Minority women took on many non-traditional roles on the home front during WWII, as well as being allowed to join the military and serve the war effort abroad. This was the time that the “Double V Campaign” was brought about to bring to the forefront the minority groups who were fighting for democracy abroad, but who were also fighting racial prejudice in the United States.
The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act had conferred citizenship on all American Indians, which enabled the Indian men to enlist in the military, leaving many traditionally male roles on the reservation needing to be done by the Native American women. The women were needed to do hunting, act as fire lookouts, and continue the farming. Many Native American women also left the reservations to work in aircraft plants and defense industries. Picture - Native American Woman in Defense Plant Many served as volunteers for the American Women’s’ Volunteer Service, Red Cross, and Civil Defense.
Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) women were also an important part of the war effort on the home front. Many joined the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) as nurses and many joined the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as translators. As linguists, they often remained on the home front, where they translated captured Japanese documents, military plans and classified information that aided the U.S. in understanding the Japanese strategies.
Perhaps the most talked about and publicized group was that of the African Americans, which during that period were referred to as Negroes or Blacks. While the struggles with issues of racism, sexism, and prejudices were still factors for all minorities, the efforts of these women became an integral part of the home front war effort. Desperate labor shortages, combined with the establishment of the FEPC, Fair Employment Practices Commission, allowed Negro women to take on jobs previously held primarily by white men. While their abilities and dedication to the war effort were doubted by many white Americans, the Negro women’s contribution proved invaluable.
A sampling of the jobs which, for the first time, were held by Negro women included being hired as mechanics at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Some were even hired at very technical positions for which rigid aptitude and physical tests were required. The Philadelphia Navy Yard employed Negro girls in their airplane-engine division. Another technical job that Negro women took during WWII was at the Army Proving Ground at Aberdeen, Maryland. Here the women tested the precision of guns, tanks, and other fighting equipment. In ammunition plants, Negro women worked in foundries, worked with operation of machine tools, inspection, assembly, painting, electrical work, riveting and welding. Picture - African American women in Ammunition Plant Most steel mills employed Negro women in most departments, including steel burning machines. One unusual railroad position that was done by a Negro female was that of a train announcer. Of course, many Negro women also did traditionally female jobs, such as working in laundries, restaurants, and on farms as field hands, dishwashers, janitors, domestics, and maids. As can be seen, the roles of minority women during World War II were expanded to provide needed services to the United States, which aided in the American victory. While segregation was still a factor and compensation was discriminatory, not only between races but among gender, important forward progress was realized. Women were becoming increasingly aware that they could and should be an asset outside of the home environment. - Tina P.
Bibliography
Blood, K. (1945). Negro Women War Workers. Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/ATO/Minorities/Negroes/NegroWomen-WarWorkers/index.html
Japanese American Women in World War II. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.javadc.org/AJA%20women_in_wwII.htm
Morgan, T. D. (1995). Native Americans in World War II. Retrieved from http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/NAWWII.html
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