Black History Month - More information on the Double V Campaign

 The National World War II Museum is presenting two webinars for Black History Month on the Double V Campaign for teachers.  I have never participated in a webinar, so I am including their description of this one:

The National WWII Museum celebrates Black History Month with a FREE teacher training webinar, titled Double Victory: African Americans in WWII. Explore the triumphs and challenges experienced by African Americans on the battle fronts and on the Home Front. Meet Pearl Harbor hero Dorie Miller, the Montford Point Marines, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the seven African American Medal of Honor recipients. Learn about A. Philip Randolph’s push for racial equality in war factories and in the barracks and trace the historic path from Roosevelt’s Executive Order 8802 (establishing the Fair Employment Practices Committee in 1940) to President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 (desegregating the military in 1948). FREE classroom-ready lesson plans available to download at the end of the webinar.

The webinar in being offered twice, once on Febuary 8th and again on February 10th at 7:30 CST.  More information and sign up can be found at Black History Month

Yesterday afternoon, I was in the research branch of the NYPL and decided to look at their database for The Pittsburgh Courier and read the original letter that started the whole campaign.  One of the things I like about this blog is the opportunity to learn new things and the Double V Campaign was one of those opportunities.  I thought I would share the original letter that started it all, as well as one of the articles about the wide spread support the campaign received. 

 

This is from The Pittsburgh Courier, January 31, 1942, on page 3.

This is a follow up article on the wide support the campaign received.  It was published in The Pittsbursh Courier on February 14, 1942 on page 1.

I found the Double V Campaign to be particularly interesting because it was basically a grassroots movement, much like what is happening in Egypt today.