African Americans In The Military

One of the more obvious discriminations was of African Americans. The everyday segregation of civilian life leaked into the military. Originally, the draft was segregated. African Americans had been passed over by all-white draft boards. It wasn't until pressure from the NAACP weighed on President Roosevelt led to him pledging that African Americans were to be enlisted according to their population. The percentage was never attained during the war but African American numbers dramatically increased during the war. Although there were more African Americans, at the beginning, they were mainly given to non-combat units and service duties. These jobs helped a lot during the war, but they ended up being needed in combat much more toward the end