Double Victory by Cheryl Mullenbach Read Free Book Online Page B

was not yet at war, the government wanted to be ready for any possibility. In September President Roosevelt had signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. It required all men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register with the government for military service. The government began to draft men for service. At first black Americans were hopeful. There were many black men and women who were eager to serve in the US military. The act specifically stated, “In the selection and training of men under this act, there shall be no discrimination against any person on account of race or color.”
    But early in 1941 the military
did
discriminate. Black men in the army lived and worked in segregated units. They were not allowed to join the Army Air Corps. They were allowed to join the navy—but were assigned only to “mess” duties. This meant they were like servants. The Marine Corps did not accept blackmen. Women of any color were banned from all branches of the military.
    So when A. Philip Randolph called for a “nonviolent” march through the streets of Washington, DC, on July 1, 1941, many black Americans thought it was a good idea. Philip said black people wanted the four freedoms that President Roosevelt had mentioned in his State of the Union address—freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear. But they also wanted a fifth freedom—freedom from discrimination.
    Philip was a powerful man, a passionate speaker, and a convincing motivator. But he wasn’t much of an organizer. He needed other people who could do the day-to-day work of organizing a massive march of thousands of people. Marchers would be coming from all over the country to the nation’s capital. Philip needed help, and he had someone in mind for the job.
    The Woman Behind a March
    Layle Lane was a tiny woman—only five feet, two inches tall. She was the only black teacher at Benjamin Franklin High School in New York City, where she taught history and English. Although she was very strict, students wanted to get into her classes. Layle was the first black female vice president of a teachers’ labor union—the American Federation of Teachers. Most important, Layle Lane was as passionate as A. Philip Randolph when it came to fighting discrimination. And Layle was a great organizer. Philip wanted Layle to help with the March on Washington because she had worked for him in the 1920s when he organized the black porters into the BSCP. She had encouraged workers to join the union, and they did. So he knew she could be very persuasive.
    When Philip asked Layle to help organize the March on Washington, she said yes. Together with a committee of men and women, Layle put together plans for a silent, dignified march down the streets of the nation’s capital. It would end in a mammoth demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial.
    Plans were laid out with military precision. Each state would send a brigade of three to five divisions of men, women, boys, and girls. The brigades would be headed by veterans from the Great War (that is, World War I). Ministers from churches across the country pledged their support. Local committees throughout the country registered participants. Organizers sold buttons to raise money for transportation by car, train, bus, or by foot. They spread the word through newspapers and by going door-to-door in cities across the country handing out flyers. And Layle—who was opposed to the drinking of alcohol—even marched into taverns in New York City to pass out information.
    By May 1941 the number of marchers who planned to march to Washington in support of equal treatment in the military and employment was estimated at 100,000. The Washington police were preparing for the worst. They didn’t know what they would do if 100,000 “additional Negroes” came to the city since they were already experiencing “difficulty in coping with problems of handling