After talking about the “Double V” campaign during World War 2, I was interested in learning a bit more. I found a few interesting facts and quotes that I never knew such as:
1. The Pittsburgh Courier went on to say in its’ February 14th article, “We, as colored Americans are determined to protect our country, our form of government and the freedoms which we cherish for ourselves and the rest of the world, therefore we have adopted the Double ‘V’ war cry—victory over our enemies at home and victory over our enemies on the battlefields abroad. Thus in our fight for freedom we wage a two-pronged attack against our enslavers at home and those abroad who will enslave us.
2. WE HAVE A STAKE IN THIS FIGHT…WE ARE AMERICANS, TOO!” Not only did the campaign gather blacks together in support of racial equality, but afforded them the opportunity to feel part of a bigger struggle for freedom everywhere. It was more similar to the Black lives matter movement than I thought.
3.The shared struggles of black America were also felt by black service men in the armed forces. According to Lawrence P. Scott, a black airman in the 99th, and an eventual Tuskegee Airman, “every man in the 99th was aware that the success of the 99th would impact the status of blacks in the Army Air Force and the army as a whole and that each man performed his job as if the race depended on him.”
The link to the full article where I got this information is: https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4682