinking it is the voice of God. When he witnesses the pain caused by deformed, rheumatic hands that Uncle Hiram, an elderly black man also working at the café, suffers from, Caleb offers to pray for him. Well, the next day, Uncle Hiram’s hands are straight and painless.
I thought about this element of the story a lot after I finished reading Caleb’s War.&
By: Laura,
on 2/9/2011
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Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute
My daughter’s 4th grade class is celebrating Black History Month in the most wonderful way by creating a version of Kente cloth. While it’s traditionally made with silk and cotton interweaving threads, her class used pens, paints, and colored pencils to create theirs.
Kente cloth is believed to have originated from the Akan people in West Africa*. The designs are traditionally bright, geometric, and bold. Additionally, the colors and shapes are usually symbolic of historic events, family trees, the seasons, and proverbs. (The Smithsonian Institute has wonderful information online about their “Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity” exhibition)
Making Kente cloths in your library is just one of many ideas to celebrate Black History Month. Texas Library Club has a wonderful list of books, songs, and activities – including a way of making Kente cloths by weaving strips of paper together.
We’d also love to recommend these books for your Black History Month displays:
And you can also download our Black History Month Classroom Kit.
What are you doing at your library to celebrate Black History Month? We’d love to hear your ideas (or even photos of any displays you’ve created)!
* As a former librarian, I have to share this disclaimer: I got my information from Wikipedia.
February is Black History Month and I thought I would take another look at the African American heroes in World War II. These were men and women who fought for victory for their country and for their own equality in the Armed Services.
In January, 1942, the editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, a leading, well-respected African American newspaper, posed the question “Why should I sacrifice my life to live half American?” Beginning in February, the Courier ran the Double V Campaign, demanding equality for all. The campaign received overwhelming support from black leaders and readers all over the country.
Racial discrimination had always been practiced in all branches of the Armed Forces in this country even after World War II had been declared. But African Americans began to question why they should fight in a war for a country that treated them like second class citizens. Black soldiers were housed in substance conditions, often far from base conveniences, such as churches, movies and even the Post Exchange or PX. They were given menial jobs working as janitors or in the mess halls, and not really trained for any kind combat duty.
And yet, right from the beginning of the US entrance into the war, in 1941, African Americans began to distinguish themselves in battle. For example, Dorie Miller was a messman on the USS West Virginia when it was bombed by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor. Dorie ran up on deck, found his wounded commander and carried him to safety. He returned to the deck, picked up an antiaircraft weapon he had never been trained to use and managed to shoot down four enemy aircraft. When the Courier tracked down the identity of the “Negro messman,” as he was called in all the newspaper articles, and printed his name, Dorie was finally awarded his well deserved Navy Cross for heroism. But if the Courier hadn’t printed his name, Dorie’s brave actions and quick thinking would have gone into obscurity, but now his heroic legacy lives on.
Michael L. Cooper traces the history of the campaign from it beginnings to the end of the war and beyond. Change first began with the construction of Fort Huachuca in Arizona, an all black base that was at least built on the same standard as the white bases. There, the Ninety-third Division was first formed and trained for combat in the Pacific against the Japanese. He tells about other heroes who performed so gallantly on both the Western and the Pacific fronts. Cooper ends with the awarding of the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest honor, to seven African American soldiers from World War II. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen until 1997, when President Clinton had the honor of recognizing their contributions. It was a long time coming!
By: Alex Baugh,
on 12/4/2010
Blog:
The Children's War
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'If you ask folks around here what they remember about the year 1944,
A child might say, "That was the year my daddy went off to fight Hitler."
A mother might look off towards Bakers Mountain and whisper that
polio snatched up one of her young'uns.
And the Hickory Daily Record will say that my hometown gave
birth to a miracle.' (pg9)
It is January 1944.
Everyone in
Hickory, NC is focused on the war, including Ann Fay Honeycutt’s family, especially now that her father is off to war to fight Hitler.
But even though he is the one going away, 13 year old Ann Fay feels like this moment is the beginning of a journey for her too.
Her journey begins when her father gives Ann Fay a pair of overalls and tells her that while he is gone, she needs to be the man of the house.
This means planting the victory garden with the help of Junior Bledsoe, a neighbor’s son.
It also means looking after her 6 year old twin sisters, Ida and Ellie and her brother Bobby, 4.
He tells Bobby to help out, but to make sure he plays everyday.
Things go well until the middle of June 1944. Suddenly, everybody’s focus in Hickory
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Eleven-year-old Delphine has looked after her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, ever since her mother left them soon after Fern’s birth seven years ago. Now she and her sisters have traveled across the United States from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to see the mother they barely remember. Once there, they discover a distant woman who won’t let them into her kitchen, feeds them only takeout, and insists that they are gone outside all day. She sends the girls to a summer camp run by the Black Panthers where they are educated about revolution and black rights. Set during in 1968, the girls see first hand the changing times. Written with a depth of character, pitch-perfect dialogue, and a great deal of warmth, this book is an amazing work of children’s fiction.
Williams-Garcia has outdone herself with this novel. Her portrayal of the girls, their mother and the Black Panthers is done even handedly and with appreciation for what was being done. Cecile, the mother, is a complicated figure with a complex history and a fractured relationship with her children. Williams-Garcia’s depiction of her is captivating in both good and bad ways. This book reads as though it is about real people, with real personalities living during real times. The characters grow convincingly throughout the story, with no one leaving behind their personality for sudden, simple change. It is all deeper and more honest than that.
Highly recommended, I would expect this book to garner Newbery attention as well as Coretta Scott King Award interest. This would work well in a classroom, since it is filled with moments worth discussing. It would also make a fantastic summer read. Appropriate for ages 9-13.
Reviewed from library copy.
Also reviewed by The Goddess of YA Literature, Bib-Laura-graphy, A Patchwork of Books, Muddy Puddle Musings, Fuse #8, A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy, and Young Books.
The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Tim Ladwig
Weatherford has taken Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and created a poem that follows African-American history from slavery through to the election of Barack Obama. The poem affirms that God has been with people even in slavery, during the Civil War, during the civil rights movement, and continues to be with them now. Readers will discover historical figures from various times in the book, including Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, Ruby Bridges and Martin Luther King, Jr. There are a wealth of heroes here, all surrounded by the strength of faith.
Weatherford’s words are strong and ringing. They both celebrate and mourn, moving ever onward to a brighter future. The book shines with a beautiful combination of faith and history. Ladwig’s illustrations add to that shine with strong people shown in moments of strength. Many of his paintings have interesting perspectives that make the book even more lovely.
Highly recommended, this is a book that truly captures the strength of a people. Appropriate for ages 6-10.
Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
It is a winter afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama. A boy and his mother are riding the bus home after a long day. The boy is playing with a marble, letting it roll up the aisle. When a hand snatches the marble, the boy sees Ms. Parks smiling at him and she rolls the marble back. The bus gets more crowded and then there is a commotion. The bus remains stopped until the police arrive and take Ms. Parks away. There is something in her eyes and the way she holds her head though, that show the boy that something big is happening. And he can see the same spark in his mother’s eyes now.
Here we see a moment in history captured through a young boy’s perspective. Reynold’s poetry is languid with the warm afternoon and the bumps of the bus. His poetry allows us to see more deeply into the boy and his mother as he calls attention to small details:
Mama shakes “no” at me,
and I hold it snug in my hand.
She’s got them worked-all-day eyes,
but she’s got her strong chin on.
Very accessible to children, the poem is filled with an honesty and truth. Cooper’s illustrations are filled with afternoon sunshine that illuminates this moment in history. He has captured the small world of the bus, yet the poem and his illustrations reveal far more. Warmly lit, detailed and beautifully done, his illustrations are glowingly lovely.
Highly recommended, this book takes history and bring it to life through poetry, image and one boy. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Reviewed from library copy.
We Troubled the Waters by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown
It takes a very special picture book to leave you with tears standing in your eyes. This is that book.
This book of poems takes readers from slavery through Jim Crow to the KKK and the battles of the Civil Rights Movement. It is a visual and poetic trip through African-American history, a journey that evokes the emotions, the cruelty, the hate and the oppression. It lifts only at the end speaking of modern life in America with a hopeful tone and a unity that sees beyond color.
Shange’s poems are powerful, unflinching looks at historical moments. They celebrate victories while continuing to honor the slain and victimized of the past. She writes with an honesty that elevates these poems beyond simple historical facts, creating emotional and honest portrayals of what people felt and experienced during those times.
Brown’s art is equally powerful. His portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks speak to the people themselves and their message even more than their outward appearance. They are beautifully rendered in deep colors, a tribute to the history and the people.
Highly recommended, this is a book that is ideal for February’s Black History Month but should be used all year long. This is our history no matter our color. It is a history we should all be aware of so that it never repeats itself. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Reviewed from library copy.
Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.
By: girlreading,
on 8/17/2007
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The description of jumping from a plane is so well written my heart is thumping after reading it! Those young men were amazingly courageous.
I put that book on my TBR list.
The last air show my dad and I went to before he passed away we got to meet two members of the Tuskegee Airman.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
I know, I felt the same way. They were courageous men, I'm not sure I could have done what they did.
You will probably enjoy this book, Zohar. It must have been so exciting to meet a Tuskegee Airmen, I would love to, but the closest I ever came was a grandson of one.
I learn so much every time I come to your blog. This sounds lie such a great book. Added to my list! :)
like, not lie. :)