This integrated American culture more than people were used to and it helped create a melting pot in many American cities. This helped introduce people to the idea that skin color was not indicative of superiority. This movement of black Americans continued throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s that also helped to increase the diversity of black voters while giving more opportunities for integration of the races. Units like the Tuskegee Airmen did a lot to help prove that black soldiers could fight just as well as the white ones did. The 352 pilots that were used in active duty there were a total of 924 combat awards given to them. Distinguishing themselves like that got the attention of the nation and they were mentioned in the papers recognizing their prowess.
Were the Soldiers that fought on the front lines the most important to the civil rights movement? All black units like the Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in getting president Truman to do away with segregated armed forces on July 26th, 1948. This primed America for the idea that black people were equal to the white denizens. This was the first change that WWII caused, by giving a chance for black soldiers to fight and serve their country without …show more content…
Hundreds of thousands of African Americans served their country during the War. For the first time, many African Americans realized that the United States could become a better place to live, specifically, a place without racial discrimination. Another primary reason for the growth of the Civil Rights Movement at the end of World War II was the G.I. Bill. This was made to help veterans from World War II get used to life after returning from the battlefield. The federal government helped shrink the cost of a college education and thousands of African American veterans took advantage of this benefit and then discovered after graduating from college that whites received better-paying jobs regardless of qualification. Disgruntled that the United States did not truly provide freedom and equality to all people, people created a much more organized movement to achieve equal rights. “When we tell the world that we believe that all men are entitled to earn a decent living, without regard to race or national origin, or religion, we have got to live up to what we say” (Harry