What prompted President Roosevelt to pass Executive Order 8802?
The planned march on Washington led by A. ?Philip Randolph
The desperate need to fill wartime jobs
FDR supported integration early in his campaign, and the war gave him the opportunity to pursue that agenda
The lynching of three black naval officers
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is: The planned march on Washington led by A. Philip Randolph.
In the early 1940s, as the United States ramped up its industrial production in preparation for entering World War II, there was a significant increase in demand for labor. Despite the urgent need for workers, African Americans faced widespread discrimination and were often excluded from higher-paying defense jobs. In response, A. Philip Randolph, a prominent African American civil rights activist and labor union leader, proposed a bold plan: a mass protest in Washington, D.C., to demand fair employment practices.
Randolph’s plan for a march on Washington was aimed at highlighting the racial inequalities and pressuring the federal government to enact change. This proposed march was highly significant as it would have been the first of its kind, a large-scale protest against racial discrimination in the U.S. government and defense industries. The threat of tens of thousands of protesters descending on the capital during a critical time was a concern for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was wary of any domestic unrest that could undermine the war effort.
Fearing the potential disruption and negative publicity, Roosevelt acted to preempt the march. He issued Executive Order 8802 in June 1941. This order was groundbreaking as it banned racial discrimination in the defense industry, a major sector of the U.S. economy at the time, and established the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to investigate complaints and take action against discriminatory employers.
The issuance of Executive Order 8802 marked a significant step forward in the civil rights movement, setting a precedent for future actions aimed at securing equal opportunities for all Americans, regardless of race. It demonstrated the power of protest and advocacy, showing that direct action and the threat of public demonstration could lead to political response and policy change.
Let me generate an image that represents this historical event.