WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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-It was a time of struggle, a
period of daily discrimination,

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an era that sparked
the fight for one's rights.

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And yet, the war had
only just begun.

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It was 1941
and the U.S. was at war.

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However, while battles
ensued far overseas

00:00:16.582 --> 00:00:17.984 line:0%
during World War II,

00:00:17.984 --> 00:00:21.353 line:0%
another fight was already
taking place close to home soil.

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Although President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

00:00:23.356 --> 00:00:25.591 line:0%
banned discrimination
against African-Americans

00:00:25.591 --> 00:00:27.593 line:0%
in the defense industry
that year,

00:00:27.593 --> 00:00:30.096 line:0%
segregation in
the armed forces remained.

00:00:30.096 --> 00:00:32.965 line:0%
Nevertheless, more than
2.5 million African-Americans

00:00:32.965 --> 00:00:35.401 line:0%
registered for the draft
when the war began.

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And over 1 million served.

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As a result of this
dual fight for freedom,

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African-Americans
pursued a double victory,

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one over Axis abroad

00:00:43.843 --> 00:00:46.112 line:0%
and the other over
discrimination at home.

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Hello, everyone,
and welcome to this special

00:00:52.051 --> 00:00:53.619
electronic field trip.

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This webcast is
coming to you live

00:00:55.121 --> 00:00:56.722
from the National
World War II Museum

00:00:56.722 --> 00:00:58.457
in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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I'm Commander Damon Singleton,

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meteorologist
and retired naval officer.

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Throughout the entire month
of February,

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we call special attention to the
stories of African-Americans.

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The founders of
Black History Month,

00:01:08.267 --> 00:01:10.803
the Association for the Study
of African-American Life

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and History or ASALH,
provide a theme each year,

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focusing on historical
issues of importance.

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2018's theme is
African-Americans

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in times of war.

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Through that lens,

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this webcast will spotlight
significant history

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and perspectives
of black Americans

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with students like you
all across the country.

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Today is also
Digital Learning Day

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and we have a unique opportunity
for you to learn

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and participate live with us
right from your classroom.

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Throughout the program,
there will be polls for you

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to vote on
that help inform our story.

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Shortly, we'll be joined
by World War II expert

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and museum historian
Dr. Rob Citino,

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who'll be providing insights

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and answering
some of your questions.

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If you're watching
on the museum website,

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you can ask questions
and answer polls

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in the box
directly below this screen

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or you can go to slido.com
and type in the code #S085

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to join in the conversation.

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Captioning for this program
is also available below.

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You'll also meet our two
excellent student reporters

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Mizani Ball here in
New Orleans and Maceo Carney,

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broadcasting
from California's Bay Area.

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They are exploring
important sites,

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checking out historic artifacts,

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and talking to very special
guests along the way.

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Before we take
this coast-to-coast trip

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with Maceo and Mizani,

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we begin our story with a date
which will live in infamy --

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December 7th, 1941.

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It's a day that shocked
our nation

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when Japan launched
a surprise attack

00:02:34.386 --> 00:02:36.656
on the U.S. Pacific fleet
at Pearl Harbor.

00:02:36.656 --> 00:02:39.692
The next day,
Congress declared war.

00:02:39.692 --> 00:02:42.361
In addition to the Japanese
expansion in the Pacific,

00:02:42.361 --> 00:02:44.563
the Allies fought to stop
the spread of Fascism

00:02:44.563 --> 00:02:47.767
as Nazi Germany took control
of large parts of Europe.

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The country's military
and defense industry

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mobilized to fight
and support a global conflict.

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Our factories buzzed
around the clock

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and our military swelled
to millions of Americans.

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Starting our exploration today
is reporter Mizani Ball

00:03:01.347 --> 00:03:03.649
who is in the museum's
Arsenal of Democracy exhibit

00:03:03.649 --> 00:03:06.019
to learn about the build-up
of our war industries

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and what these
expanded opportunities

00:03:07.586 --> 00:03:09.122
meant for black Americans.

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But first, let's take a look
at the opening poll question.

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+We'll reveal the answer
once we return.

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Okay, take it away, Mizani.

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-Hi, my name is Mizani Ball
and, right now,

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I'm with educator
Shelbie Johnson

00:03:32.211 --> 00:03:35.748 line:0%
in the museum's newest exhibit,
the Arsenal of Democracy:

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The Herman and George Brown
Salute to the Home Front.

00:03:38.884 --> 00:03:40.119 line:0%
-Welcome, Mizani.

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I brought you
to the exhibit today,

00:03:41.687 --> 00:03:45.291 line:0%
so we can talk more about
discrimination in factories.

00:03:45.291 --> 00:03:48.727
Now we were in a time of war,
so jobs were plentiful,

00:03:48.727 --> 00:03:52.131
they were easy to come by
for both men and women,

00:03:52.131 --> 00:03:55.000
but this wasn't the case
for African-Americans.

00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.438
If you were African-American,
it was very unlikely

00:03:58.438 --> 00:04:00.740
that you could easily get a job.

00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:02.541
Even white labor unions

00:04:02.541 --> 00:04:06.145
protested the employment
of African-Americans

00:04:06.145 --> 00:04:09.481
and, sometimes, white employees
would actually resort

00:04:09.481 --> 00:04:11.283
to violence
against African-Americans

00:04:11.283 --> 00:04:13.186
who were applying
for these jobs.

00:04:13.186 --> 00:04:16.255
-Now did anyone speak out
about this and how?

00:04:16.255 --> 00:04:17.423
-Yes.

00:04:17.423 --> 00:04:19.925
There were protests
all over the country.

00:04:19.925 --> 00:04:23.262
One that's really famous
that never really took off

00:04:23.262 --> 00:04:27.399 line:0%
was one that was proposed by
a man named A. Phillip Randolph.

00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:33.005 line:0%
He organized 100,000 railroad
workers to march on Washington.

00:04:33.005 --> 00:04:36.376 line:0%
The reason he did this, he felt
that the federal government

00:04:36.376 --> 00:04:38.344 line:0%
wasn't really taking a stand

00:04:38.344 --> 00:04:41.647 line:0%
against this discrimination
in hiring practices.

00:04:41.647 --> 00:04:46.152 line:0%
President Roosevelt eventually
yielded to Randolph's demand,

00:04:46.152 --> 00:04:48.420 line:0%
so the protests
didn't take off.

00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:53.859 line:0%
Instead, President Roosevelt
issued Executive Order 8802,

00:04:53.859 --> 00:04:58.264 line:0%
which made it illegal to have
discriminatory hiring practices

00:04:58.264 --> 00:05:01.267 line:0%
if you were a factory
that had a wartime contract

00:05:01.267 --> 00:05:02.601 line:0%
with the government.

00:05:02.601 --> 00:05:04.771 line:0%
Let's take a look
at this poster here.

00:05:04.771 --> 00:05:07.540 line:0%
This is a poster that was issued
by the government

00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:11.443 line:0%
to enforce Executive Order 8802.

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What do you notice here?

00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.482 line:0%
-Well, instantly,
I notice the black worker

00:05:16.482 --> 00:05:18.951 line:0%
and the white worker
working together,

00:05:18.951 --> 00:05:22.822 line:0%
which kind of symbolizes
the "United we win".

00:05:22.822 --> 00:05:26.459 line:0%
And then, I also the American
flag in the background.

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-Yes, so what do you think
the overall message is here?

00:05:30.630 --> 00:05:33.599 line:0%
-I feel like the overall message
here on this poster

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is saying that we can come
together and work together

00:05:39.672 --> 00:05:42.041 line:0%
and get things done

00:05:42.041 --> 00:05:45.978 line:0%
and that segregation
really isn't the way to go.

00:05:45.978 --> 00:05:49.315 line:0%
-Yes, that appears to be
the overall message here,

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but we have to remember, this
wasn't the reality in factories.

00:05:53.753 --> 00:05:57.889 line:0%
During the war years, we were
living in a time of both legal

00:05:57.889 --> 00:06:00.159 line:0%
and de facto segregation.

00:06:00.159 --> 00:06:02.495 line:0%
Now, when we think
of legal segregation,

00:06:02.495 --> 00:06:04.597 line:0%
we're thinking
of the Jim Crow laws,

00:06:04.597 --> 00:06:06.499 line:0%
things that were on the books,

00:06:06.499 --> 00:06:11.404 line:0%
but de facto segregation
was more social, the status quo,

00:06:11.404 --> 00:06:13.573 line:0%
what people found as normal.

00:06:13.573 --> 00:06:18.144 line:0%
So once these African-Americans
were hired into factories,

00:06:18.144 --> 00:06:21.714
they could still be
segregated in the workplace,

00:06:21.714 --> 00:06:25.050
so this wouldn't be
a typical image of a black man

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and a white man
working together.

00:06:27.386 --> 00:06:30.723
In addition, African-Americans
were discriminated against

00:06:30.723 --> 00:06:33.492
and segregated in cafeterias,

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even in entrances
into the building,

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and when factories did provide
housing to their employees,

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they would even segregate
the African-American

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and white employees that way.

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Now let's go over and take
a look at another poster

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that shows us Pearl Harbor
survivor Obie Bartlett.

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What do you see?

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-Now I see Obie working
with a tool in his hand

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and he's missing an arm

00:07:00.153 --> 00:07:02.220
and I know he served
in the military

00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:06.692
before getting injured
at the attack on Pearl Harbor

00:07:06.692 --> 00:07:13.332
and it says here that he takes
his job in the factory

00:07:13.332 --> 00:07:17.269
as serious as his time
in the war

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and then it also says,
"Twice a patriot",

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which kind of means, for me,

00:07:22.208 --> 00:07:25.511
that, even though
he's African-American

00:07:25.511 --> 00:07:30.049
and he's an injured veteran,
he still matters.

00:07:30.049 --> 00:07:33.118
-So what do you think
the overall message is here

00:07:33.118 --> 00:07:35.154
to African-Americans?

00:07:35.154 --> 00:07:36.889
-I think the overall
message here

00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:39.958
is to reinforce
to African-Americans

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that working in a factory
is critical to winning the war

00:07:43.196 --> 00:07:46.832
and that, like you and Obie,

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we have to make sacrifices

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in order to benefit
the global struggle.

00:07:52.204 --> 00:07:55.541
-Yes, that's exactly correct,
and African-Americans

00:07:55.541 --> 00:07:58.277
here in the United States
often received

00:07:58.277 --> 00:08:02.280
mixed messaging like this
because, on the one hand,

00:08:02.280 --> 00:08:05.217
this poster is telling you
it's your patriotic duty

00:08:05.217 --> 00:08:06.785
to work in a factory,

00:08:06.785 --> 00:08:09.688
but on the other hand,
as I told you earlier,

00:08:09.688 --> 00:08:11.924
African-Americans
were discriminated against

00:08:11.924 --> 00:08:13.859
in the work place.

00:08:13.859 --> 00:08:18.364
Now, African-Americans did have
some progress in factories.

00:08:18.364 --> 00:08:19.832
At the beginning of the war,

00:08:19.832 --> 00:08:22.501
we had about
500,000 African-Americans

00:08:22.501 --> 00:08:24.570
working in defense jobs.

00:08:24.570 --> 00:08:27.039
By the end of the war,
we had approximately

00:08:27.039 --> 00:08:32.077
1.5 million African-Americans
working in these defense jobs.

00:08:32.077 --> 00:08:34.280
Now, even though
they were employed,

00:08:34.280 --> 00:08:38.784
they weren't always receiving
the best jobs or the best pay,

00:08:38.784 --> 00:08:40.752
so they were still
being discriminated

00:08:40.752 --> 00:08:43.055
against in the work place.

00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:49.462 line:0%
-Okay, let's take a look
at the answer

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to our first poll question.

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And the answer is true.

00:09:01.407 --> 00:09:04.744 line:0%
As your heard Shelbie
in the last segment...

00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:16.555
To get a bit more insight about
war work on the home front,

00:09:16.555 --> 00:09:18.591
let me welcome in
Dr. Rob Citino,

00:09:18.591 --> 00:09:22.528
the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior
Historian here at the Museum.

00:09:22.528 --> 00:09:25.064
So Shelbie and Mizani were
exploring the Museum's

00:09:25.064 --> 00:09:26.732
Arsenal of Democracy exhibit.

00:09:26.732 --> 00:09:28.400
What exactly does that mean?

00:09:28.400 --> 00:09:29.902
-Well, Damon, first of all,
it's great to be here with you.

00:09:29.902 --> 00:09:31.203
I think we have a great show

00:09:31.203 --> 00:09:33.171
and there's a lot of great
material to talk about.

00:09:33.171 --> 00:09:35.741
It's going to be
an interesting class.

00:09:35.741 --> 00:09:37.242
We use the phrase
"Arsenal of Democracy"

00:09:37.242 --> 00:09:38.844
and that's what
Franklin Roosevelt said

00:09:38.844 --> 00:09:41.480 line:0%
in a speech, even before America
got involved in the war.

00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:43.415 line:0%
What Arsenal of Democracy
implies is

00:09:43.415 --> 00:09:46.318 line:0%
that America
not only had the ability,

00:09:46.318 --> 00:09:49.455 line:0%
but also the duty
to produce weapons and material

00:09:49.455 --> 00:09:52.792
to fight the forces
of dictatorship abroad.

00:09:52.792 --> 00:09:54.827
Now, that's not just to defend
the United States,

00:09:54.827 --> 00:09:57.229
but also to defend our allies.

00:09:57.229 --> 00:09:59.664
I'm thinking primarily here
of the British,

00:09:59.664 --> 00:10:01.066
even then locked
in a life-or-death

00:10:01.066 --> 00:10:02.501
struggle with the Nazis.

00:10:02.501 --> 00:10:04.636
And if the British went down,
that was going to be a very,

00:10:04.636 --> 00:10:06.906
very difficult
series of conquests

00:10:06.906 --> 00:10:09.675
on the part of Adolf Hitler to
roll back for the United States.

00:10:09.675 --> 00:10:11.477
So it made good sense
to help out friends

00:10:11.477 --> 00:10:13.445
and, at the same time,
make sure that we were

00:10:13.445 --> 00:10:14.714
defending ourselves adequately

00:10:14.714 --> 00:10:16.515
against this threat
that we found abroad.

00:10:16.515 --> 00:10:17.983
-Wow.

00:10:17.983 --> 00:10:21.020
You know, turning to here
in New Orleans,

00:10:21.020 --> 00:10:23.222
one of the more notable
defense companies in the city

00:10:23.222 --> 00:10:24.724
was Higgins Industries.

00:10:24.724 --> 00:10:26.325
What did they produce
during World War II?

00:10:26.325 --> 00:10:27.959
-So, that's a good one
to answer, Damon,

00:10:27.959 --> 00:10:29.161
because they produced

00:10:29.161 --> 00:10:30.562
just about everything
that the U.S. Military

00:10:30.562 --> 00:10:32.364
and especially
the Navy asked for.

00:10:32.364 --> 00:10:36.235
But perhaps this is the iconic
item that they produced.

00:10:36.235 --> 00:10:40.172 line:0%
This is a landing craft,
vehicle, personnel -- LCVP.

00:10:40.172 --> 00:10:43.175 line:0%
The military gives everything
in initials, of course,

00:10:43.175 --> 00:10:45.711 line:0%
but better known
as the Higgins boat.

00:10:45.711 --> 00:10:49.248 line:0%
What happens is this craft
sails up to the shore,

00:10:49.248 --> 00:10:50.616
the ramp comes down,

00:10:50.616 --> 00:10:53.719
and then troops or vehicles
pour off the ramp

00:10:53.719 --> 00:10:55.520
onto the beach ready to fight.

00:10:55.520 --> 00:10:59.691
So, Adolf Hitler famously said
Higgins was the new Noah,

00:10:59.691 --> 00:11:01.127
that is he took entire armies

00:11:01.127 --> 00:11:02.995
and put them
on these landing craft.

00:11:02.995 --> 00:11:05.464
Without the Higgins boat,
it's impossible to imagine

00:11:05.464 --> 00:11:07.433
the United States
fighting the war that it did.

00:11:07.433 --> 00:11:09.168
And so, when you look here,

00:11:09.168 --> 00:11:12.103
you're really looking
at the iconic

00:11:12.103 --> 00:11:14.273
U.S. naval craft
of World War II.

00:11:14.273 --> 00:11:16.342
Photos of D-Day
or any amphibious landing,

00:11:16.342 --> 00:11:18.410
you're going to get
your share of Higgins boats.

00:11:18.410 --> 00:11:21.013
My father landed in one
on Guadalcanal in 1942, in fact.

00:11:21.013 --> 00:11:23.148
-Wow.
That's amazing.

00:11:23.148 --> 00:11:26.285
So did these new jobs at Higgins
mean expanded opportunities

00:11:26.285 --> 00:11:28.320
for New Orleanians
or black Americans?

00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:29.921
-Absolutely.

00:11:29.921 --> 00:11:32.424
It's fun to talk about the
equipment and I love to do it,

00:11:32.424 --> 00:11:34.760
but I can take you through
every tank and every naval craft

00:11:34.760 --> 00:11:35.961
in World War II,

00:11:35.961 --> 00:11:38.596
but I think
the bigger story here is that

00:11:38.596 --> 00:11:40.198
Higgins Industries --

00:11:40.198 --> 00:11:43.101
Andrew Higgins, the owner,
had a very, very good record.

00:11:43.101 --> 00:11:45.337
What he realized,
if you wanted to be efficient,

00:11:45.337 --> 00:11:46.972
you wanted
to produce efficiently,

00:11:46.972 --> 00:11:49.141
you had to treat
all your workers equally,

00:11:49.141 --> 00:11:51.610
so black, white, male, female,

00:11:51.610 --> 00:11:53.445
even those with
physical disability,

00:11:53.445 --> 00:11:55.781
all were paid pretty much
by the work they were doing

00:11:55.781 --> 00:11:57.849
and their work classification
at Higgins

00:11:57.849 --> 00:12:00.485
and that's quite something

00:12:00.485 --> 00:12:02.888
given the tenor of the times
we were living in.

00:12:02.888 --> 00:12:05.191
Legal segregation
down here in South

00:12:05.191 --> 00:12:08.060
and all sorts of forms
of non-legal,

00:12:08.060 --> 00:12:11.496
but, nevertheless, very serious
segregation up north.

00:12:11.496 --> 00:12:13.999
So, you know, at the beginning
Higgins had a single plan

00:12:13.999 --> 00:12:15.967
of employing
a few hundred workers.

00:12:15.967 --> 00:12:21.606
By the end, seven big plants,
20,000 workers, 24/7/365.

00:12:21.606 --> 00:12:23.642
Americans pulling together
for the war effort.

00:12:23.642 --> 00:12:25.377
Without companies like Higgins,

00:12:25.377 --> 00:12:27.146
we have a very hard time
winning this war.

00:12:27.146 --> 00:12:29.548
-Yeah,
that's incredible information.

00:12:29.548 --> 00:12:32.151
So let's go to some
student questions.

00:12:32.151 --> 00:12:34.253
-Sure.
-And we got a few of them.

00:12:34.253 --> 00:12:38.824 line:0%
So, here's the first one from
Magoffin County High School.

00:12:44.763 --> 00:12:45.931 line:0%
-It's a good question.

00:12:45.931 --> 00:12:47.366 line:0%
It takes us to that --
there's a term today

00:12:47.366 --> 00:12:48.434 line:0%
called "intersectionality",

00:12:48.434 --> 00:12:51.970 line:0%
how discriminated
against you are.

00:12:51.970 --> 00:12:53.805
African-American women
are really getting hit

00:12:53.805 --> 00:12:55.107
from two directions.

00:12:55.107 --> 00:12:56.942
You might say that there's
the discrimination

00:12:56.942 --> 00:13:00.478
they're receiving on the race
question, racial discrimination,

00:13:00.478 --> 00:13:02.447
but there's also
the discrimination

00:13:02.447 --> 00:13:06.351
they're experiencing as women,
so I can say I think

00:13:06.351 --> 00:13:08.086
and probably give
examples of the way

00:13:08.086 --> 00:13:10.522
that African-American women --
we tend to say,

00:13:10.522 --> 00:13:12.991
"African-Americans --
last hired, first fired",

00:13:12.991 --> 00:13:15.460
but that might be particularly
true of African-American women

00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:17.563
who are kind of getting hit
by that double whammy.

00:13:17.563 --> 00:13:18.730
-Wow.

00:13:18.730 --> 00:13:19.998 line:0%
Well, let's go
to another question.

00:13:19.998 --> 00:13:21.099 line:0%
-By all means.

00:13:21.099 --> 00:13:22.701 line:0%
We can stand here
and do this, though.

00:13:22.701 --> 00:13:25.137 line:0%
-This is from the same school.

00:13:28.040 --> 00:13:29.408 line:0%
-Sure.

00:13:29.408 --> 00:13:32.210 line:0%
De facto segregation --
so, I'm from Cleveland, Ohio,

00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:34.112
so this would be the North
and this would be the land

00:13:34.112 --> 00:13:37.116
of not Jim Crow,
but de facto segregation.

00:13:37.116 --> 00:13:39.717
So there's no law that says
whites and blacks

00:13:39.717 --> 00:13:42.087
have to have separate
facilities in Cleveland, Ohio

00:13:42.087 --> 00:13:44.156
where I grew up, but,
nevertheless,

00:13:44.156 --> 00:13:46.291
whites and blacks
do have separate facilities.

00:13:46.291 --> 00:13:49.261
There are secret arrangements
on the part of realtors

00:13:49.261 --> 00:13:50.896
as to who they will
sell a home to

00:13:50.896 --> 00:13:52.630
and who they won't
sell a home to

00:13:52.630 --> 00:13:55.600
and what you wind up with
are segregated neighborhoods,

00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.070
but without the force of law,
but rather the force of custom.

00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:02.174
And, you know, that's a problem
because you can change a law.

00:14:02.174 --> 00:14:04.142
You can go to Congress
and get a law changed,

00:14:04.142 --> 00:14:06.945
but what's much more difficult
is to change people's hearts,

00:14:06.945 --> 00:14:09.548
to change people's habits,
to change people's culture.

00:14:09.548 --> 00:14:10.749
-Wow.

00:14:10.749 --> 00:14:12.184
-By the way, I must say,
that's some school.

00:14:12.184 --> 00:14:14.453
-Yeah, so similar things were
happening in both locations,

00:14:14.453 --> 00:14:18.657
just down here in the South
it was open and it was legal.

00:14:18.657 --> 00:14:22.460
-As a dino northerner,
I never try to be too brutal

00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:23.929
in my comments about the South,

00:14:23.929 --> 00:14:26.098
because the same things were
happening all over the country,

00:14:26.098 --> 00:14:29.334
simply without the force of law
as they were here in the South.

00:14:29.334 --> 00:14:30.836
-Thanks, Rob.

00:14:30.836 --> 00:14:33.071
Well, next time we'll venture
to the World War II boomtown

00:14:33.071 --> 00:14:34.706
of Richmond, California.

00:14:34.706 --> 00:14:36.742
The war industry there
was heavily influenced

00:14:36.742 --> 00:14:37.976
by Henry Kaiser,

00:14:37.976 --> 00:14:40.713
who operated four shipyards
in the city.

00:14:40.713 --> 00:14:43.014
Kaiser also built housing,
hospitals,

00:14:43.014 --> 00:14:45.016
and childcare centers
to support this rapidly

00:14:45.016 --> 00:14:48.253
expanding population
flocking to the city for jobs.

00:14:48.253 --> 00:14:50.522
Our student reporter Maceo
is there to learn

00:14:50.522 --> 00:14:52.691
about these new employment
opportunities,

00:14:52.691 --> 00:14:55.494
but first, let's take a look
at the next poll question.

00:15:11.844 --> 00:15:15.147 line:0%
Now let's go to Maceo
at a notable national park

00:15:15.147 --> 00:15:17.149 line:0%
as he interviews
a true national treasure

00:15:17.149 --> 00:15:21.386 line:0%
who both made and interprets
history in her town.

00:15:21.386 --> 00:15:28.527 line:0%
♪♪

00:15:28.527 --> 00:15:35.634 line:0%
♪♪

00:15:35.634 --> 00:15:37.535 line:0%
-Hey, everyone.
My name is Maceo Carney.

00:15:37.535 --> 00:15:39.871 line:0%
And I go to school
right here in the Bay Area.

00:15:39.871 --> 00:15:42.274 line:0%
Today I'm taking you to sites
around northern California

00:15:42.274 --> 00:15:45.010 line:0%
to learn a bit more
about African-Americans

00:15:45.010 --> 00:15:46.512 line:0%
during World War II.

00:15:46.512 --> 00:15:48.880 line:0%
We're here at
a really neat national park,

00:15:48.880 --> 00:15:51.016 line:0%
the Rosie the Riveter
World War II

00:15:51.016 --> 00:15:52.718 line:0%
Home Front National
Historic Park

00:15:52.718 --> 00:15:54.686 line:0%
in Richmond, California
to discover more.

00:15:54.686 --> 00:15:56.254 line:0%
The Rosie The Riveter

00:15:56.254 --> 00:15:59.291 line:0%
World War II Home Front
National Historic Park

00:15:59.291 --> 00:16:01.526 line:0%
tells the story
of millions of Americans

00:16:01.526 --> 00:16:04.129 line:0%
who mobilized after
the attack on Pearl Harbor

00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:06.098 line:0%
to support the war effort,

00:16:06.098 --> 00:16:09.034 line:0%
causing shifts in our society
and our culture.

00:16:09.034 --> 00:16:13.004 line:0%
Despite being united in a common
purpose of defeating the Axis,

00:16:13.004 --> 00:16:16.274
not all Americans received
fair or equal treatment,

00:16:16.274 --> 00:16:19.444
even with plentiful
new employment opportunities.

00:16:19.444 --> 00:16:23.115
To share the mission and stories
of this park, along with her own

00:16:23.115 --> 00:16:26.284
World War II story,
is Betty Reid Soskin,

00:16:26.284 --> 00:16:29.221
who is the oldest active
U.S. Park Ranger.

00:16:29.221 --> 00:16:31.489
Thanks for joining us
today, Betty.

00:16:31.489 --> 00:16:33.992
If you don't mind me asking,
how old are you?

00:16:33.992 --> 00:16:37.729
-I'm 95 and will be
96 in September.

00:16:37.729 --> 00:16:41.500
-How long have you been working
at the Rosie the Riveter site?

00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:45.403 line:0%
-I came here in the year 2003,

00:16:45.403 --> 00:16:48.339 line:0%
as a consultant to
the National Park Service.

00:16:48.339 --> 00:16:52.210 line:0%
I became a ranger 10 years ago.

00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:54.613 line:0%
-Betty, why exactly
was Richmond, California

00:16:54.613 --> 00:16:57.549 line:0%
chosen as the site
for this national park?

00:16:57.549 --> 00:17:01.220 line:0%
-Well, though they were many,
many boomtowns

00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:05.524 line:0%
throughout the country
around different plants,

00:17:05.524 --> 00:17:07.993
it was only here in Richmond

00:17:07.993 --> 00:17:10.362
there were enough
still-standing structures

00:17:10.362 --> 00:17:15.167
related to that era through
which to interpret the history.

00:17:15.167 --> 00:17:18.570
Everywhere else, they'd been
redeveloped out of existence.

00:17:18.570 --> 00:17:22.807
Here in Richmond, though
these sites were not revered

00:17:22.807 --> 00:17:25.744
as historic landmarks,

00:17:25.744 --> 00:17:28.413
this was a city
that was a very poor city

00:17:28.413 --> 00:17:29.748
that couldn't afford
to knock them down

00:17:29.748 --> 00:17:33.352
and put something else up.

00:17:33.352 --> 00:17:37.189
The signs of the Richmond
Shipyards were still here.

00:17:37.189 --> 00:17:40.826
All of that history was still
evident in the city of Richmond,

00:17:40.826 --> 00:17:43.861
so it became the only place
in the country

00:17:43.861 --> 00:17:45.363
through which you could
interpret that history

00:17:45.363 --> 00:17:47.465
with any kind of accuracy.

00:17:47.465 --> 00:17:49.100
-Lots of new jobs in Richmond,

00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:51.236
but not for
all Americans, right?

00:17:51.236 --> 00:17:52.771
-That's right.

00:17:52.771 --> 00:17:57.776 line:0%
That's right,
except that Henry Kaiser

00:17:57.776 --> 00:18:00.946 line:0%
for his four Kaiser Shipyards

00:18:00.946 --> 00:18:07.653 line:0%
imported a workforce of 98,000
black and white southerners

00:18:07.653 --> 00:18:10.222
out of the five Southern
states of Mississippi,

00:18:10.222 --> 00:18:14.893
Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Texas, and Louisiana.

00:18:14.893 --> 00:18:17.362
These were whites
coming off the Dust Bowl

00:18:17.362 --> 00:18:22.000
and blacks coming up from the
slow mechanization of cotton.

00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:26.037
Everybody recovering from the
Great Depression of the '30s.

00:18:26.037 --> 00:18:27.406
Possible for a black man

00:18:27.406 --> 00:18:30.108
to be standing on the sidewalk
in Jackson, Mississippi

00:18:30.108 --> 00:18:32.077
where southern tradition
would demand

00:18:32.077 --> 00:18:35.380
that he not only not make eye
contact with a white person,

00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:38.016
but that he also
step into the gutter

00:18:38.016 --> 00:18:40.218
if a white person approached.

00:18:40.218 --> 00:18:43.021
That man could find himself
tapped on the shoulder

00:18:43.021 --> 00:18:46.424
by a Kaiser recruiter
and find himself two weeks later

00:18:46.424 --> 00:18:47.992
in the city of Richmond,

00:18:47.992 --> 00:18:51.329
riding in the front of the bus
10 years before Rosa Parks

00:18:51.329 --> 00:18:54.165
would refuse to give up
her seat in Montgomery, Alabama.

00:18:54.165 --> 00:19:00.371
So, here in Richmond,
that cauldron that absorbed

00:19:00.371 --> 00:19:05.978
all of those southerners
had to deal with it

00:19:05.978 --> 00:19:10.482
without the benefit of focus
groups and diversity training.

00:19:10.482 --> 00:19:15.620
They had to all answer
the mission of their leader,

00:19:15.620 --> 00:19:17.489
which was, simply, build ships

00:19:17.489 --> 00:19:19.691
faster than the enemy
could sink them

00:19:19.691 --> 00:19:24.963
with no time to take on
a broken social system.

00:19:24.963 --> 00:19:27.332
They were all living
under the common threat

00:19:27.332 --> 00:19:31.603
of fascist world domination,
so the black-and-white struggle

00:19:31.603 --> 00:19:33.571
played itself out
in the city of Richmond

00:19:33.571 --> 00:19:37.709
in many, many ways, unlike other
parts of the country.

00:19:37.709 --> 00:19:41.045
-I see we're sitting next to a
sign that says "Double victory".

00:19:41.045 --> 00:19:42.580
What does that mean?

00:19:42.580 --> 00:19:48.420
-You know, it's striking to me
that that's so forgotten.

00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:51.389
African-Americans come here

00:19:51.389 --> 00:19:55.560 line:0%
and they've never heard
of the Double V campaign.

00:19:55.560 --> 00:19:59.297 line:0%
And it really was the campaign
that set in motion

00:19:59.297 --> 00:20:01.466 line:0%
what happened in the '60s.

00:20:01.466 --> 00:20:04.402 line:0%
It was actually created
by James Thompson,

00:20:04.402 --> 00:20:07.872 line:0%
who was a young man
in his mid-20s

00:20:07.872 --> 00:20:12.210 line:0%
who was due to be drafted
into the armed forces

00:20:12.210 --> 00:20:16.080
and who sent in a letter
to the<i> Pittsburgh Courier,</i>

00:20:16.080 --> 00:20:18.317
which was probably
the most widely

00:20:18.317 --> 00:20:23.087
read black newspaper nationally.

00:20:23.087 --> 00:20:27.258
And he sent it in saying
that he was perfectly willing

00:20:27.258 --> 00:20:29.093
to fight for his country,

00:20:29.093 --> 00:20:32.730
but that he thought
that there were two battles --

00:20:32.730 --> 00:20:36.067
that he thought that
his people, African-Americans,

00:20:36.067 --> 00:20:37.368
those like us,

00:20:37.368 --> 00:20:40.705
should not only be fighting
for victory overseas,

00:20:40.705 --> 00:20:44.209
but they ought to be
fighting for justice at home.

00:20:44.209 --> 00:20:49.214
And he encouraged --
that encouraged the creation

00:20:49.214 --> 00:20:50.815
of the Double V campaign

00:20:50.815 --> 00:20:53.985
that was promoted by
the<i> Pittsburgh Courier</i>

00:20:53.985 --> 00:20:57.155
and it became, actually,
a national movement.

00:20:57.155 --> 00:21:00.692
-Did you see yourself as a Rosie
the Riveter during the war?

00:21:00.692 --> 00:21:03.829
-No, I didn't.

00:21:03.829 --> 00:21:06.197
I don't even see myself
as that now.

00:21:06.197 --> 00:21:13.471
The country that we were then is
not the nation that we have now.

00:21:13.471 --> 00:21:15.940
For instance,
I grew up as a child

00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:17.942
with the service workers'
generation.

00:21:17.942 --> 00:21:20.512
Our fathers and our uncles
were the red caps

00:21:20.512 --> 00:21:22.814
and the pullman porters
and the bellhops

00:21:22.814 --> 00:21:25.116
and the janitors
and the laborers.

00:21:25.116 --> 00:21:29.720
And our mothers were
50¢-an-hour domestic servants.

00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:31.589
But I share that history,

00:21:31.589 --> 00:21:34.325
in order to indicate
that being a clerk,

00:21:34.325 --> 00:21:40.298
even in a segregated union hall
in 1942, was a step up.

00:21:40.298 --> 00:21:41.867
My folks were really proud of me

00:21:41.867 --> 00:21:44.369
because I wasn't
making beds in a hotel.

00:21:44.369 --> 00:21:48.372
I was a clerk, which in 1942
would have been the equivalent

00:21:48.372 --> 00:21:50.242
of today's young woman of color

00:21:50.242 --> 00:21:53.644
being the first in her family
to enter college

00:21:53.644 --> 00:21:57.114
because that's how different
we were in those years.

00:21:57.114 --> 00:21:59.117
And I hope
you can understand that,

00:21:59.117 --> 00:22:02.253
but that's how much
social progress

00:22:02.253 --> 00:22:05.023
the country has made
over those 70 years.

00:22:05.023 --> 00:22:06.491
You're not living in that world,

00:22:06.491 --> 00:22:10.061
but that's the world
I grew up in.

00:22:10.061 --> 00:22:14.599 line:0%
At the time that Rosie
the Riveter was a campaign

00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.468 line:0%
to entice women
out of their homes

00:22:17.468 --> 00:22:19.837 line:0%
into non-traditional labor
for the first time,

00:22:19.837 --> 00:22:25.010 line:0%
to take the place of the men
who are off fighting,

00:22:25.010 --> 00:22:28.046 line:0%
that was simply
not my story at all.

00:22:28.046 --> 00:22:31.850 line:0%
-Betty, before you had mentioned
that you had worked as a clerk,

00:22:31.850 --> 00:22:34.919 line:0%
could you please specify
your jobs as a clerk?

00:22:34.919 --> 00:22:41.192 line:0%
-Yeah, I was working
for Boilermakers Auxiliary 36.

00:22:41.192 --> 00:22:44.863 line:0%
The unions were not yet
racially integrated.

00:22:44.863 --> 00:22:47.165 line:0%
They wouldn't be another decade.

00:22:47.165 --> 00:22:51.269 line:0%
And so, the unions
created auxiliaries

00:22:51.269 --> 00:22:53.671
and that's a fancy word
for Jim Crow.

00:22:53.671 --> 00:22:56.274
And that was where all
the black workers were dumped.

00:22:56.274 --> 00:22:58.176
I came in every day
in a car pool.

00:22:58.176 --> 00:23:02.647
I changed addresses
on 3x5 file cards of people

00:23:02.647 --> 00:23:04.115
who were constantly in motion

00:23:04.115 --> 00:23:07.752
'cause everyone was trying
to get settled into housing

00:23:07.752 --> 00:23:12.123
and I was doing this
to save the world for democracy.

00:23:12.123 --> 00:23:14.559
As you can see, it worked.

00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.830
It's also true
that I had no idea

00:23:18.830 --> 00:23:22.734
what was happening around me.

00:23:22.734 --> 00:23:25.136
I never saw a ship
under construction,

00:23:25.136 --> 00:23:27.672
I never saw a ship
being launched.

00:23:27.672 --> 00:23:30.475
I was in a temporary building
that was torn down immediately

00:23:30.475 --> 00:23:32.243
when the war ended.

00:23:32.243 --> 00:23:33.912
At 20, I was -- what --

00:23:33.912 --> 00:23:37.048
maybe four years older
than you are, five years.

00:23:39.817 --> 00:23:41.853
I was not much more
than a child,

00:23:41.853 --> 00:23:46.524
slightly out of adolescence.

00:23:46.524 --> 00:23:48.593
The larger political issues
were not a part

00:23:48.593 --> 00:23:53.097
of my life at the time.

00:23:53.097 --> 00:23:56.568
I only could see
what was around me

00:23:56.568 --> 00:23:59.538
and that was
that little union hall.

00:23:59.538 --> 00:24:01.706
-Why do you think
it's important for Americans

00:24:01.706 --> 00:24:04.609
to remember all
of these home front stories?

00:24:04.609 --> 00:24:10.348
-Because it's out
of who we have been

00:24:10.348 --> 00:24:13.451
that has determined
who we're going to be.

00:24:13.451 --> 00:24:15.253
The future's based on the past

00:24:15.253 --> 00:24:17.956
and we have
encapsulated our past

00:24:17.956 --> 00:24:20.592
in this series
of national parks.

00:24:20.592 --> 00:24:22.861
One could educate themselves

00:24:22.861 --> 00:24:24.963
by traveling through
the national parks

00:24:24.963 --> 00:24:27.665
of which there are now over 400.

00:24:27.665 --> 00:24:30.902
I think it is the greatest gift
for ourselves.

00:24:32.904 --> 00:24:37.976
And it is important, especially
for African-American children,

00:24:37.976 --> 00:24:40.412
to go back and walk
through the past

00:24:40.412 --> 00:24:43.681
because we've been left out
of a lot of history,

00:24:43.681 --> 00:24:47.151
but we can reconstruct it
and that's what we're doing.

00:24:47.151 --> 00:24:49.187
That's what we're doing here.

00:24:49.187 --> 00:24:52.090
-These historic sites spread
throughout all of Richmond

00:24:52.090 --> 00:24:54.892
remind us of the tremendous
economic, social,

00:24:54.892 --> 00:24:58.429
and cultural changes
on the U. S. home front

00:24:58.429 --> 00:24:59.997
brought about by the war.

00:24:59.997 --> 00:25:02.066
These changes
had a lasting effect

00:25:02.066 --> 00:25:04.468
on the fabric
of American society

00:25:04.468 --> 00:25:08.673
and exposed unity and division
and harmony and disparity

00:25:08.673 --> 00:25:10.976
within our diverse country.

00:25:13.578 --> 00:25:15.247 line:0%
-Wow, an amazing woman.

00:25:15.247 --> 00:25:17.181 line:0%
Thank you, Maceo and Betty.

00:25:17.181 --> 00:25:20.285 line:0%
Now let's check out the answer
to the last poll question.

00:25:24.889 --> 00:25:27.259 line:0%
Amazingly, the answer is D.

00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:37.401 line:0%
Now, Betty mentioned
the story of Rosa Parks

00:25:37.401 --> 00:25:39.370 line:0%
and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

00:25:39.370 --> 00:25:40.972 line:0%
Let's bring in Rob Citino
to share with us

00:25:40.972 --> 00:25:42.841 line:0%
to share the story
of another bus rider

00:25:42.841 --> 00:25:46.310 line:0%
who took a stand when he was
ordered to go to the back.

00:25:46.310 --> 00:25:47.912
-So, a little
show-and-tell time, Damon.

00:25:47.912 --> 00:25:49.814
I have a baseball card.
What are we looking at?

00:25:49.814 --> 00:25:52.483
-Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson.

00:25:52.483 --> 00:25:54.719
He was one of the best
in the MLB,

00:25:54.719 --> 00:25:56.921
racking up accolades
like Rookie of the Year

00:25:56.921 --> 00:25:58.490
and National League MVP,

00:25:58.490 --> 00:26:00.191
all while his team,
the Brooklyn Dodgers,

00:26:00.191 --> 00:26:02.627
won six pennants
in his 10 seasons.

00:26:02.627 --> 00:26:04.729
-You know, all true, of course,
but there's another story

00:26:04.729 --> 00:26:06.131
to tell about Jackie Robinson.

00:26:06.131 --> 00:26:09.633
A few years before he became
the baseball icon

00:26:09.633 --> 00:26:13.504
that he became,
he was also in the U.S. Army.

00:26:13.504 --> 00:26:15.806
He was in the 761st
Tank Battalion in World War II

00:26:15.806 --> 00:26:20.611
and he refused to go to the back
of the bus while riding on base.

00:26:20.611 --> 00:26:22.580
He was court martialed,
that is, put on trial

00:26:22.580 --> 00:26:25.984
for breaking the laws
of the U.S. Army at the time.

00:26:25.984 --> 00:26:27.552
He managed to go public
with this story,

00:26:27.552 --> 00:26:29.320
went to the<i> Pittsburgh Courier,</i>

00:26:29.320 --> 00:26:31.022
one of the great
African-American newspapers

00:26:31.022 --> 00:26:34.725
of the day, and won defenders
in other newspapers, as well,

00:26:34.725 --> 00:26:36.694
and he got his story out.

00:26:36.694 --> 00:26:39.697
The charges were dropped and
eventually Jackie was acquitted

00:26:39.697 --> 00:26:43.902
of all those charges
and discharged from the Army.

00:26:43.902 --> 00:26:45.270
But, you know, a shout-out, too,

00:26:45.270 --> 00:26:48.072
to that unit,
the 761st Tank Battalion.

00:26:48.072 --> 00:26:49.574
They were in combat

00:26:49.574 --> 00:26:51.108
almost constantly
during World War II --

00:26:51.108 --> 00:26:52.577
an African-American unit,

00:26:52.577 --> 00:26:56.581
138 straight days at the front,
in contact with the Germans.

00:26:56.581 --> 00:26:57.749
I don't know if it's a record,

00:26:57.749 --> 00:26:58.916
but it's certainly
something, though.

00:26:58.916 --> 00:27:00.852
It's something worthy
of an accolade.

00:27:00.852 --> 00:27:03.721
They went by the nickname, a
name much in the news nowadays,

00:27:03.721 --> 00:27:04.789
they were the Black Panthers.

00:27:04.789 --> 00:27:06.224
-It's okay.
[ Chuckles ]

00:27:06.224 --> 00:27:09.193
-And just fought
as well as any unit

00:27:09.193 --> 00:27:11.796
in the entire U.S. Army
in World War II, so...

00:27:11.796 --> 00:27:13.231
You know,
that's the kind of story

00:27:13.231 --> 00:27:14.566
we're trying to tell here today.

00:27:14.566 --> 00:27:17.035
There's a view of combat
in World War II

00:27:17.035 --> 00:27:18.769
that largely emphasizes
the white soldier.

00:27:18.769 --> 00:27:20.371
We're trying to broaden
that picture a little bit today.

00:27:20.371 --> 00:27:22.940
-Yeah, 'cause I know I certainly
didn't hear much

00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:24.476
about this unit
when I was growing up.

00:27:24.476 --> 00:27:26.611
-Yeah, today you can find
a lot of good books

00:27:26.611 --> 00:27:28.446
on the 761st,
the Black Panthers.

00:27:28.446 --> 00:27:29.447
-Wow.

00:27:29.447 --> 00:27:31.315
So, an inspiring
and courageous story

00:27:31.315 --> 00:27:34.285
of one of America's most
highly regarded sports heroes

00:27:34.285 --> 00:27:36.120
and the unit in which he served.

00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:37.988
Let's turn
to a couple of questions.

00:27:37.988 --> 00:27:39.958 line:0%
-Absolutely.
Let's do it.

00:27:39.958 --> 00:27:42.327 line:0%
-So, this is from Benjamin.

00:27:44.962 --> 00:27:46.130 line:0%
-He sure did.

00:27:46.130 --> 00:27:51.702 line:0%
Henry Kaiser is a --
what's the word?

00:27:51.702 --> 00:27:53.171 line:0%
A visionary in many ways.

00:27:53.171 --> 00:27:55.973
Not only in terms of building
the ships faster,

00:27:55.973 --> 00:27:57.208
more efficiently,

00:27:57.208 --> 00:27:59.010
and churning them out
in abundance,

00:27:59.010 --> 00:28:01.312
but also realizing
a healthy workforce

00:28:01.312 --> 00:28:03.414
was going to be
a more productive workforce.

00:28:03.414 --> 00:28:04.515
And Kaiser Shipbuilding

00:28:04.515 --> 00:28:05.950
was probably
the first firm in America

00:28:05.950 --> 00:28:09.620
to have some kind of general
health care for their workers.

00:28:09.620 --> 00:28:11.789
The corporation today,
Kaiser Permanente,

00:28:11.789 --> 00:28:13.524
which is a massive,
nationwide,

00:28:13.524 --> 00:28:15.025
health-care organization

00:28:15.025 --> 00:28:17.862
comes from the care that Kaiser
first provided to his workers

00:28:17.862 --> 00:28:19.497
in his Richmond, California
facility.

00:28:19.497 --> 00:28:20.799
-That's incredible.

00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:22.600 line:0%
Let's go to another question.
-Absolutely.

00:28:22.600 --> 00:28:25.503 line:0%
-This is from Ms. McGrath.

00:28:29.507 --> 00:28:32.043 line:0%
-I think in general you can
probably answer this question

00:28:32.043 --> 00:28:34.645
in terms of their male
counterparts, as well,

00:28:34.645 --> 00:28:36.915
that by and large
African-American workers

00:28:36.915 --> 00:28:41.018
were given more difficult jobs
under more difficult conditions,

00:28:41.018 --> 00:28:43.120
perhaps the jobs
where you couldn't produce

00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:44.522
such a large number
of pieceworks,

00:28:44.522 --> 00:28:46.958
so, de facto, you might be paid
a little bit less,

00:28:46.958 --> 00:28:49.594
even though your hourly wage
was the same.

00:28:49.594 --> 00:28:50.928
I've mentioned already once,

00:28:50.928 --> 00:28:53.397
it was the sort of
"last hired, first fired".

00:28:53.397 --> 00:28:56.968
And so, if you're looking
at both women and both race,

00:28:56.968 --> 00:28:58.703
you know, you probably
have African-American women

00:28:58.703 --> 00:29:03.108
who occupy that position and so,
by virtue of their white skin,

00:29:03.108 --> 00:29:07.011
white women probably a bit up
on that hiring-and-firing scale.

00:29:07.011 --> 00:29:09.180
-Wow.
Thanks, Rob.

00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:11.616
So, let's reveal
our latest poll question.

00:29:26.564 --> 00:29:29.100
Maceo is back at another
national park

00:29:29.100 --> 00:29:31.268
to commemorate
a tragic day in history

00:29:31.268 --> 00:29:33.271
and reveal its critical legacy.

00:29:36.040 --> 00:29:40.211 line:0%
-I'm at the Port Chicago
Naval Magazine National Memorial

00:29:40.211 --> 00:29:42.446 line:0%
in the San Francisco Bay Area.

00:29:42.446 --> 00:29:46.584 line:0%
This site commemorates
the 320 lives that were lost

00:29:46.584 --> 00:29:49.153 line:0%
in the largest munitions
explosion

00:29:49.153 --> 00:29:51.289 line:0%
in U.S. naval history.

00:29:51.289 --> 00:29:54.091 line:0%
It was the worst disaster
to happen here

00:29:54.091 --> 00:29:57.061 line:0%
at the home front
during World War II.

00:29:57.061 --> 00:29:59.196 line:0%
Let's go check out
the memorial to understand

00:29:59.196 --> 00:30:02.867 line:0%
what happened here
on that tragic day in 1944.

00:30:02.867 --> 00:30:08.105 line:0%
On July 17, 1944, Navy sailors
were loading explosives

00:30:08.105 --> 00:30:11.575 line:0%
and ammunition into ships
right at this port

00:30:11.575 --> 00:30:15.346 line:0%
when a massive explosion
occurred at 10:18 p.m.,

00:30:15.346 --> 00:30:18.850 line:0%
it created a fireball
approximately three miles across

00:30:18.850 --> 00:30:22.086
and was felt
over 450 miles away.

00:30:22.086 --> 00:30:25.523
Most of the 320 deaths
were black sailors

00:30:25.523 --> 00:30:29.093
who were never trained on
how to properly load ammunition

00:30:29.093 --> 00:30:31.829
and were pressured
by their commanding officers

00:30:31.829 --> 00:30:33.664
to load these
dangerous munitions

00:30:33.664 --> 00:30:35.833
as quickly as possible.

00:30:35.833 --> 00:30:37.869
Let's talk with Kelli English,

00:30:37.869 --> 00:30:40.104
who is a National Parks
Service Ranger

00:30:40.104 --> 00:30:43.474
here at the site
to find out what happened next.

00:30:43.474 --> 00:30:45.876
-Hi, Ranger Kelli.
Thanks for joining us today.

00:30:45.876 --> 00:30:48.212
Can you tell me what type
of work was going on here

00:30:48.212 --> 00:30:49.981
at Port Chicago during the war?

00:30:49.981 --> 00:30:51.316 line:0%
-Absolutely.

00:30:51.316 --> 00:30:53.617 line:0%
Here at Port Chicago
during the war,

00:30:53.617 --> 00:30:56.220 line:0%
even before the attack
on Pearl Harbor,

00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:58.989 line:0%
the Navy had identified
that they needed a place

00:30:58.989 --> 00:31:03.227 line:0%
that had deep water to be able
to load munitions and munitions

00:31:03.227 --> 00:31:06.731 line:0%
are all those huge bombs
and missiles and warheads

00:31:06.731 --> 00:31:08.199 line:0%
that they would use
during the war.

00:31:08.199 --> 00:31:11.669 line:0%
And there are only a few
locations along the West Coast

00:31:11.669 --> 00:31:13.738 line:0%
that had water that
was deep enough

00:31:13.738 --> 00:31:16.373 line:0%
to be able to have
these huge ships come in

00:31:16.373 --> 00:31:17.942 line:0%
and be loaded with
all of these munitions

00:31:17.942 --> 00:31:20.378 line:0%
and so they were already
building a facility here

00:31:20.378 --> 00:31:21.779 line:0%
at Port Chicago,

00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:24.015 line:0%
which was called
Port Chicago Naval Magazine

00:31:24.015 --> 00:31:25.416 line:0%
and this was the main place

00:31:25.416 --> 00:31:27.684 line:0%
where munitions
were loaded to go out

00:31:27.684 --> 00:31:30.321 line:0%
to what we call the
Pacific Theater during the war.

00:31:30.321 --> 00:31:33.123
-Who was working here
and what were they doing?

00:31:33.123 --> 00:31:35.660
-Here at Port Chicago
many African-American sailors

00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:37.861
who signed up
to work with the Navy

00:31:37.861 --> 00:31:40.131
were assigned here
to help load munitions

00:31:40.131 --> 00:31:44.035
and the work of loading
munitions was extremely dirty

00:31:44.035 --> 00:31:45.436
and it was extremely dangerous

00:31:45.436 --> 00:31:49.673
because these are huge bombs
and explosives and warheads

00:31:49.673 --> 00:31:53.077
and it was a really dangerous
sort of work.

00:31:53.077 --> 00:31:56.681
And, essentially, you had
a situation where you had almost

00:31:56.681 --> 00:31:59.450
an exclusively
African-American crew of sailors

00:31:59.450 --> 00:32:03.254
who were doing the most
dangerous job in the Navy,

00:32:03.254 --> 00:32:04.788
stateside at least.

00:32:04.788 --> 00:32:08.526
And it was a really,
very segregated situation,

00:32:08.526 --> 00:32:11.228
in that it was
the African-American sailors

00:32:11.228 --> 00:32:13.197
who were assigned
to do the dirtiest,

00:32:13.197 --> 00:32:16.601
most dangerous work
and that was pretty consistent

00:32:16.601 --> 00:32:18.903
with military practices
at the time.

00:32:18.903 --> 00:32:21.805
Along with segregating
like that comes a hierarchy

00:32:21.805 --> 00:32:24.975
of who is considered
to be more important

00:32:24.975 --> 00:32:29.647
and, in this case, more
expendable or in the sense that,

00:32:29.647 --> 00:32:32.850
if an accident happened
with loading munitions,

00:32:32.850 --> 00:32:35.286
"Well, at least, it was only
the black sailors that we lost".

00:32:35.286 --> 00:32:37.221
And it's very hard for us
to understand

00:32:37.221 --> 00:32:38.656
that today in today's world,

00:32:38.656 --> 00:32:40.591
but that really was
the world that existed

00:32:40.591 --> 00:32:42.760
back then in the 1940s.

00:32:42.760 --> 00:32:45.495 line:0%
And I should add, too,
that this was in the middle

00:32:45.495 --> 00:32:47.598 line:0%
of this huge mobilization

00:32:47.598 --> 00:32:50.300 line:0%
for trying to get
all of these munitions

00:32:50.300 --> 00:32:53.370 line:0%
out to the troops overseas
as fast as possible.

00:32:53.370 --> 00:32:57.274 line:0%
And so, the white officers would
even have races with each other,

00:32:57.274 --> 00:33:00.077
like they were racing to see
whose unit could load

00:33:00.077 --> 00:33:02.746
the most munitions the fastest.

00:33:02.746 --> 00:33:04.148
Here at Port Chicago,
they were racing

00:33:04.148 --> 00:33:05.750
with some of
the other operations

00:33:05.750 --> 00:33:07.551
in the Bay Area
like at Mare Island

00:33:07.551 --> 00:33:10.521
and other loading areas
across the Bay.

00:33:10.521 --> 00:33:15.526
And so, they were not paying
any attention whatsoever

00:33:15.526 --> 00:33:17.662
to safety practices.

00:33:17.662 --> 00:33:20.698
-What were the conditions
like at work?

00:33:20.698 --> 00:33:23.266
-Well, it was pretty
hot [ Chuckles ],

00:33:23.266 --> 00:33:24.668
as you can see today.

00:33:24.668 --> 00:33:26.003
It's a very hot day.

00:33:26.003 --> 00:33:27.237
Or at least it
would have been --

00:33:27.237 --> 00:33:28.572
there would have been
many hot days out here.

00:33:28.572 --> 00:33:31.375
And so, it was hot,
they were sweaty,

00:33:31.375 --> 00:33:32.810
they were working long hours.

00:33:32.810 --> 00:33:33.978
It would have been
pretty laborious.

00:33:33.978 --> 00:33:35.846
A lot of the things
that they were moving

00:33:35.846 --> 00:33:37.481
and lifting were really heavy.

00:33:37.481 --> 00:33:41.619
And, again, they were moving
around this really heavy,

00:33:41.619 --> 00:33:42.887
dangerous stuff,

00:33:42.887 --> 00:33:45.790
so they had to try to
move slowly and be careful

00:33:45.790 --> 00:33:47.391
but they worked long hours
out in the heat

00:33:47.391 --> 00:33:49.693
and it had to have been
pretty miserable, I would say.

00:33:49.693 --> 00:33:51.695
You know, so it would have been
really challenging, I think,

00:33:51.695 --> 00:33:52.930
for them

00:33:52.930 --> 00:33:54.665
and it is to their credit
that so many of them

00:33:54.665 --> 00:33:56.667
were so dedicated
to their country

00:33:56.667 --> 00:33:58.269
that they accepted
these conditions

00:33:58.269 --> 00:33:59.670
and they worked
and their main focus

00:33:59.670 --> 00:34:01.806
was on what they could do
to aid the war effort,

00:34:01.806 --> 00:34:03.340
despite all of these indignities

00:34:03.340 --> 00:34:05.609
that they had to endure
on a daily basis.

00:34:05.609 --> 00:34:07.711
-What happened the night
of the explosion?

00:34:07.711 --> 00:34:09.980
Were there any survivors?

00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:13.150
-Well, there are many things
that we do know about

00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:14.685
the night of the explosion,
but there are some things

00:34:14.685 --> 00:34:16.687
that we don't know
and will never know.

00:34:16.687 --> 00:34:19.690
What we do know is that
at approximately 10:18

00:34:19.690 --> 00:34:23.795
on the night of the explosion,
which was July 17, 1944,

00:34:23.795 --> 00:34:26.931
there were two explosions
that happened.

00:34:26.931 --> 00:34:29.300
The first one happened,
one explosion happened,

00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:32.102
and then a larger one
about seven seconds later.

00:34:32.102 --> 00:34:35.406
We don't know exactly
what caused the explosions.

00:34:35.406 --> 00:34:38.409
We do know that the end results
was that the pier area

00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:41.712
here at Port Chicago
was more or less obliterated.

00:34:41.712 --> 00:34:43.380 line:0%
There were two ships
at the time --

00:34:43.380 --> 00:34:46.150 line:0%
the S.S.<i> E.A. Bryant</i>
and the S.S.<i> Quinault Victory</i>

00:34:46.150 --> 00:34:48.552 line:0%
and they were side-by-side,
being loaded.

00:34:48.552 --> 00:34:51.355 line:0%
One was almost fully loaded and
the other one had just arrived

00:34:51.355 --> 00:34:54.124 line:0%
and was in the process
of being loaded.

00:34:54.124 --> 00:34:57.194 line:0%
So when the explosion occurred,
it was huge.

00:34:57.194 --> 00:34:58.628
The entire area shook.

00:34:58.628 --> 00:35:01.999
Windows were shattered
as far away as San Francisco.

00:35:01.999 --> 00:35:03.534
People were shaken out of bed.

00:35:03.534 --> 00:35:05.336
The town of Port Chicago,
which was nearby,

00:35:05.336 --> 00:35:09.140
was heavily damaged and
it produced this massive cloud

00:35:09.140 --> 00:35:11.742
that extended about
12,000 feet up into the air.

00:35:11.742 --> 00:35:14.745
This was a massive,
explosive event

00:35:14.745 --> 00:35:17.514
that shook and ruptured
the entire area.

00:35:17.514 --> 00:35:19.750
And no one knew
what was happening at first.

00:35:19.750 --> 00:35:22.219
I think everyone thought that
we might have been under attack,

00:35:22.219 --> 00:35:23.587
but, in fact,
we were not under the attack.

00:35:23.587 --> 00:35:26.424
It was just that something
had happened at the base

00:35:26.424 --> 00:35:29.026
with the munitions
and both of those ships

00:35:29.026 --> 00:35:32.162
and thousands and thousands
of tons of explosives

00:35:32.162 --> 00:35:35.532
and 320 men
had been blasted away.

00:35:35.532 --> 00:35:39.904
-Only weeks after the explosion,
the witnesses and survivors

00:35:39.904 --> 00:35:42.038
were all sent back to work,

00:35:42.038 --> 00:35:45.676
back to the same dangerous job
of loading ammunition

00:35:45.676 --> 00:35:49.847
with no regard for safety
or military protocols.

00:35:49.847 --> 00:35:53.050
As the men were in formation
to head down to the pier,

00:35:53.050 --> 00:35:56.987
some hesitated and stopped
when they received the order.

00:35:56.987 --> 00:36:01.058
-So, what happened to those
who refused to load explosives?

00:36:01.058 --> 00:36:04.228
-Everyone who survived
was severely traumatized

00:36:04.228 --> 00:36:07.531
because they were involved
in the clean-up of this area

00:36:07.531 --> 00:36:10.768
and so there were remains
of some of the deceased

00:36:10.768 --> 00:36:12.002
they had to clean up

00:36:12.002 --> 00:36:14.538
and it was very traumatic
for those who survived.

00:36:14.538 --> 00:36:17.040
They had what we like to call
"survivors' guilt",

00:36:17.040 --> 00:36:19.710
you know, because many
of them lost so many friends

00:36:19.710 --> 00:36:23.347
and the white sailors
were given sick leave

00:36:23.347 --> 00:36:24.882
and allowed to take time off

00:36:24.882 --> 00:36:28.686
to try to recover mentally
from this event,

00:36:28.686 --> 00:36:31.055
but the black sailors
after a very brief period

00:36:31.055 --> 00:36:32.723
during which they were
involved in clean-up

00:36:32.723 --> 00:36:35.626
were ordered back
to work much more quickly.

00:36:35.626 --> 00:36:39.429 line:0%
And so, on August 9th,
barely three weeks or so

00:36:39.429 --> 00:36:41.398 line:0%
after the explosion,

00:36:41.398 --> 00:36:42.900 line:0%
some of the black sailors
who survived

00:36:42.900 --> 00:36:45.002 line:0%
had been reassigned
to Mare Island

00:36:45.002 --> 00:36:49.440
and they were given the order
to return to loading munitions.

00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:52.910
That same dangerous job that had
gotten so many of their friends

00:36:52.910 --> 00:36:56.647
and mates killed
just a few weeks earlier.

00:36:56.647 --> 00:36:59.383
And they stopped
and they refused to go back

00:36:59.383 --> 00:37:01.685
to work loading those munitions.

00:37:01.685 --> 00:37:03.587
And they were threatened
with being charged with mutiny

00:37:03.587 --> 00:37:05.990
if they continued to refuse
to go back to work,

00:37:05.990 --> 00:37:08.525
so this is kind of
a work-stoppage, essentially.

00:37:08.525 --> 00:37:11.696
And, at that time,
when threatened with mutiny,

00:37:11.696 --> 00:37:15.666
208 of them reconsidered
and went back to work

00:37:15.666 --> 00:37:20.070
and 50 more still refused to
proceed with loading munitions

00:37:20.070 --> 00:37:21.939
and so those 50 were arrested

00:37:21.939 --> 00:37:25.509
and they were then,
two months later,

00:37:25.509 --> 00:37:27.177
charged and tried with mutiny

00:37:27.177 --> 00:37:30.380
in the largest
group-mutiny trial ever

00:37:30.380 --> 00:37:32.649
in U.S. naval history.

00:37:32.649 --> 00:37:34.284
And they were convicted.

00:37:34.284 --> 00:37:37.354
-What is mutiny and what was
the verdict of the trial?

00:37:37.354 --> 00:37:41.224 line:0%
-So mutiny is generally
considered to be an act

00:37:41.224 --> 00:37:43.593 line:0%
of rebellion against authority.

00:37:43.593 --> 00:37:45.429 line:0%
If you are in the military

00:37:45.429 --> 00:37:47.731 line:0%
and you are refusing
to follow orders

00:37:47.731 --> 00:37:49.900 line:0%
and you are rebelling
against authority,

00:37:49.900 --> 00:37:51.868 line:0%
that is what
is considered mutiny.

00:37:51.868 --> 00:37:54.838 line:0%
Now, mutiny can also be
very narrowly defined

00:37:54.838 --> 00:37:58.842 line:0%
as something as simple
as refusing to follow an order.

00:37:58.842 --> 00:38:00.911
-We're here at a special event.

00:38:00.911 --> 00:38:03.347
What makes this event
so important?

00:38:03.347 --> 00:38:06.917
Every year here at the park
we hold an event

00:38:06.917 --> 00:38:10.053
commemorating the anniversary
of the explosion

00:38:10.053 --> 00:38:13.056
and honoring the lives

00:38:13.056 --> 00:38:17.595
and sacrifices
and the legacy of Port Chicago

00:38:17.595 --> 00:38:18.929
to commemorate the explosion

00:38:18.929 --> 00:38:21.798
and to make sure that those men
who did lose their lives

00:38:21.798 --> 00:38:23.033
will not be forgotten

00:38:23.033 --> 00:38:27.037
and that the result
of the mutiny trial

00:38:27.037 --> 00:38:29.440
and the history that was made

00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:31.942
in terms of desegregating
the armed forces,

00:38:31.942 --> 00:38:34.010
that that history
will not be forgotten

00:38:34.010 --> 00:38:36.880
and we can continue
to learn from that history

00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:38.415
and from those stories,

00:38:38.415 --> 00:38:41.284
and so it's a very special time
for us to just reflect

00:38:41.284 --> 00:38:43.520
on what happened here

00:38:43.520 --> 00:38:45.289
and on the meaning of it
and to reflect

00:38:45.289 --> 00:38:47.724
on our own personal connection
with the memorial

00:38:47.724 --> 00:38:52.697
and keeping the memory of those
lost souls alive by doing so.

00:38:52.697 --> 00:38:55.800
-The military
and National Park Service

00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:57.968
commemorate this tragic day

00:38:57.968 --> 00:39:01.806
in memory of those lost
with a somber ceremony,

00:39:01.806 --> 00:39:04.774
including a bell ringing,
flag folding,

00:39:04.774 --> 00:39:07.745
and placing a wreath
into the water of the bay.

00:39:07.745 --> 00:39:11.281
We take time to remind ourselves
of racial struggles,

00:39:11.281 --> 00:39:13.550
both back then and today,

00:39:13.550 --> 00:39:16.286
and our critical pursuit
of social justice

00:39:16.286 --> 00:39:18.823
in our modern world.

00:39:21.891 --> 00:39:24.628
Well, thanks to Maceo and
Major Kelli for their insight

00:39:24.628 --> 00:39:26.630
into the Port Chicago tragedy.

00:39:26.630 --> 00:39:27.864
It's a story from World War II

00:39:27.864 --> 00:39:29.967
that deserves
national attention.

00:39:29.967 --> 00:39:31.368
Now let's take a look
at the answer

00:39:31.368 --> 00:39:33.371
to the third poll question.

00:39:39.143 --> 00:39:42.012
The answer is B, Pearl Harbor.

00:40:08.204 --> 00:40:11.742 line:0%
The story of Dorie Miller
is a pretty famous one.

00:40:11.742 --> 00:40:14.111 line:0%
Let's bring in Rob Citino
to talk about a lesser

00:40:14.111 --> 00:40:16.747
known story of African-Americans
in the military

00:40:16.747 --> 00:40:18.848
on one of the most
important days of the war.

00:40:18.848 --> 00:40:19.950
-Thanks, Damon.

00:40:19.950 --> 00:40:22.018
So, D-Day --
let's go up to there.

00:40:22.018 --> 00:40:26.790
June 6, 1944, our big landing
on the west European coastline,

00:40:26.790 --> 00:40:29.660
big strike against
Hitler's Fortress Europe.

00:40:29.660 --> 00:40:34.231
You know, there's numerous
famous iconic photos of that era

00:40:34.231 --> 00:40:36.066
and I'm showing you this, Damon.

00:40:36.066 --> 00:40:38.368
What do you notice?
What's going on here?

00:40:38.368 --> 00:40:39.770
-This is an easy one.

00:40:39.770 --> 00:40:42.106
You can see
all the barrage balloons.

00:40:42.106 --> 00:40:45.175
-So we have an image here
of barrage balloons.

00:40:45.175 --> 00:40:49.313
Now this is an interesting piece
of military technology.

00:40:49.313 --> 00:40:51.748
We're worried about German
air attacks on the troops

00:40:51.748 --> 00:40:53.283
who have just landed.

00:40:53.283 --> 00:40:54.885
We have it pretty well-covered
from the Air Force,

00:40:54.885 --> 00:40:58.622
but you don't want any of those
German aircraft slipping through

00:40:58.622 --> 00:40:59.923
and doing damage,

00:40:59.923 --> 00:41:02.125
loosening their bombs
or strafing troops on the beach,

00:41:02.125 --> 00:41:03.760
so you have something
called a barrage balloon.

00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:05.495
It floats above the beach
and dangles

00:41:05.495 --> 00:41:08.065
down these heavy metal cables,

00:41:08.065 --> 00:41:11.801
thus rendering it impossible
for any kind of low-flying

00:41:11.801 --> 00:41:13.637
enemy aircraft to attack.

00:41:13.637 --> 00:41:16.473
I would say it's absolutely
essential to the overall success

00:41:16.473 --> 00:41:17.941
of the D-Day landing.

00:41:17.941 --> 00:41:21.212
Now, what I think has been
generally unknown up until now

00:41:21.212 --> 00:41:24.414
is the unit that took care
of that on those D-Day beaches,

00:41:24.414 --> 00:41:26.750
Omaha and Utah Beach
for the Americans.

00:41:26.750 --> 00:41:30.053
The 320th Barrage Balloon
Battalion,

00:41:30.053 --> 00:41:31.755
an African-American unit,

00:41:31.755 --> 00:41:33.290
and the only
African-American unit

00:41:33.290 --> 00:41:36.961
to land on those beaches
on that historic day.

00:41:36.961 --> 00:41:38.261
You know, they got the job done.

00:41:38.261 --> 00:41:40.097
Our troops were able to land,
we were able to land

00:41:40.097 --> 00:41:42.766
over 100,000 troops
in that one day,

00:41:42.766 --> 00:41:46.570
by and large they were immune
from German air attack.

00:41:46.570 --> 00:41:48.205
I mean, we had our own
Air Force covering it,

00:41:48.205 --> 00:41:50.841
but you also need this
second layer of protection

00:41:50.841 --> 00:41:54.177
because you're talking
about life or death here.

00:41:54.177 --> 00:41:57.715
I think in a general way that
320th Barrage Balloon Battalion

00:41:57.715 --> 00:41:59.082
is a good story.

00:41:59.082 --> 00:42:01.919
We tend to tell the story
of World War II through the eyes

00:42:01.919 --> 00:42:05.355
and with the photos
of white military personnel,

00:42:05.355 --> 00:42:07.991
whether they be sailors
or soldiers, airmen.

00:42:07.991 --> 00:42:10.193
But there's other
stories to be told.

00:42:10.193 --> 00:42:13.063
Every American in some way was
playing a role in that invasion

00:42:13.063 --> 00:42:15.232
and I think,
when you look at the 320th,

00:42:15.232 --> 00:42:16.967
you have a unit
who got the job done

00:42:16.967 --> 00:42:18.235
and did what had to be done,

00:42:18.235 --> 00:42:20.871
even within the confines
of a segregated military.

00:42:20.871 --> 00:42:22.272
-Yep.

00:42:22.272 --> 00:42:25.542
You know, I think a lot of
the youngsters out there today

00:42:25.542 --> 00:42:28.212
probably find it interesting
that you referred to a balloon

00:42:28.212 --> 00:42:31.614
with metal poles dangling
from them as technology.

00:42:31.614 --> 00:42:32.716
-Yes, right?
-It's high-tech.

00:42:32.716 --> 00:42:33.817
-Right, right.

00:42:33.817 --> 00:42:35.052
I would say this is
medium high-tech.

00:42:35.052 --> 00:42:36.686
You know,
there's high-tech aircraft

00:42:36.686 --> 00:42:39.123
and those run the gamut
and, of course,

00:42:39.123 --> 00:42:42.259
the Navy has always indulged
in high technology.

00:42:42.259 --> 00:42:44.194
This is kind of a --
you have an active defense,

00:42:44.194 --> 00:42:45.228
that's your Air Force.

00:42:45.228 --> 00:42:46.363
You also have
passive defenses...

00:42:46.363 --> 00:42:47.430
-That's right.
-...which are things

00:42:47.430 --> 00:42:48.632
just hanging in the air,

00:42:48.632 --> 00:42:50.433
making it impossible
for enemy aircraft

00:42:50.433 --> 00:42:52.135
to fly over that sector.

00:42:52.135 --> 00:42:54.204
-That's great stuff.
Thanks, Rob.

00:42:54.204 --> 00:42:55.872
Hopefully,
we're uncovering some of those

00:42:55.872 --> 00:42:57.975
untold stories today, too.

00:42:57.975 --> 00:42:59.410
Now let's answer
some student questions.

00:42:59.410 --> 00:43:00.477
-Bring it on.
-Let's see.

00:43:00.477 --> 00:43:02.112 line:0%
Spencer J.

00:43:02.112 --> 00:43:04.181 line:0%
Did African-American soldiers
get recognition

00:43:04.181 --> 00:43:05.682 line:0%
and medals for their service?

00:43:05.682 --> 00:43:06.916 line:0%
-Good question, Spencer.

00:43:06.916 --> 00:43:09.820 line:0%
Certainly they did, up and down
the various kinds

00:43:09.820 --> 00:43:13.190
of military decorations you can
find except for the top levels.

00:43:13.190 --> 00:43:16.727
So, no African-American
military personnel

00:43:16.727 --> 00:43:20.530
was awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor during the war.

00:43:20.530 --> 00:43:24.167
So that's the highest honor that
our country can bestow for valor

00:43:24.167 --> 00:43:25.201
in combat.

00:43:25.201 --> 00:43:26.904
And --
-But how many were awarded?

00:43:26.904 --> 00:43:28.972
-So, there were
several thousand, I think,

00:43:28.972 --> 00:43:30.240
awarded in the course --

00:43:30.240 --> 00:43:31.708
maybe many hundreds --
in the course of the war,

00:43:31.708 --> 00:43:33.743
I'd have to look
at the exact number.

00:43:33.743 --> 00:43:35.111
But no African-Americans

00:43:35.111 --> 00:43:37.213
received that
until decades later,

00:43:37.213 --> 00:43:39.717
when President Clinton
ordered a review

00:43:39.717 --> 00:43:42.352
of all the distinguished classes

00:43:42.352 --> 00:43:44.154
right under
the Congressional Medal of Honor

00:43:44.154 --> 00:43:45.555
that had been awarded
during the war

00:43:45.555 --> 00:43:48.525
and, in that case,
many injustices were rectified.

00:43:48.525 --> 00:43:50.126
We can just put it that way.
-Right.

00:43:50.126 --> 00:43:51.762
You know,
we were talking earlier

00:43:51.762 --> 00:43:55.132
about the awarding of medals
during World War I.

00:43:55.132 --> 00:43:58.034
And it was interesting
that the French

00:43:58.034 --> 00:43:59.302
awarded a lot
of African-Americans

00:43:59.302 --> 00:44:01.571
with some pretty high --
-There's no doubt.

00:44:01.571 --> 00:44:04.074
There's the French Croix de
Guerre, which is the War Cross,

00:44:04.074 --> 00:44:05.942
which many African-Americans

00:44:05.942 --> 00:44:08.312
received from
the French government at a time

00:44:08.312 --> 00:44:11.314
we can say their service
was being undervalued

00:44:11.314 --> 00:44:14.284
and under-rewarded
by their own government at home.

00:44:14.284 --> 00:44:16.252 line:0%
-So, we have another question.

00:44:16.252 --> 00:44:18.455 line:0%
And this is
from Riverheads High School.

00:44:24.928 --> 00:44:26.296 line:0%
-That's a great question
from Riverheads.

00:44:26.296 --> 00:44:28.265 line:0%
I think there's a couple
of ways to answer it,

00:44:28.265 --> 00:44:30.300 line:0%
and the answer,
at first, is probably,

00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:33.470
"Yes, there were white pilots
who objected to that",

00:44:33.470 --> 00:44:34.704
whether they were from the South

00:44:34.704 --> 00:44:36.940
or whether from
their own racist motivations.

00:44:36.940 --> 00:44:39.309
After they'd seen
the Red Tails in action,

00:44:39.309 --> 00:44:41.244
there's nothing a bomber pilot

00:44:41.244 --> 00:44:43.880
loves more than a friendly
fighter aircraft

00:44:43.880 --> 00:44:46.649
flying immediately overhead
or below or on your flank,

00:44:46.649 --> 00:44:50.220
so I think this is an example
of where African-Americans

00:44:50.220 --> 00:44:52.556
really were able
to shatter stereotypes.

00:44:52.556 --> 00:44:54.190
Whatever kind of racist
misconceptions

00:44:54.190 --> 00:44:56.259
you might have had
about that at the beginning,

00:44:56.259 --> 00:44:58.462
you were glad the Red Tails
were there by the end.

00:44:58.462 --> 00:44:59.897
-Yeah.

00:44:59.897 --> 00:45:01.932
And, you know, in the movie
"Red Tails", it was kind of --

00:45:01.932 --> 00:45:03.800
initially,
a lot of them had problems,

00:45:03.800 --> 00:45:06.637
but they were big fans...

00:45:06.637 --> 00:45:09.039
-By the end, I think
the only color you saw

00:45:09.039 --> 00:45:11.542
in a fighter aircraft
was red, white, and blue.

00:45:11.542 --> 00:45:13.343
-Right.
Man, oh man.

00:45:13.343 --> 00:45:15.479
So, Rob, we've got,
let's see, one more question.

00:45:15.479 --> 00:45:16.746
-Sure.

00:45:16.746 --> 00:45:19.149 line:0%
-From Isiah E.

00:45:22.618 --> 00:45:23.787 line:0%
-Good question, Isiah.

00:45:23.787 --> 00:45:27.257 line:0%
Yes, on the question of pay,
absolutely.

00:45:27.257 --> 00:45:28.826
The military has
a very good record --

00:45:28.826 --> 00:45:31.261
you're paid on a scale, how long
you're in, what your rank is,

00:45:31.261 --> 00:45:33.630
and it's very difficult
to play around with that.

00:45:33.630 --> 00:45:36.633
In terms of the second part of
that question, about supplies,

00:45:36.633 --> 00:45:40.103
I think it's safe to say
that the segregated military

00:45:40.103 --> 00:45:41.771
gave sort
of second-rate supplies,

00:45:41.771 --> 00:45:44.241
whatever was left over,
maybe surplus in some ways,

00:45:44.241 --> 00:45:46.910
that rarely did
African-American units

00:45:46.910 --> 00:45:49.346
get the sort of state-of-the-art
weaponry and supplies

00:45:49.346 --> 00:45:51.281
that maybe some of
their white counterparts did.

00:45:51.281 --> 00:45:52.515
-Wow.

00:45:52.515 --> 00:45:55.719
So, it's time to open
our last poll question.

00:46:11.968 --> 00:46:14.371 line:0%
In our final segment,
Mizani and Shelbie

00:46:14.371 --> 00:46:16.173 line:0%
interview a very special guest

00:46:16.173 --> 00:46:18.942 line:0%
who is a Tuskegee Airman
during the war.

00:46:18.942 --> 00:46:21.411 line:0%
The Tuskegee Airmen
were the first black aviators

00:46:21.411 --> 00:46:23.913 line:0%
and air crewmen
in the U.S. military.

00:46:23.913 --> 00:46:26.249 line:0%
They were an impressive
and highly respected team

00:46:26.249 --> 00:46:27.684 line:0%
soaring over Europe,

00:46:27.684 --> 00:46:31.088 line:0%
earning over 150
Distinguished Flying Crosses.

00:46:31.088 --> 00:46:34.224 line:0%
Let's take a look.

00:46:34.224 --> 00:46:36.893 line:0%
We're back in the Museum's U.S.
Freedom Pavilion

00:46:36.893 --> 00:46:38.061 line:0%
in the Boeing Center

00:46:38.061 --> 00:46:39.963 line:0%
to learn a bit more
about the contribution

00:46:39.963 --> 00:46:42.699 line:0%
and the recognition of service
of African-Americans

00:46:42.699 --> 00:46:43.867 line:0%
in the military.

00:46:43.867 --> 00:46:46.203 line:0%
-We're sitting here
with special guest

00:46:46.203 --> 00:46:49.572 line:0%
Lieutenant Colonel George Hardy
who was a Tuskegee Airman.

00:46:49.572 --> 00:46:51.108 line:0%
Lieutenant Colonel Hardy,

00:46:51.108 --> 00:46:54.210 line:0%
can you tell us who
the Tuskegee Airmen were?

00:46:54.210 --> 00:46:56.513 line:0%
-Well, the Tuskegee Airmen
were the first

00:46:56.513 --> 00:47:00.284 line:0%
military Afro-American pilots

00:47:00.284 --> 00:47:06.389 line:0%
in the United States Army
and in March of 1941

00:47:06.389 --> 00:47:09.325 line:0%
at Chanute Army Airfield
in Illinois,

00:47:09.325 --> 00:47:11.461 line:0%
the 99th Pursuit Squadron

00:47:11.461 --> 00:47:13.363 line:0%
was formed
with a white commander

00:47:13.363 --> 00:47:16.833 line:0%
and 240-some
African-American young men.

00:47:16.833 --> 00:47:19.636 line:0%
-When did you
start the military?

00:47:19.636 --> 00:47:21.838 line:0%
Like, when did you
join the military?

00:47:21.838 --> 00:47:28.178
-Well, I joined the military
in 1943 and in March of 1943,

00:47:28.178 --> 00:47:29.545
the Army and the Navy decided

00:47:29.545 --> 00:47:32.015
if you're 17
and a high school graduate,

00:47:32.015 --> 00:47:34.484
you can take
the aviation cadet exam.

00:47:34.484 --> 00:47:37.687
I took it and passed it
for the Army in March of '43

00:47:37.687 --> 00:47:41.258
and I was sworn in
as a private in the Reserve.

00:47:41.258 --> 00:47:45.762
-How did that segregation
affect you as an airman?

00:47:45.762 --> 00:47:47.030
-Well, the thing is that,
you know,

00:47:47.030 --> 00:47:48.131
we went into this thing,

00:47:48.131 --> 00:47:50.433
some people asked,
"Why did you fight?"

00:47:50.433 --> 00:47:52.636
"Well, it's our country,
too, see."

00:47:52.636 --> 00:47:55.205
And what it did, though,
because of that,

00:47:55.205 --> 00:47:58.274
I think we turned inward
to each other

00:47:58.274 --> 00:48:01.745
and I think it made us
a little stronger as a group,

00:48:01.745 --> 00:48:05.415
the fact that
we have an enemy out there,

00:48:05.415 --> 00:48:08.017
not only overseas,
but in this country.

00:48:08.017 --> 00:48:11.388
So, we worked together,
supported each other,

00:48:11.388 --> 00:48:15.791
and I think it made us stronger
individually and as a unit.

00:48:15.791 --> 00:48:17.060
When we went into combat,

00:48:17.060 --> 00:48:20.697
it showed
that we did produce very well.

00:48:20.697 --> 00:48:22.532
-Now let's pause for a second

00:48:22.532 --> 00:48:25.969
and take a look
right up above us here.

00:48:25.969 --> 00:48:28.638
We actually have
a very important artifact.

00:48:28.638 --> 00:48:31.340 line:0%
This is a P-51 Mustang.

00:48:31.340 --> 00:48:35.712 line:0%
It's a high-performing,
high-altitude fighter plane.

00:48:35.712 --> 00:48:38.848 line:0%
Mizani, what do you notice
about this plane?

00:48:38.848 --> 00:48:40.817 line:0%
-What I've noticed is that,
like, aside

00:48:40.817 --> 00:48:44.821 line:0%
from the rest of the planes,
this one has, like, a red tail

00:48:44.821 --> 00:48:49.392 line:0%
and it has different accents
of red and yellow on it,

00:48:49.392 --> 00:48:54.431 line:0%
but it also has the same stars
as the rest of them.

00:48:54.431 --> 00:48:56.666 line:0%
-Yes, very good observation.

00:48:56.666 --> 00:48:59.302 line:0%
Now that red paint job
on the tail,

00:48:59.302 --> 00:49:02.205 line:0%
that got
the Tuskegee Airmen the nickname

00:49:02.205 --> 00:49:04.374 line:0%
the "Red-Tailed Angels".

00:49:04.374 --> 00:49:08.711 line:0%
The bomber pilots, they would
escort actually were so happy

00:49:08.711 --> 00:49:11.748 line:0%
and thankful for the job that
they died they referred to them

00:49:11.748 --> 00:49:13.583 line:0%
as the Red-Tailed Angels

00:49:13.583 --> 00:49:15.985 line:0%
and, on this plane,
you'll actually notice

00:49:15.985 --> 00:49:18.321 line:0%
that there's a name
painted on the side.

00:49:18.321 --> 00:49:20.323 line:0%
The name is "Bunnie".

00:49:20.323 --> 00:49:23.126 line:0%
This plane is painted
in the likeness

00:49:23.126 --> 00:49:27.030 line:0%
of Dr. Roscoe Brown's plane,
which had the name Bunnie.

00:49:27.030 --> 00:49:29.332 line:0%
And there's one other thing
on this plane.

00:49:29.332 --> 00:49:32.101 line:0%
You'll notice a Nazi flag
on the side.

00:49:32.101 --> 00:49:36.539 line:0%
That indicates that Bunnie
shot down a Nazi jet

00:49:36.539 --> 00:49:39.009 line:0%
that flew over
a hundred miles per hour

00:49:39.009 --> 00:49:41.544 line:0%
faster than this plane flew.

00:49:41.544 --> 00:49:43.980 line:0%
-Did you fly a plane
like this one?

00:49:43.980 --> 00:49:45.882 line:0%
-Yes, I did.

00:49:45.882 --> 00:49:49.920 line:0%
And I ended up flying
21 combat missions overseas

00:49:49.920 --> 00:49:52.856 line:0%
in March and April of 1945.

00:49:52.856 --> 00:49:55.258 line:0%
I was 19 years old at the time.
-Wow.

00:49:55.258 --> 00:49:58.995 line:0%
-But the war ended
in March and May of 1945.

00:49:58.995 --> 00:50:00.897 line:0%
And it was a beautiful airplane.

00:50:00.897 --> 00:50:03.533 line:0%
Like I said,
I had my Rolls-Royce engine

00:50:03.533 --> 00:50:07.203 line:0%
at the age of 19.
[ Chuckles ]

00:50:07.203 --> 00:50:09.739 line:0%
-Can you just describe
what it was like for you to,

00:50:09.739 --> 00:50:12.241 line:0%
like, fly in a plane
like this during that time?

00:50:12.241 --> 00:50:13.976 line:0%
-Well, it was out of the
world -- second lieutenant

00:50:13.976 --> 00:50:16.446 line:0%
flying a P-51 Mustang.

00:50:16.446 --> 00:50:19.716 line:0%
Most people consider that the
best airplane in World War II.

00:50:19.716 --> 00:50:23.086 line:0%
And it was fast,
responsive, and what-not.

00:50:23.086 --> 00:50:25.422 line:0%
And flying formation --

00:50:25.422 --> 00:50:27.224 line:0%
I usually flew as
a wingman over there.

00:50:27.224 --> 00:50:30.059 line:0%
And I was a second lieutenant,
but also,

00:50:30.059 --> 00:50:33.029 line:0%
we did a lot of strafing.

00:50:33.029 --> 00:50:36.132 line:0%
If we weren't escorting bombers,
we'd go down over Germany

00:50:36.132 --> 00:50:37.768
in flanks of four,

00:50:37.768 --> 00:50:39.902
looking for targets
of opportunity,

00:50:39.902 --> 00:50:42.605
to destroy trucks, trains,

00:50:42.605 --> 00:50:46.910
what-not that the Germans
may use to move supplies around,

00:50:46.910 --> 00:50:48.711
but the plane was so responsive,

00:50:48.711 --> 00:50:52.081
much more so than, say,
the P-47.

00:50:52.081 --> 00:50:55.118
And it was just as delightful.

00:50:55.118 --> 00:50:58.288
-Mr. Hardy, can you tell us
if the Tuskegee Airmen

00:50:58.288 --> 00:51:01.424
ever received any recognition
while going to war?

00:51:01.424 --> 00:51:02.625
-Why, yes.

00:51:02.625 --> 00:51:05.061
During the war,
the Tuskegee Airmen received

00:51:05.061 --> 00:51:07.129
hundreds of air medals

00:51:07.129 --> 00:51:12.802
awarded for flying over Europe
and they also received

00:51:12.802 --> 00:51:14.938
close to a hundred
Distinguished Flying Crosses

00:51:14.938 --> 00:51:16.506
for their service over there.

00:51:16.506 --> 00:51:19.275
-George, how was your
experience after the war

00:51:19.275 --> 00:51:20.877
when you came back home?

00:51:20.877 --> 00:51:22.612
-When we came back
to the States,

00:51:22.612 --> 00:51:24.648
nothing in the States
had changed.

00:51:27.216 --> 00:51:29.485
When I came back
in August of 1945,

00:51:29.485 --> 00:51:32.455
the war had ended
in the Pacific also

00:51:32.455 --> 00:51:34.957
and we landed in Virginia

00:51:34.957 --> 00:51:37.961
and went to a replacement center
in North Carolina.

00:51:37.961 --> 00:51:39.862
I wanted to stay
around airplanes,

00:51:39.862 --> 00:51:41.731
even if I couldn't fly
any longer,

00:51:41.731 --> 00:51:45.434
so I asked about electronics
maintenance on airplanes

00:51:45.434 --> 00:51:48.805
and I was able to apply for a
school and went to that school.

00:51:48.805 --> 00:51:54.610
I selected September 5th,
ten months to Keesler Field,

00:51:54.610 --> 00:51:58.447 line:0%
but in July, President Truman
signed an executive order

00:51:58.447 --> 00:51:59.816 line:0%
directing the Army, Navy,

00:51:59.816 --> 00:52:02.885 line:0%
and Air Force to submit plans
for racial integration.

00:52:02.885 --> 00:52:04.520 line:0%
Within a month and a half,

00:52:04.520 --> 00:52:08.958 line:0%
the Air Force had deactivated
332nd at Lockbourne

00:52:08.958 --> 00:52:11.761 line:0%
and, in a period of weeks,

00:52:11.761 --> 00:52:13.129 line:0%
the hundreds of people
at Lockbourne

00:52:13.129 --> 00:52:16.299 line:0%
received orders to Air Force
units all over the world.

00:52:16.299 --> 00:52:18.868 line:0%
The Air Force, in essence,
integrated

00:52:18.868 --> 00:52:20.336 line:0%
and in a short period of time,

00:52:20.336 --> 00:52:22.739 line:0%
the first of the service
to integrate.

00:52:22.739 --> 00:52:25.541 line:0%
And I finished school in 1949

00:52:25.541 --> 00:52:28.912
and was assigned
to the 19th Bomb Group on Guam.

00:52:28.912 --> 00:52:32.181
I was the only African-American
in the group at that time,

00:52:32.181 --> 00:52:33.949
assigned as
a maintenance officer,

00:52:33.949 --> 00:52:36.920
but as a pilot,
I also got to fly the airplane

00:52:36.920 --> 00:52:40.389
and I spent a time
with the 19th Bomb Group

00:52:40.389 --> 00:52:43.527
during the Korean War.

00:52:48.764 --> 00:52:51.667
A Tuskegee Airman.
Thank you, Mizani, Shelbie,

00:52:51.667 --> 00:52:55.171
and Lieutenant Colonel Hardy
for such an inspiring story.

00:52:55.171 --> 00:52:57.774
Now let's uncover the answer
to the final poll question.

00:53:03.946 --> 00:53:08.518
The answer is C, 19 years
after World War II ended.

00:53:21.932 --> 00:53:23.699
-Thanks, Damon.
So as we heard from

00:53:23.699 --> 00:53:27.670
Colonel George and Ranger Kelly,
the armed forces began

00:53:27.670 --> 00:53:29.272
to integrate in 1948,

00:53:29.272 --> 00:53:32.242
but, you know, it was still
a long, long road

00:53:32.242 --> 00:53:34.410
to full integration
for African-Americans

00:53:34.410 --> 00:53:38.280
either in the military
or in American society at large.

00:53:38.280 --> 00:53:40.283
You know,
you have a situation --

00:53:40.283 --> 00:53:43.153
and I've verified this
personally from testimony --

00:53:43.153 --> 00:53:45.154
where you can be
a German prisoner of war

00:53:45.154 --> 00:53:47.990
in the United States
and you had full use

00:53:47.990 --> 00:53:51.261
of all the facilities
available to white American

00:53:51.261 --> 00:53:52.796
where an African-American
warrior,

00:53:52.796 --> 00:53:55.799
someone who fought against
Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan,

00:53:55.799 --> 00:53:57.567
someone who had brought
victory to our country,

00:53:57.567 --> 00:53:59.269
still had to use those
second -rate,

00:53:59.269 --> 00:54:02.038
and segregated facilities,
and it's an amazing story

00:54:02.038 --> 00:54:04.173
and if I hadn't heard it
from people's own lips,

00:54:04.173 --> 00:54:06.042
I'd have to admit,
I would not even believe it.

00:54:06.042 --> 00:54:07.310
-Wow.

00:54:07.310 --> 00:54:10.113
That's kind of hard to hear.

00:54:10.113 --> 00:54:13.416
Jim Crow laws were still in full
force down here in the South.

00:54:13.416 --> 00:54:17.320
-Yes, and as we've said earlier
and I'll reiterate it,

00:54:17.320 --> 00:54:20.022
I'm from the North and I try not
to give the North a pass either.

00:54:20.022 --> 00:54:22.992
Jim Crow was bad and so was
the kind of de facto segregation

00:54:22.992 --> 00:54:25.028
we found in the North,

00:54:25.028 --> 00:54:28.531
but, you know, we can take
a look at a few heroes --

00:54:28.531 --> 00:54:32.268
I'll call them, because I think
the word is entirely apt --

00:54:32.268 --> 00:54:34.137
who fought the civil rights
struggle after the war

00:54:34.137 --> 00:54:36.505
and were influenced
by World War II,

00:54:36.505 --> 00:54:39.208
so, first, let's think about
the story of a young lawyer

00:54:39.208 --> 00:54:41.344
who took part in
the Port Chicago trial --

00:54:41.344 --> 00:54:42.711
Thurgood Marshall.

00:54:42.711 --> 00:54:44.980
The chief counsel of the NAACP,

00:54:44.980 --> 00:54:48.884
he appealed the verdict
of the Port Chicago 50 trial

00:54:48.884 --> 00:54:51.153
and nine years
after World War II,

00:54:51.153 --> 00:54:53.656
he secured a major victory
in the famous

00:54:53.656 --> 00:54:56.025
Brown v. Board of Education
trial,

00:54:56.025 --> 00:54:58.161
which, finally,
declared school segregation

00:54:58.161 --> 00:55:01.197
to be unconstitutional, that you
could claim separate but equal,

00:55:01.197 --> 00:55:03.566
but it was a myth
and it always had been a myth.

00:55:03.566 --> 00:55:06.302
Separate was inherently unequal.

00:55:06.302 --> 00:55:08.171
Marshall went on in 1967

00:55:08.171 --> 00:55:10.407
to become the first
African-American

00:55:10.407 --> 00:55:13.242
Supreme Court Justice,
served till 1991.

00:55:13.242 --> 00:55:16.579
He was a meticulous --
he compiled a case meticulously,

00:55:16.579 --> 00:55:17.981
he could also argue a case,

00:55:17.981 --> 00:55:20.149
and, for most of
my adult life growing up

00:55:20.149 --> 00:55:21.850
and becoming aware of politics,

00:55:21.850 --> 00:55:23.419
I was seeing
Thurgood Marshall,

00:55:23.419 --> 00:55:26.056
major player
on the American scene.

00:55:26.056 --> 00:55:28.824
Or think about
another kind of story,

00:55:28.824 --> 00:55:30.793
a man named Medgar Evers.

00:55:30.793 --> 00:55:34.063
As a young man, 17,
he enlisted in the U.S. Army

00:55:34.063 --> 00:55:36.198
and participated
in the Normandy Invasion.

00:55:36.198 --> 00:55:37.667
He served in France and Germany

00:55:37.667 --> 00:55:40.603
and was honorably discharged
in 1946.

00:55:40.603 --> 00:55:43.239
Now, after the war,
he returned home to Mississippi,

00:55:43.239 --> 00:55:45.841
his home state, earned
his college degree from --

00:55:45.841 --> 00:55:47.443
I believe it was
A&amp;M at the time --

00:55:47.443 --> 00:55:49.312
Alcorn State University today.

00:55:49.312 --> 00:55:52.549
Became the first field officer
in Mississippi for the NAACP,

00:55:52.549 --> 00:55:53.883
not an easy job,

00:55:53.883 --> 00:55:56.752
where he helped double
membership in a few short years.

00:55:56.752 --> 00:55:58.221
He helped James Meredith

00:55:58.221 --> 00:56:00.055
integrate
the University of Mississippi,

00:56:00.055 --> 00:56:02.558
that landmark moment
in American history,

00:56:02.558 --> 00:56:05.261
when we said you can no longer
have a public facility

00:56:05.261 --> 00:56:08.131
that is reserved
for one race or the other.

00:56:08.131 --> 00:56:10.600
Riots broke out
on Mississippi campus

00:56:10.600 --> 00:56:13.402
and across the South and other
parts of the country, as well.

00:56:13.402 --> 00:56:16.372
There were multiple attempts
on Medgar Evers' life

00:56:16.372 --> 00:56:20.510
and, eventually, he was shot
outside his home in 1963

00:56:20.510 --> 00:56:22.979
by an assailant
lying in wait for him

00:56:22.979 --> 00:56:24.580
in the bushes of his driveway.

00:56:24.580 --> 00:56:27.750
He became a hero -- I think
a martyr is a good term --

00:56:27.750 --> 00:56:30.486
for the civil rights struggle
and his efforts were integral

00:56:30.486 --> 00:56:32.788
in making civil rights
a reality in this country.

00:56:32.788 --> 00:56:34.891
It's -- I'm a little bit older
than you are, Damon,

00:56:34.891 --> 00:56:36.926
and I remember a song
by Bob Dylan,

00:56:36.926 --> 00:56:38.327
"The Ballad of Medgar Evers".

00:56:38.327 --> 00:56:41.364
In fact, if we had time, I would
sing every word of it right now,

00:56:41.364 --> 00:56:42.699
but I think
we'll just say to folks

00:56:42.699 --> 00:56:44.166
that you can find it online

00:56:44.166 --> 00:56:46.569
because it's a good evocation
of that event.

00:56:46.569 --> 00:56:49.405
You know, finally,
I think we have moments

00:56:49.405 --> 00:56:51.507
when individuals
of different marginalized

00:56:51.507 --> 00:56:53.610
or discriminated groups

00:56:53.610 --> 00:56:55.311
band together
in the pursuit of equality.

00:56:55.311 --> 00:56:57.746
And I'm thinking here
of Ina Sugihara,

00:56:57.746 --> 00:57:00.216
a Japanese-American activist
whose work focused

00:57:00.216 --> 00:57:03.319
on building multi-racial
civil rights alliances.

00:57:03.319 --> 00:57:06.255
She migrated from California,
where she was born, to New York

00:57:06.255 --> 00:57:08.791
before the forced internment
of the West Coast Japanese

00:57:08.791 --> 00:57:10.626
after the attack
on Pearl Harbor.

00:57:10.626 --> 00:57:13.163
Founding member of the
Non-Violent Congress of Racial

00:57:13.163 --> 00:57:15.698
Equality or CORE,
who've done good work

00:57:15.698 --> 00:57:18.934
and continue to do good work
for the longest, longest time.

00:57:18.934 --> 00:57:20.670
She helped lobby
for the establishment

00:57:20.670 --> 00:57:24.406
of World War II-era
protections in housing,

00:57:24.406 --> 00:57:26.909
in job discrimination,

00:57:26.909 --> 00:57:29.378
in hiring practices,
in education,

00:57:29.378 --> 00:57:32.749
and had done good work
for the rest of her life,

00:57:32.749 --> 00:57:35.785
so these are a few examples.

00:57:35.785 --> 00:57:37.186
We're not perfect.

00:57:37.186 --> 00:57:40.023
The country still has a long
road to go in this subject,

00:57:40.023 --> 00:57:43.125
in this area, but we're better
off than we were in World War II

00:57:43.125 --> 00:57:46.395
and, partially, because
of really hard-working

00:57:46.395 --> 00:57:49.031
and very brave people like
the ones we just talked about.

00:57:49.031 --> 00:57:50.833
-That's some great stories.
-Thanks.

00:57:50.833 --> 00:57:54.270
-So, obviously, the story
doesn't end with World War II

00:57:54.270 --> 00:57:55.872
or the Civil Rights Movement.

00:57:55.872 --> 00:57:58.741
All Americans have the important
privilege and commitment

00:57:58.741 --> 00:58:00.610
to remember
our country's history

00:58:00.610 --> 00:58:02.344
and work towards the goal
of equal rights

00:58:02.344 --> 00:58:05.848
and protections guaranteed
in our Constitution.

00:58:05.848 --> 00:58:08.017
The individuals and groups
we profiled here today,

00:58:08.017 --> 00:58:10.787
along with many others,
are models of courage,

00:58:10.787 --> 00:58:13.389
strength, and perseverance.

00:58:13.389 --> 00:58:15.758
Teachers, if you want to
continue to explore this topic

00:58:15.758 --> 00:58:16.993
in further develop,

00:58:16.993 --> 00:58:18.661
be sure to check out
the high school

00:58:18.661 --> 00:58:20.329
or middle school
curriculum guides

00:58:20.329 --> 00:58:24.133
for this electronic field trip
located on this webpage below.

00:58:24.133 --> 00:58:26.468
The Museum's "Fighting for
the Right to Fight"

00:58:26.468 --> 00:58:29.305
special exhibit is traveling
all across the country.

00:58:29.305 --> 00:58:32.908
It's currently at the Durham
Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.

00:58:32.908 --> 00:58:35.077
Check the museum's website
for more information

00:58:35.077 --> 00:58:39.248
and see if the exhibit is coming
to a location near you soon.

00:58:39.248 --> 00:58:40.716
Thank you all
for joining us today

00:58:40.716 --> 00:58:43.319
for this electronic field trip.

00:58:43.319 --> 00:58:46.055
A special thank you to our
National Park Service partners

00:58:46.055 --> 00:58:49.292
out in California for welcoming
us into your amazing parks

00:58:49.292 --> 00:58:51.794
and sharing these powerful
stories with us

00:58:51.794 --> 00:58:53.862
and students across the country.

00:58:53.862 --> 00:58:56.532
A special recognition also goes
to Betty Reid Soskin

00:58:56.532 --> 00:58:58.401
and Lieutenant Colonel
George Hardy

00:58:58.401 --> 00:59:01.537
for their inspirational messages
and testimony.

00:59:01.537 --> 00:59:03.539
Also many thanks
to our sponsors

00:59:03.539 --> 00:59:06.241
for making this
electronic field trip possible.

00:59:06.241 --> 00:59:08.744
From the National World War II
Museum in New Orleans,

00:59:08.744 --> 00:59:10.179
this is
Commander Damon Singleton

00:59:10.179 --> 00:59:12.014
and Dr. Rob Citino.

00:59:12.014 --> 00:59:14.316
Thanks for welcoming us
into your classroom

00:59:14.316 --> 00:59:15.451
on Digital Learning Day.

00:59:15.451 --> 00:59:18.287
-Thanks, Damon.

00:59:18.287 --> 00:59:28.230 line:0%
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