Race and WWII

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led many young men to expect that they would be drafted. James Gratz Thompson, an African-American from Wichita, Kansas, wrote a letter expressing his frustration to the Pittsburgh Courier, a black newspaper. He questioned whether he should sacrifice his life for a country that only saw him as half-American. Another black soldier, Harold Ward, encountered similar attitudes from a relative who questioned his worthiness because of his race. Ward believed that black Americans were capable of more than society believed. These individuals challenged the myth of black inferiority, paving the way for change. While the civil rights movement didn't start until later, World War II played a significant role in inspiring change. As a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, scores of young men all across the country understood they would most likely be drafted and did the service. James Gratz Thompson of Wichita, Kansas, took this sentiment to heart. Although he was a proud American, he was also an African-American who understood how his nation viewed him. One evening, Thompson frustratingly wrote a letter to the Pittsburgh Courier, the largest black newspaper in the country, outlining his grievances. Should I sacrifice my life to live half-American, he began. Would it be demanding too much to demand full citizenship rights in exchange for the sacrificing of my life? A tragic myth that was often bought into by the black community of this period was one of minimal worth. The status quo was so ingrained into society that it often became an inescapable reality. To Harold Ward, who had witnessed the horrors of Pearl Harbor and had been wounded off Guadalcanal, had a rough encounter with a relative concerning this very notion. One of my aunts, she was very blunt and straightforward, she wouldn't know, how did you become wounded? You stand up and throw pots and pans at the enemy? Can you see how absolutely humiliating that can be? That that's all you can be? Ward was living testimony that it was possible to break these societal norms. He's proof that black Americans are far more capable than was accepted. To Ward, buying into this myth only devalued those who gave the last whole measure. For me, and the likes of me, and I thought, my God, poor Bubba Herman is dead. All these guys of Quincy, Vincennes, and Astoria are dead. All these guys that were aboard Oklahoma, Arizona, I know, I bet you all, every mess attendant and steward aboard Arizona died. While the civil rights movement as we know it did not begin for another decade, and in many ways is still ongoing, World War II is very much a catalyst for the changes that have been made. Because of such individuals as James Thompson, Harold Ward, and countless other black men and women, the very notion of change was, and still is, possible.