What role did WWII play in setting the stage for the civil rights movement?

World War II played a major role in setting the stage for the civil rights movement. The war raised the black’s hopes for freedom. The African Americans had been called to fight in World War II. Many felt that they were helping fight to defend people’s rights in other countries; however, back home they weren’t given their rights. Therefore, with the economic prosperity the war brought, blacks felt that they should have the same rights as the whites who were benefiting from the new jobs the war produced. In 1941, A. Philip Randolph promised that 100,000 African Americans would march in Washington if the president did not do something to eliminate discrimination in defense industries. Therefore, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802. It allowed a Committee on Fair Employment Practices to investigate and prevent race discrimination in employment. Randolph called off the march. Over five and a half million blacks migrated north and west in search for jobs and better living conditions. There were unskilled jobs available, but many unions and employers banned blacks from skilled trades. Labor shortages and pressure on the government for fair job opportunities opened assembly line jobs for blacks in defense plants, but still the black families’ income only equaled to about half of the whites. This made blacks angrier and resulted in 242 race riots in 47 cities. The NAACP continued to fight court challenges to segregation, while CORE organized sit-ins against Jim Crow restaurants and theaters. The black soldiers that had fought overseas in the war were being dumped out of army trucks in Mississippi and beaten. Here these men were just fought for America and that was the thanks they received. Along with the economic opportunities offered during and after World War II and the first few African Americans to achieve something of importance such as Jackie Robinson winning Rookie of the Year Award was also the anger the blacks had in them. They had took the discrimination long enough and were just finally ready to enjoy the same prosperities and rights as the whites had gained during and after the war.