"First a negro . . . Incidentally a veteran": Black world war two veterans and the G.I. Bill of rights in the deep south, 1944-1948

Journal of Social History

Volumn 31, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 1-543

  Onkst, David H ^a  

^a AMERICAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0032034123     PISSN: 00224529     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jsh/31.3.517     Document Type: Review

References (219)

1. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
2. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
3. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
4. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
5. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
6. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
7. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
8. William J. Clinton, "Proclamation 6703 - 50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights, June 21, 1994," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 30 no. 25 (27 June 1994): 1323-24; Ken Scharnberg, "The G.I. Bill," The American Legion 137 no. 3 (September 1994): 62; James A. Michener, "After the War: The Victories at Home," Newsweek 121 (11 January 1993): 26-27; Thomas Toch, "The G.I. Bill at 50," U.S. News and World Report 116 no. 26 (27 June 1994): 17; Special Issue "The G.I. Bill's Lasting Legacy," Educational Record 75 no. 4 (Fall 1994); Edwin Kiester, Jr., "The G.I. Bill May Be the Best Deal Ever Made by Uncle Sam," Smithsonian 25 no. 8 (November 1994): 129-39. For two more recent celebratory accounts of the G.I. Bill, see Michael J. Bennett, When Dreams Came True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America (Washington, D.C., 1996) and Theda Skocpol, "Toward A Partnership With American Parents: A Family Oriented Strategy for Progresssive Democrats," Conference Paper given at the Airlie House, Virginia, January 10-12, 1997, p. 8. Interestingly, Skocpol refers to the G.I. Bill "as a kind of formula for social policy success [Skocpol's emphasis] in American democracy."
9. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
10. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
11. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
12. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
13. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
14. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
15. Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War (rev. ed., New York, 1993), pp. 129-36. For the classical statement that suggests that World War Two was a watershed, see Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (20th Anniversary Edition, New York, 1962), p. 997. Some scholars have already started to question how much of a "positive" impact World War Two had on black Americans by stressing the significant increase in racial violence, the repressive effect that the postwar anticommunist crusade had on the black freedom struggle, and the limitations of federal wartime policies. See, Wynn, The Afro-American, pp. 129-31, and 135-36; William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II (3rd ed., New York, 1986, 1995), pp. 86-91; Robert Norrell, "One Thing We Did Right: Reflections on the Movement," in Armstead L. Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, 1991), p. 69; James A. Burran, "Racial Violence South During World War II" (Ph.D. diss., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977); Pete Daniel, "Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II," Journal of American History 77 (December 1990): 905-08.
16. For historical and stylistic reasons, I will use the term "servicemen" to signify both men and women who served in the armed forces during the war.
17. For two contemporary statements which suggested that blacks' status would significantly improve as a result of the war, see Jesse Parkhurst Guzman, Vera Chandler Foster, and W. Hardin Hughes, eds., Negro Year Book: A Review of Events Affecting Negro Life 1941-1946 (Tuskegee, 1946), s.v. "The Negro Veteran in the Economy," by Julius A. Thomas, p. 151; and Myrdal, An American Dilemma, p. 997.
18. For two contemporary statements which suggested that blacks' status would significantly improve as a result of the war, see Jesse Parkhurst Guzman, Vera Chandler Foster, and W. Hardin Hughes, eds., Negro Year Book: A Review of Events Affecting Negro Life 1941-1946 (Tuskegee, 1946), s.v. "The Negro Veteran in the Economy," by Julius A. Thomas, p. 151; and Myrdal, An American Dilemma, p. 997.
19. For two contemporary statements which suggested that blacks' status would significantly improve as a result of the war, see Jesse Parkhurst Guzman, Vera Chandler Foster, and W. Hardin Hughes, eds., Negro Year Book: A Review of Events Affecting Negro Life 1941-1946 (Tuskegee, 1946), s.v. "The Negro Veteran in the Economy," by Julius A. Thomas, p. 151; and Myrdal, An American Dilemma, p. 997.
20. Chafe, The Unfinished Journey, p. 86; Steven F. Lawson, Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (New York, 1976), pp. 96, 102-03, 107, 114, and 340; Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle (Berkeley, 1995), pp. 24, 30-31, 47-48, 56-57, 66, and 136; John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana, 1994), pp. 1-9.
21. Chafe, The Unfinished Journey, p. 86; Steven F. Lawson, Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (New York, 1976), pp. 96, 102-03, 107, 114, and 340; Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle (Berkeley, 1995), pp. 24, 30-31, 47-48, 56-57, 66, and 136; John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana, 1994), pp. 1-9.
22. Chafe, The Unfinished Journey, p. 86; Steven F. Lawson, Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (New York, 1976), pp. 96, 102-03, 107, 114, and 340; Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle (Berkeley, 1995), pp. 24, 30-31, 47-48, 56-57, 66, and 136; John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana, 1994), pp. 1-9.
23. Chafe, The Unfinished Journey, p. 86; Steven F. Lawson, Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (New York, 1976), pp. 96, 102-03, 107, 114, and 340; Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle (Berkeley, 1995), pp. 24, 30-31, 47-48, 56-57, 66, and 136; John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana, 1994), pp. 1-9.
24. At least two other scholars, Jennifer E. Brooks of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Jane F. Levey of Yale University, are currently working on studies of black World War Two veterans. Both Brooks and Levey have forthcoming dissertations on the subject. For previous samples of their work, see their papers from the Hagley Museum and Library's "Aftermath" Conference, October 27, 1995; Jennifer E. Brooks, "Coming Home and Taking Charge: Southern Veterans, Wartime Service, and the Politics of Change," and Jane F. Levey, "Citizenship, Civil Rights, and African-American Veterans after World War II."
25. At least two other scholars, Jennifer E. Brooks of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Jane F. Levey of Yale University, are currently working on studies of black World War Two veterans. Both Brooks and Levey have forthcoming dissertations on the subject. For previous samples of their work, see their papers from the Hagley Museum and Library's "Aftermath" Conference, October 27, 1995; Jennifer E. Brooks, "Coming Home and Taking Charge: Southern Veterans, Wartime Service, and the Politics of Change," and Jane F. Levey, "Citizenship, Civil Rights, and African-American Veterans after World War II."
26. At least two other scholars, Jennifer E. Brooks of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Jane F. Levey of Yale University, are currently working on studies of black World War Two veterans. Both Brooks and Levey have forthcoming dissertations on the subject. For previous samples of their work, see their papers from the Hagley Museum and Library's "Aftermath" Conference, October 27, 1995; Jennifer E. Brooks, "Coming Home and Taking Charge: Southern Veterans, Wartime Service, and the Politics of Change," and Jane F. Levey, "Citizenship, Civil Rights, and African-American Veterans after World War II."
27. To support my argument, I have relied on the NAACP's records, the Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, several Atlanta University sociology students' master theses from the 1940s, black educational journals from the period, and the papers of the Southern Regional Council, or SRC (an interracial organization which administered a program that sent approximately a dozen black former servicemen out into the field to observe and record southern black veterans' attempts to use the G.I. Bill during the postwar period). The SRC's "Veterans' Service Project" began in January 1945 and operated until the end of 1947. The project's basic goals were to inform southern black veterans about their rights under the G.I. Bill and make the public aware of black veterans' poor conditions. For more information on the program, see Henry Paul Houser, The Southern Regional Council" (M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1950), pp. 66-76; William Clifton Allred, Jr., "The Southern Rigional Council 1943-1961" (M.A. thesis, Emory University, Atlanta, 1966) p. 98; Horace A. Bohannon, interview by David Onkst, 16 June 1989, Atlanta, GA, tape recording, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Library, Athens GA. Hereafter cited as "Bohannon Interview."
28. To support my argument, I have relied on the NAACP's records, the Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, several Atlanta University sociology students' master theses from the 1940s, black educational journals from the period, and the papers of the Southern Regional Council, or SRC (an interracial organization which administered a program that sent approximately a dozen black former servicemen out into the field to observe and record southern black veterans' attempts to use the G.I. Bill during the postwar period). The SRC's "Veterans' Service Project" began in January 1945 and operated until the end of 1947. The project's basic goals were to inform southern black veterans about their rights under the G.I. Bill and make the public aware of black veterans' poor conditions. For more information on the program, see Henry Paul Houser, The Southern Regional Council" (M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1950), pp. 66-76; William Clifton Allred, Jr., "The Southern Rigional Council 1943-1961" (M.A. thesis, Emory University, Atlanta, 1966) p. 98; Horace A. Bohannon, interview by David Onkst, 16 June 1989, Atlanta, GA, tape recording, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Library, Athens GA. Hereafter cited as "Bohannon Interview."
29. To support my argument, I have relied on the NAACP's records, the Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, several Atlanta University sociology students' master theses from the 1940s, black educational journals from the period, and the papers of the Southern Regional Council, or SRC (an interracial organization which administered a program that sent approximately a dozen black former servicemen out into the field to observe and record southern black veterans' attempts to use the G.I. Bill during the postwar period). The SRC's "Veterans' Service Project" began in January 1945 and operated until the end of 1947. The project's basic goals were to inform southern black veterans about their rights under the G.I. Bill and make the public aware of black veterans' poor conditions. For more information on the program, see Henry Paul Houser, The Southern Regional Council" (M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1950), pp. 66-76; William Clifton Allred, Jr., "The Southern Rigional Council 1943-1961" (M.A. thesis, Emory University, Atlanta, 1966) p. 98; Horace A. Bohannon, interview by David Onkst, 16 June 1989, Atlanta, GA, tape recording, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Library, Athens GA. Hereafter cited as "Bohannon Interview."
30. The Bill also provided insurance, hospitalisation, and disability benefits, or what some called "maintenance" provisions. However, because this essay only concentrates on the entitlements that the veterans could have used to advance themselves economically and educationally, it will not focus on the maintenance provisions. See, "Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-3469, 22 June 1944).
31. This provision permitted the federal government (through the VA) to guarantee up to 50 percent of each veteran's loan, provided it did not exceed two thousand dollars.
32. Helen E. Cheslik, "Effect of World War II Military Educational Training on Black Colleges" (Ph.D. diss., Wayne State University, Detroit, 1980), pp. 60-61; Robert C. Weaver, "The Negro Veteran," Annals of the American Academy of Political and social Science 238 (March 1945): 128-29; James C. Evans, "Adult Education for Negroes in the Armed Forces," Journal of Negro Education xiv no. 3 (Summer 1945): 441.
33. Helen E. Cheslik, "Effect of World War II Military Educational Training on Black Colleges" (Ph.D. diss., Wayne State University, Detroit, 1980), pp. 60-61; Robert C. Weaver, "The Negro Veteran," Annals of the American Academy of Political and social Science 238 (March 1945): 128-29; James C. Evans, "Adult Education for Negroes in the Armed Forces," Journal of Negro Education xiv no. 3 (Summer 1945): 441.
34. Helen E. Cheslik, "Effect of World War II Military Educational Training on Black Colleges" (Ph.D. diss., Wayne State University, Detroit, 1980), pp. 60-61; Robert C. Weaver, "The Negro Veteran," Annals of the American Academy of Political and social Science 238 (March 1945): 128-29; James C. Evans, "Adult Education for Negroes in the Armed Forces," Journal of Negro Education xiv no. 3 (Summer 1945): 441.
35. Ambrose Caliver, Postwar Education of Negroes: Educational Implications of Army Data and Experiences of Negro Veterans and War Workers (Washington, D.C., 1945), p. 39.
36. For the changes in the South, see Numan V. Bartley, The New South, 1945-1980 Baton Rouge, 1995), pp. 8-11, and 135-46; George Brown Tindall, The Emergence of the New South, 1913-1945 (Baton Rouge, 1967), pp. 430-32 and 694-700; David R. Goldfield, Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers: Southern City and Region, 1607-1980 (Baton Rouge, 1982), pp. 140-42, and 182-84.
37. For the changes in the South, see Numan V. Bartley, The New South, 1945-1980 Baton Rouge, 1995), pp. 8-11, and 135-46; George Brown Tindall, The Emergence of the New South, 1913-1945 (Baton Rouge, 1967), pp. 430-32 and 694-700; David R. Goldfield, Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers: Southern City and Region, 1607-1980 (Baton Rouge, 1982), pp. 140-42, and 182-84.
38. For the changes in the South, see Numan V. Bartley, The New South, 1945-1980 Baton Rouge, 1995), pp. 8-11, and 135-46; George Brown Tindall, The Emergence of the New South, 1913-1945 (Baton Rouge, 1967), pp. 430-32 and 694-700; David R. Goldfield, Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers: Southern City and Region, 1607-1980 (Baton Rouge, 1982), pp. 140-42, and 182-84.
39. For information about black veterans' desire to use their skills and secure their G.I. entitlements when they returned home, see John Lovell, Jr. to Walter White, 22 February 1946, VA Discrimination, 1945-47, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Papers, Library of Congress, Veterans Affairs, Group II, Box G-17. Hereinafter cited as NAACP-LC, followed by the series title, group number (G), and box (Bx) where the material is located. Please note that I used both the manuscript and microfilm versions of the NAACP collection at different points during my research. The microfilm edition is cited as NAACP-MF. Also see, "Color Means Nothing at the Front," 26 January 1945, U.S. Army General, 1945, NAACP-LC, Veterans Affairs G-II, Bx-A -645; Jesse O. Dedmon to Robert L. Williams, 26 April 1945, General Correspondence: January-April 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 10 November 1945, Miscellany: General, 1941- January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12.
40. For information about the number of black VA counselors, compare George S. Mitchell to Julius A. Thomas, 25 February 1947, Southern Regional Council Papers (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1983), Reel 189, Frames 1147; hereafter cited as SRC. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-955-56; Charles G. Bolte and Louis Harris, Our Negro Veterans (New York, 1947), p. 21.
41. For information about the number of black VA counselors, compare George S. Mitchell to Julius A. Thomas, 25 February 1947, Southern Regional Council Papers (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1983), Reel 189, Frames 1147; hereafter cited as SRC. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-955-56; Charles G. Bolte and Louis Harris, Our Negro Veterans (New York, 1947), p. 21.
42. For information about the number of black VA counselors, compare George S. Mitchell to Julius A. Thomas, 25 February 1947, Southern Regional Council Papers (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1983), Reel 189, Frames 1147; hereafter cited as SRC. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-955-56; Charles G. Bolte and Louis Harris, Our Negro Veterans (New York, 1947), p. 21.
43. Birmingham World, 5 February 1946, Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1976), Reel 91, Frame 1050. Hereafter cited as TINCF. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located. Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; Lillian Virginia Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans who are 'On-the-Job' training in Ten Establishments in Atlanta, Georgia" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 8-9.
44. Birmingham World, 5 February 1946, Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1976), Reel 91, Frame 1050. Hereafter cited as TINCF. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located. Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; Lillian Virginia Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans who are 'On-the-Job' training in Ten Establishments in Atlanta, Georgia" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 8-9.
45. Birmingham World, 5 February 1946, Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1976), Reel 91, Frame 1050. Hereafter cited as TINCF. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located. Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; Lillian Virginia Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans who are 'On-the-Job' training in Ten Establishments in Atlanta, Georgia" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 8-9.
46. Birmingham World, 5 February 1946, Tuskegee Institute Newspaper Clippings Files, (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1976), Reel 91, Frame 1050. Hereafter cited as TINCF. Each citation is followed by the reel (R) and frame (F) number where the material is located. Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; Lillian Virginia Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans who are 'On-the-Job' training in Ten Establishments in Atlanta, Georgia" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 8-9.
47. For the history of the USES and its importance to the G.I. Bill, see "Memo to all members of all Management Labor Committees, by Paul McNatt," 15 August 1945, Records of the War Manpower Commission, Region VII, Federal Record Group 211, Archives Branch of the Federal Records Center, East Point, Georgia, Series 14, Box 1, Folder 3. Hereafter cited as WMC. Each citation is respectively followed by the series (S), box (B), and folder (F) number where the material is located. Also, see, William Harber and Daniel H. Kruger, The Role of the United States Employment Service in a Changing Economy (Kalamazoo, MI, 1964), pp. 31-37, 41-46; Davis R. B. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans During World War II (New York, 1969), pp. 224-37.
48. For the history of the USES and its importance to the G.I. Bill, see "Memo to all members of all Management Labor Committees, by Paul McNatt," 15 August 1945, Records of the War Manpower Commission, Region VII, Federal Record Group 211, Archives Branch of the Federal Records Center, East Point, Georgia, Series 14, Box 1, Folder 3. Hereafter cited as WMC. Each citation is respectively followed by the series (S), box (B), and folder (F) number where the material is located. Also, see, William Harber and Daniel H. Kruger, The Role of the United States Employment Service in a Changing Economy (Kalamazoo, MI, 1964), pp. 31-37, 41-46; Davis R. B. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans During World War II (New York, 1969), pp. 224-37.
49. For the history of the USES and its importance to the G.I. Bill, see "Memo to all members of all Management Labor Committees, by Paul McNatt," 15 August 1945, Records of the War Manpower Commission, Region VII, Federal Record Group 211, Archives Branch of the Federal Records Center, East Point, Georgia, Series 14, Box 1, Folder 3. Hereafter cited as WMC. Each citation is respectively followed by the series (S), box (B), and folder (F) number where the material is located. Also, see, William Harber and Daniel H. Kruger, The Role of the United States Employment Service in a Changing Economy (Kalamazoo, MI, 1964), pp. 31-37, 41-46; Davis R. B. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans During World War II (New York, 1969), pp. 224-37.
50. For the history of the USES and its importance to the G.I. Bill, see "Memo to all members of all Management Labor Committees, by Paul McNatt," 15 August 1945, Records of the War Manpower Commission, Region VII, Federal Record Group 211, Archives Branch of the Federal Records Center, East Point, Georgia, Series 14, Box 1, Folder 3. Hereafter cited as WMC. Each citation is respectively followed by the series (S), box (B), and folder (F) number where the material is located. Also, see, William Harber and Daniel H. Kruger, The Role of the United States Employment Service in a Changing Economy (Kalamazoo, MI, 1964), pp. 31-37, 41-46; Davis R. B. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans During World War II (New York, 1969), pp. 224-37.
51. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
52. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
53. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
54. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
55. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
56. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
57. For the number of black USES counselors and where they worked, compare Atlanta Daily World, 4 November, 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-1013; "Service to Negroes in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-791; Louise Delphine Johnson, "A Study of 100 Veterans Rendered Service by the United States Employment Service in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1, 1945 to June 1. 1946" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, 1946), pp. 7, 25; William B. Twitty to George S. Mitchell, 25 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1069; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 23; Julius A. Thomas, Adjustment of Negro Veterans: A Report of the Adjustment Problems of Negro Veterans in 50 Cities (New York, 1967), p. 6; Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran," by George S. Mitchell, pp. 381-82.
58. "Survey of Community Veterans' Information Centers by the American Council on Race Relations," 29 March 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1195-1204.
59. "Draft copy of article by Harry S. Wright, 'Wanted, A Square Deal for Negroes,' " no date, SRC, R-189, F-796-97.
60. New York Times, 8 April 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-759.
61. These figures include both veteran and non-veteran placements. See, "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-955.
62. "Memo, Thomas H. Quigley to Local Office Managers, Area Directors and Field Representatives," 5 June 1945, WMC, S-1, B-4, F-1; Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, p. 102; "Service to Negro Veterans in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-789-90.
63. "Memo, Thomas H. Quigley to Local Office Managers, Area Directors and Field Representatives," 5 June 1945, WMC, S-1, B-4, F-1; Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, p. 102; "Service to Negro Veterans in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-789-90.
64. "Memo, Thomas H. Quigley to Local Office Managers, Area Directors and Field Representatives," 5 June 1945, WMC, S-1, B-4, F-1; Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, p. 102; "Service to Negro Veterans in the South," no date, SRC, R-218, F-789-90.
65. New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 2.
66. "Memo of comments made by southern teachers and school officials about black veterans," Summer 1946, SRC, R-189 F-1291.
67. Rueben H. Thompson to the National Farm Labor Union, 7 May 1946, SRC, R-191, F-173-74.
68. Another type of unemployment compensation that southern black veterans tried to collect under the G.I. Bill was the special readjustment benefit for self-employed veterans. For an overview of the self-employment adjustment, see The President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits: Education and Training, and Employment and Unemployment: A Report on Veterans' Benefits in the United States (Washington, D.C., 1956), p. 134. For specific information on black veterans' attempts to secure self-employment benefits, see Onkst, "First a Negro,"(Conference Paper), pp. 12-13.
69. Another type of unemployment compensation that southern black veterans tried to collect under the G.I. Bill was the special readjustment benefit for self-employed veterans. For an overview of the self-employment adjustment, see The President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits: Education and Training, and Employment and Unemployment: A Report on Veterans' Benefits in the United States (Washington, D.C., 1956), p. 134. For specific information on black veterans' attempts to secure self-employment benefits, see Onkst, "First a Negro,"(Conference Paper), pp. 12-13.
70. 27. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944);Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 115, 118, and 124; Charles Hurd, The Veterans' Program: A Complete Guide to its Benefits, Rights, and Options (New York, 1946), p. 2.
71. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944);Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 115, 118, and 124; Charles Hurd, The Veterans' Program: A Complete Guide to its Benefits, Rights, and Options (New York, 1946), p. 2.
72. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944);Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 115, 118, and 124; Charles Hurd, The Veterans' Program: A Complete Guide to its Benefits, Rights, and Options (New York, 1946), p. 2.
73. Frank P. Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-987. Interestingly, Horace A. Bohannon, another SRC field agent, and a black former serviceman, also observed that several banks and lending agencies were discriminating against black veterans in Georgia, see "Bohannon Interview."
74. Frank P. Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-987. Interestingly, Horace A. Bohannon, another SRC field agent, and a black former serviceman, also observed that several banks and lending agencies were discriminating against black veterans in Georgia, see "Bohannon Interview."
75. "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-956.
76. "GI Loans: Colored Vets Who Borrow Cash Prove Sound Business Investments," Ebony II no. 10 (August 1947): 23; Los Angeles Tribune, 19 September 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-454.
77. "GI Loans: Colored Vets Who Borrow Cash Prove Sound Business Investments," Ebony II no. 10 (August 1947): 23; Los Angeles Tribune, 19 September 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-454.
78. "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R-218, F-956.
79. Congress did not raise veterans' subsidies to the sixty-five and ninety dollar limit until December 28, 1945. Prior to that time veterans only received either fifty or seventy-five dollars depending upon their marital status. The December amendment also removed the education benefit's age limit. See, President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 12-15.
80. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 43; Hurd, The Veterans' Program, pp. 97-98. The education and training provision also allowed veterans to train in "on-the-farm" programs. While "on-the-farm" training was not nearly as popular among black veterans as "on-the-job" instruction, some of the former servicemen did pursue such programs, but with essentially the same disappointing results as "on-the-job" instruction. For more details, see Onkst, "First a Negro," (Conference Paper), pp. 24-27, and 29-30.
81. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 43; Hurd, The Veterans' Program, pp. 97-98. The education and training provision also allowed veterans to train in "on-the-farm" programs. While "on-the-farm" training was not nearly as popular among black veterans as "on-the-job" instruction, some of the former servicemen did pursue such programs, but with essentially the same disappointing results as "on-the-job" instruction. For more details, see Onkst, "First a Negro," (Conference Paper), pp. 24-27, and 29-30.
82. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 43; Hurd, The Veterans' Program, pp. 97-98. The education and training provision also allowed veterans to train in "on-the-farm" programs. While "on-the-farm" training was not nearly as popular among black veterans as "on-the-job" instruction, some of the former servicemen did pursue such programs, but with essentially the same disappointing results as "on-the-job" instruction. For more details, see Onkst, "First a Negro," (Conference Paper), pp. 24-27, and 29-30.
83. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (PL 78-346, 22 June 1944); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 43; Hurd, The Veterans' Program, pp. 97-98. The education and training provision also allowed veterans to train in "on-the-farm" programs. While "on-the-farm" training was not nearly as popular among black veterans as "on-the-job" instruction, some of the former servicemen did pursue such programs, but with essentially the same disappointing results as "on-the-job" instruction. For more details, see Onkst, "First a Negro," (Conference Paper), pp. 24-27, and 29-30.
84. "On the Job Instruction Offered G.I.s," by George S. Mitchell., no date, SRC, R-218, F-905; New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 10.
85. "On the Job Instruction Offered G.I.s," by George S. Mitchell., no date, SRC, R-218, F-905; New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 10.
86. "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657. Black veterans countered white employers' arguments by suggesting that it did not matter whether they would be able to find jobs in the South after they finished their training. For them, the important point remained that they have the option of choosing the training they wanted and rightfully deserved. After all, if a veteran acquired skilled training and still could not find a job in the South, he or she could always migrate to the North or West in search of a position.
87. The National Council of Negro Veterans, Inc., newsletter, October 1946, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A- 657.
88. The National Council of Negro Veterans, Inc., newsletter, October 1946, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A- 657.
89. "Survey of Community Veterans' Information Centers," by the American Council on Race Relations, 29 March 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1201.
90. New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 9.
91. "Services to Negro Veterans in the South," July 1946, SRC, R-218, F-793.
92. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 44; Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 95-98, 112-13, and 124.
93. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 44; Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 95-98, 112-13, and 124.
94. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 44, and 55- 59. For examples of how this affected black veterans in Georgia, see Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 21 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-271-273; Adrian L. Oliver, "A Study of the Work Content and the Adjustment of Twenty-Five Veterans Placed in On- the-Job Training by the Veterans' Center of Atlanta-Fulton County Georgia, September 1, 1946-February 1, 1947" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, Atlanta, 1947), pp. 26-27.
95. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 44, and 55- 59. For examples of how this affected black veterans in Georgia, see Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 21 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-271-273; Adrian L. Oliver, "A Study of the Work Content and the Adjustment of Twenty-Five Veterans Placed in On- the-Job Training by the
96. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 44, and 55- 59. For examples of how this affected black veterans in Georgia, see Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 21 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-271-273; Adrian L. Oliver, "A Study of the Work Content and the Adjustment of Twenty-Five Veterans Placed in On- the-Job Training by the Veterans' Center of Atlanta-Fulton County Georgia, September 1, 1946-February 1, 1947" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, Atlanta, 1947), pp. 26-27.
97. William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-1060; Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," p. 25.
98. William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-1060; Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," p. 25.
99. William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-1060; Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," p. 25.
100. Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 17 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-263-64.
101. Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 17 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-263-64.
102. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 9 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1174.
103. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 12 August 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1364-66. For other incidents of African American employers taking advantage of black veterans, or trying to take advantage of them, see Horace A. Bohannon's Field Report, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-60; Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans," pp. 21-22.
104. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 12 August 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1364-66. For other incidents of African American employers taking advantage of black veterans, or trying to take advantage of them, see Horace A. Bohannon's Field Report, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-60; Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans," pp. 21-22.
105. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 12 August 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1364-66. For other incidents of African American employers taking advantage of black veterans, or trying to take advantage of them, see Horace A. Bohannon's Field Report, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-60; Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans," pp. 21-22.
106. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 12 August 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1364-66. For other incidents of African American employers taking advantage of black veterans, or trying to take advantage of them, see Horace A. Bohannon's Field Report, 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278; William B. Twitty's Field Report on Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 14-18 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1058-60; Evans, "A Study of Twenty-Five Negro Veterans," pp. 21-22.
107. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, Amendment" (PL 79-679, 8 August 1946); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 45-46.
108. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, Amendment" (PL 79-679, 8 August 1946); President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 45-46.
109. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
110. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
111. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
112. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
113. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
114. Oliver, "Work Content and the Adjustment," pp. 22-25, and 30.
115. For another study that reveals the dissatisfaction that black veterans felt with on- the-job training, see George William Franklin, "An Evaluation of Counseling and Employment Activities of Disabled Negro Veterans" (Ph.D. diss., Purdue University, 1955), pp. 5, 30-37, 58, and 89.
116. Lena D. Sayles, "A Study of the Services Rendered by the Georgia Veterans' League to Thirty Veterans Seeking On-the-job Training During January, February, and March, 1946" (M.A. Thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 16-24, 37, and 45. Branches of the GVL existed at one time or other in the following cities: Savannah, Macon, Albany, Brunswick, Valdosta, Waycross, Gainesville, Rome, Lithonia, Cordele, and Moultrie. In August 1946, Sayles reported a statewide membership of five-hundred. Also see Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; George S. Mitchell to H L Mitchell, 5 June 1946, SRC, R-191, F-170.
117. Lena D. Sayles, "A Study of the Services Rendered by the Georgia Veterans' League to Thirty Veterans Seeking On-the-job Training During January, February, and March, 1946" (M.A. Thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 16-24, 37, and 45. Branches of the GVL existed at one time or other in the following cities: Savannah, Macon, Albany, Brunswick, Valdosta, Waycross, Gainesville, Rome, Lithonia, Cordele, and Moultrie. In August 1946, Sayles reported a statewide membership of five-hundred. Also see Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; George S. Mitchell to H L Mitchell, 5 June 1946, SRC, R-191, F-170.
118. Lena D. Sayles, "A Study of the Services Rendered by the Georgia Veterans' League to Thirty Veterans Seeking On-the-job Training During January, February, and March, 1946" (M.A. Thesis, Atlanta University, 1946), pp. 16-24, 37, and 45. Branches of the GVL existed at one time or other in the following cities: Savannah, Macon, Albany, Brunswick, Valdosta, Waycross, Gainesville, Rome, Lithonia, Cordele, and Moultrie. In August 1946, Sayles reported a statewide membership of five-hundred. Also see Atlanta Daily World, 9 September 1945, SRC, R-191, F-1679; George S. Mitchell to H L Mitchell, 5 June 1946, SRC, R-191, F-170.
119. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 25 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-989.
120. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
121. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
122. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
123. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
124. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
125. Frank Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 19 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-986. For a discussion of veterans' salaries, compare "Services to Negro Veterans in the South" no date, SRC, R-218, F-789; Monthly Labor Review 63 no. 11 (November 1946): 720; Monthly Labor Review 65 no. 7 (July 1947): 66-67. For more on various black communities' neglect, see "Problems Affecting the Negro Veteran," by Vincent Malveaux for the American Council on Race Relations, Veterans: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-657; R. L. Williams to Walter White, 16 March 1946, Jesse O. Dedmon: General, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-B-57.
126. New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 9; Frank P. Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 25 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-989-90.
127. New South 1 no. 4 (April 1946): 9; Frank P. Thomas to George S. Mitchell, 25 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-989-90.
128. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 22 September 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1376.
129. "Services to Negro Veterans in the South," July 1946, SRC, R-218, F-793.
130. "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, Amendment" (PL 79-268, 28 December 1945).
131. Sandy Gregg Reid, "A Study of the Social Problems of Fifty Veterans of World War II, Enrolled in Booker T. Washington High School, Atlanta, Georgia 1946-1947" (M.A. thesis, Atlanta University, Atlanta, 1946), p. 5.
132. L. H. Edmondson, Georgia's Educational Opportunities for Negro Veterans (Athens, GA, 1945), pp. 10-17; I. A. Derbigny "Tuskegee Looks at its Veterans," Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14, no. 1, (January 1946): 14; Keith Olson, The G.I. Bill, the Veterans and the Colleges (Lexington, KY, 1974), p. 35.
133. L. H. Edmondson, Georgia's Educational Opportunities for Negro Veterans (Athens, GA, 1945), pp. 10-17; I. A. Derbigny "Tuskegee Looks at its Veterans," Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14, no. 1, (January 1946): 14; Keith Olson, The G.I. Bill, the Veterans and the Colleges (Lexington, KY, 1974), p. 35.
134. L. H. Edmondson, Georgia's Educational Opportunities for Negro Veterans (Athens, GA, 1945), pp. 10-17; I. A. Derbigny "Tuskegee Looks at its Veterans," Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14, no. 1, (January 1946): 14; Keith Olson, The G.I. Bill, the Veterans and the Colleges (Lexington, KY, 1974), p. 35.
135. Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November 1945, General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; Samuel A. Stouffer, Edward A. Suchman, Leland C. DeVinney, Shirley A. Star, and Robin M. Williams, Jr., The American Soldier: Adjustment During Army Life, Volume 1 (Princeton, 1949), p. 490.
136. Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November 1945, General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; Samuel A. Stouffer, Edward A. Suchman, Leland C. DeVinney, Shirley A. Star, and Robin M. Williams, Jr., The American Soldier: Adjustment During Army Life, Volume 1 (Princeton, 1949), p. 490.
137. George S. Mitchell to Col. Campbell C. Johnson, 11 January 1946, SRC, R-189.
138. Edmondson, Georgia's Educational Opportunities, p. 12.
139. "Field Report by Horace A. Bohannon," 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278-79. For more on the school's poor program, see "Field Report by Horace A. Bohannon," 11 March 1946, SRC, R-188, F-281-S2.
140. "Field Report by Horace A. Bohannon," 22 February 1946, SRC, R-188, F-278-79. For more on the school's poor program, see "Field Report by Horace A. Bohannon," 11 March 1946, SRC, R-188, F-281-S2.
141. The emphasis is Bohannon's. Horace A. Bohannon to George S. Mitchell, 17 January, SRC, R-188, F-262.
142. New South 1 no. 4, (April 1946): p. 10.
143. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
144. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
145. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
146. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
147. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
148. Compare George S. Mitchell to Robert H. Owens, 6 June 1946, SRC, R-189, F- 1850-51; Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 15; New South 1, no. 12 (December 1946): p. 13; Pittsburgh Courier, 26 November 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-366; "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," March 1947, SRC, R- 218, F-955; President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, pp. 34-36.
149. Afro-American (Baltimore Edition), 5 April 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-550.
150. Mocon News, 15 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-736.
151. W. A. Bender to the U.S. Congress, 13 January 1948, U.S. Armed Forces: G.I. Bill of Rights, NAACP-LC, General Office Files on Armed Forces Affairs, G-II, Bx-A-642.
152. Washington Post, 7 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-130; Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1151-54.
153. Washington Post, 7 May 1946, SRC, R-188, F-130; Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1151-54.
154. The survey was a composite of three samples of white and black Army officers and enlisted men taken between the summers of 1943 and 1945; see Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 29-31; Caliver, Postwar Education of Negroes, pp. 8-9.
155. The survey was a composite of three samples of white and black Army officers and enlisted men taken between the summers of 1943 and 1945; see Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 29-31; Caliver, Postwar Education of Negroes, pp. 8-9.
156. The survey was a composite of three samples of white and black Army officers and enlisted men taken between the summers of 1943 and 1945; see Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 29-31; Caliver, Postwar Education of Negroes, pp. 8-9.
157. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 186-89; Cheslik, "Effect of World War II Military Educational," p. 92.
158. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses, pp. 186-89; Cheslik, "Effect of World War II Military Educational," p. 92.
159. President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, p. 26.
160. Martin D. Jenkins, "Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education for Negroes, 1946-1947," Journal of Negro Education xvi no. 2 (Spring 1947): 225; Unidentified Newspaper, September 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-13; Los Angeles Tribune, 13 September 1947, TINCF, R-10, F-134.
161. Martin D. Jenkins, "Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education for Negroes, 1946-1947," Journal of Negro Education xvi no. 2 (Spring 1947): 225; Unidentified Newspaper, September 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-13; Los Angeles Tribune, 13 September 1947, TINCF, R-10, F-134.
162. Martin D. Jenkins, "Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education for Negroes, 1946-1947," Journal of Negro Education xvi no. 2 (Spring 1947): 225; Unidentified Newspaper, September 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-13; Los Angeles Tribune, 13 September 1947, TINCF, R-10, F-134.
163. Compare Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War, p. 116; Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 74; Quarles "Background of 1947 College Student," p. 88; Bolte Our Negro Veterans, p. 19.
164. Compare Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War, p. 116; Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 74; Quarles "Background of 1947 College Student," p. 88; Bolte Our Negro Veterans, p. 19.
165. Compare Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War, p. 116; Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 74; Quarles "Background of 1947 College Student," p. 88; Bolte Our Negro Veterans, p. 19.
166. Compare Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War, p. 116; Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 74; Quarles "Background of 1947 College Student," p. 88; Bolte Our Negro Veterans, p. 19.
167. Olson, The G.I. Bill, pp. 67-68; James A. Atkins, "Negro Educational Institutions and the Veterans' Educational Facilities Program," Journal of Negro Education xvii no. 2 (Spring 1948): 141-43.
168. Olson, The G.I. Bill, pp. 67-68; James A. Atkins, "Negro Educational Institutions and the Veterans' Educational Facilities Program," Journal of Negro Education xvii no. 2 (Spring 1948): 141-43.
169. Olson, The G.I. Bill, pp. 74-75.
170. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
171. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
172. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
173. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
174. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
175. For information about the budget increases in Georgia, see Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380. Alabama's increases can be found in Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes 14 no. 4 (October 1946): 223; Birmingham News, 31 October 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-374. And, Mississippi's budget increases are in Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556. Also see, Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 72.
176. Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1151-54.
177. Compare Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556.
178. Compare Negro College Quarterly 4 no. 2 (June 1946): 97; Pittsburgh Courier, 2 May 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-556.
179. "A Survey of Veteran Services for Negro Veterans in Mississippi, by Harry S. Wright," Match 1947, SRC, R-218, F-954.
180. Chicago Defender, 24 August 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-20.
181. Martin D. Jenkins, "Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education for Negroes, 1947-1948," Journal of Negro Education xvii no. 2 (Spring 1948): 209. Because of an error in Alcorn's veteran enrollment report, this figure may even be too optimistic.
182. Martin D. Jenkins, "Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education for Negroes, 1947-1948," Journal of Negro Education xvii no. 2 (Spring 1948): 209. Because of an error in Alcorn's veteran enrollment report, this figure may even be too optimistic.
183. Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 19; "State of Alabama Department of Veterans' Affairs: Narrative Report from September 3, 1946 to January 1, 1947," by Lucious W. Smiley, SRC, R-190, F-91-92.
184. Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 19; "State of Alabama Department of Veterans' Affairs: Narrative Report from September 3, 1946 to January 1, 1947," by Lucious W. Smiley, SRC, R-190, F-91-92.
185. Derbigny "Tuskegee Looks at its Veterans," pp. 12 and 17.
186. Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380; Chicago Defender, 24 August 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-20.
187. Atlanta Constitution, 20 August 1945, TINCF, R-91, F-380; Chicago Defender, 24 August 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-20.
188. John B. Blandford, Jr., to Walter White, 16 July 1945, NAACP- MF, Part 5, R-13, F-634-35; Olson, The G.I. Bill, pp. 66-68.
189. John B. Blandford, Jr., to Walter White, 16 July 1945, NAACP- MF, Part 5, R-13, F-634-35; Olson, The G.I. Bill, pp. 66-68.
190. Chicago Defender, 19 January 1956, TINCF, R-95, F-368.
191. Journal and Guide (city unknown), 23 March 1946, TINCF, R-95, F-368.
192. National Housing Agency, Press Release, 13 November 1946, NAACP-MF, Part 5, R-12, F-787-788.
193. Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 75
194. Thomas's quote is in Guzman, et al., Negro Year Book, s.v. "The Negro Veteran in the Economy," by Julius A. Thomas, p. 151.
195. The VA's survey is cited in Afro-American, 10 May 1947, TINCF, R-100, F-133.
196. Olson, The G.I. Bill, p. 44.
197. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
198. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
199. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
200. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
201. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
202. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
203. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
204. Black veterans did not succeed in integrating these organizations, but they were allowed to establish their own separate "colored" American Legion (AL) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts. For information on their efforts to integrate the AL, see and compare Informer (Houston), March 1945, Chicago Defender, March 1945, Afro-American, March 1945, all located in TINCF, R-94, F-307. On their attempts to desegregate the VFW, see Harry S. Wright to George S. Mitchell, 19 January 1946, SRC, R-188, F-1152. For black veterans' success at establishing their own black AL posts, see Los Angeles Tribune, 7 September 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-644; Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1946, SRC, R-191, F-1729; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46. And, on their success at establishing black VFW posts, see Pittsburgh Courier, 11 May 1946, TINCF, R-98, F-657; Chicago Defender, 25 October 1947, TINCF, R-101, F-384; various unidentified newspapers, no dates, TINCF, R-98, F-642-46.
205. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
206. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
207. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
208. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
209. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
210. The NAACP continually asked southern black veterans to join the American Veterans' Committee (AVC) instead of supporting the veterans' efforts to create their own organizations. NAACP officials considered the AVC the most liberal and progressive veterans' organization of the period because it was an integrated association that sought to secure the civil tights and liberties of all veterans regardless of race. However, what the NAACP did not realize about the AVC was that there were a number of factors that probably made it difficult for black veterans in the Deep South to join. For example, the AVC was not only based in New York City, but was also headed by a group of north-eastern, intellectual, college-educated veterans, hardly men with whom southern black veterans comfortably identified. Similarly, although there were a number of AVC posts throughout the country, most were located in college towns, and since most southern black veterans did not live in such areas, this factor probably severely curtailed their access to the organization. Finally, and even more problematic for southern black veterans, was the fact that the AVC contained veterans who were members of the Communist Party; given the South's postwar anticommunism, it is likely that the communist issue played an important role in keeping black veterans from joining the organization. For information on the NAACP's efforts to discourage black veterans from forming their own organizations, and the association's efforts to persuade the former servicemen to join the AVC, see Leslie Perry to Hastie, Wright, Carter, Delaney, Gannett, White, Wilkins, and Dedmon, 1 May 1945, General Correspondence: May-August 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-9; "Condensation of Notes Taken at NAACP Veterans Conference, November [1945?]," General Correspondence: November-December 1945, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-10; "Walter White's introductory comments to the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945," Notes from the NAACP Veterans Conference, 9 November 1945 Miscellany: General, 1941-January 31, 1946, NAACP-LC, Armed Forces Legal Files, G-II, Bx-G-12. Information on the AVC is in Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, The Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home - From Valley Forge to Vietnam (New York, 1989), pp. 309-14; Rodney Minott, Peerless Patriots: Organised Veterans and the Spirit of Americanism (Washington, 1962), pp. 104-07; Robert L. Tyler, "The American Veterans Committee: Out of a Hot War and Into the Cold," American Quarterly 18 no. 3 (Fall 1966): 420.
211. On southern postwar anticommunism, see "Chapter Seven: Anticommunism, Southern-Style," in John Egerton, Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South (New York, 1994), pp. 448-60.
212. "Bohannon Interview."
213. Bolte, Our Negro Veterans, p. 3
214. "Negro G.I.s Come Back," by William A. Caudill, 4 August 1945, SRC, R-193, F-977.
215. Steven F. Lawson, Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America Since 1941 (Philadelphia, 1991), p. 22. Also see Dittmer, Local People, pp. 1-9.
216. Steven F. Lawson, Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America Since 1941 (Philadelphia, 1991), p. 22. Also see Dittmer, Local People, pp. 1-9.
217. John Modell, Marc Goulden, and Sigurdur Magnusson, "World War II in the Lives of Black Americans: Some Findings and an Interpretation," journal of American History 76, no. 3 (December 1989): 838-48. Significantly, in their essay, Modell and his co-authors consider Samuel Stouffer and his colleagues' famous studies of American World War Two combat veterans' opinion surveys.
218. For some of the other "push" and "pull" factors of southern black out-migration during the war and postwar period, including lynching, racial violence, industrialization, urbanization, the mechanization of southern agriculture, and other factors, see Joe W. Trotter, Jr., ed, The Great Migration in Historical Perspective: New Dimension of Race, Class and Gender (Bloomington, IN, 1991).
219. The emphasis is Modell, Goulden, and Magnusson's. See Modell, et al., "World War II in the Lives of Black Americans," p. 839.