You can be a member online any time or by signing up at the table in the hallway today. So let me remind you of how the festival works. Were going to have an author speak now for 30 minutes followed by a 10 minute question answer period, and then i will walk the author out to the front of the visitor . E to sign bookses an you can purchase her book in new deal bookstore and then meet the author and discuss the book even more. So our next author today is sandra bultins a veteran teacher and historian. For two decades she lived abroad for a soldier in the United States army serving in germany and leader as a teacher in International Schools in europe, africa, and asia. She earned her doctorate in history at ohio state university. Wherer her focus on gender africanamerican history, gender and africanamerican history led to publication of her book glory in the spirit. How four black women took on army during world war ii doctor is act uv in National Grassroots movement move to amend and in communities efforts to protect Ohio National resources. Her occupation travels and studies and activism reflect her interest in tie signallic of gender, race, and class and public policy. Lets welcome our author. [applause] hello everybody. Ready for a story . So i would like to thank the Roosevelt National library and archives for opportunity to share experiences of the black pioneers of the Womans Army Corps im especially pleased to be able to acknowledge here at hyde park yet another of Eleanor Roosevelts achievements and contributions to this nation. This one not particularly well known. The first lady it was a champion of the Womans Army Corps where the whack is ill be using that acronym in the afternoon. Even less known was her interest in the success of african wac her husband contributions to this end were less personally directed to these women yet immensely important. In 1940 president Franklin Eleanor Roosevelt signed off on memorandum detailing War Department policy of equal treatment of military personnel. Regardless of race. Upon the establishment of the wac two years later, this policy carried over to the new female personnel. There shall providing platform for black wac serving in segregated military afterall to assert their rights for equal treatment. Franklin, you have no idea what you started. And eleanor, i think you did. Can you all hear me theres a lot of feedback or anything . Okay. Okay. This so glory in the spirit how four black woman took on the a. M. In world war ii tells story of one of the most well public sized Court Marshall and black strike is at fort evans in massachusetts. Now for years when i mention this project, the most common response i got was i didnt even know black women were in the military during world war ii. Frankly, im not sure that i did either. At least not before embarking on this project. The fascinations fascination of americans including this one with the groundbreaking achievement it is of women has long failed to recognize that women often translate to white women. This was certainly how americans interpreted the term in 1940s when the nations military services plunged into global war, turned to women to help alleviate their severe personnel shortages. Following the armys lead the navy, marines, coast guard and army air corps. Created their own womens forces so none of these initially accepted black or plaque recruit. Only the wac did a compromise i argue that the War Department offered civil rights leaders whose demand for demanding for integration of the arm forces firmly rejected. This afternoon i will introduce fort evans wac strike in a narrative form as i do in the book. The characters and plot provide the context to explore Army Personnel policies and how they led to the strike, courtmartial, and Public Interest in the case. And at the time it was a sensational trial. I will conclude with with a brief thought on why the forth evans strike is so little known today. I promise you a story. Which ill begin in 1944 when the four women at the center of the fort evans strike enlisted alice young was a middle class washington, d. C. Resident with a well paid government job. Because she also had some training as a nurse, recruiters assured her that the army needed her as a medical technician. Johnny myrrh i if i a northerner had collar l call skills, no job and like soldiers since in memorial a tight for adventure. Trapped in cleaning jobs on from kentucky and mary greene from texas saw army offer of specialized training as an e escape from domestic service. Now, all four of these women would have been familiar with the wac recruiting campaign they were intensive and prolific. And they were pleading with women, pleading with them to do your part, doing the wac now theres an urgency to this and would have noticed that these call as to duty featured white women exclusively. Nevertheless, they saw the wac as extraordinary opportunity. Young, Murphy Morrison and greene among 6500 black women of a total of 140,000wac help the war effort during the war. They want to help the war effort, demonstrate their patriotism and a through skills learned in the army advance their post war prospects. How then did these four women eager to do their part land in the dock as the defendants in a courtmartial . The subtitle of a book offers a concise response. Young, Murphy Morrison and greene had challenged the army. Well go into a little bit more detail today, though. [silence] also makes for a good, place for the cup. [laughter] okay these women fill million technician clerical drivers or any of the hundreds of other army train skills that w with ac advertised. Instead at fort evans white wac these assignments at one of the most hospitals and black wac clean at another the wards at another. Relegation of latter to menial labor was common across the country. Cons cons consequently so was the women and most public sized of the protest but by no means the only one. Conflicts were inevitable. Africanamerican women viewed their inclusion in the military army new policy of black personnel signs of a gender and racial progress in the country. In contrast, the Ward Department consideredded these temporary emergency measures. It recruited black men in large numbers as it always did in a crisis and for the first time in its history, enlisted women. Because it felt it had no other choice. It did so to win the war. Not advance the status of subordinate citizens war policy or personnel sought to maintain the status quo even as it heavily relied on these subordinate citizens promised aron american soldiers equal treatment, it continueed to racially segregate them command them from command positions over white troops relegate the majority to manual labor. Similarly, while it accepted women in the military, it funneled them into a separate and temporary core, the wac was supposed to dissolve after the war and also limited its members to assignments it deemed appropriately feminine. Further more when War Department drafted the directives for aron americans it did so with black men in mind like whys directing those drafting for for wac it did so with white women in mind amarketly War Department leadership assumed that the sum of its policies would overlap to cover black wacs. Rather than overlap, however, they often excluded them. For example, the motor pool at fort evans held intraing programs for black soldiers male soldiers and others for qhiet wacs. But as alice young discovered when she requested a transfer to the motor pool there were none for black wacs as a result the motor pool commander denied youngs request for transfer. He also rejengted any notion that discrimination was a factor a. Afterall, the motor pool offered training to africanamericans and it offered training to women where is the discrimination . While the army prided itself on its uniform treatment of its increasingly diverse personnel, black wacs regularly slipped through cracks of its policies. In this manner, military policies mirrored civilian law like wise overlooked black women. Lets take factory work for example, roosevelt new deal legislation during the Great Depression did not mention race. Yet its Labor Protections primarily benefited the white men that white managers overwhelmingly hired. In 1941, civil right it is leaders use their merging clout to pressure roosevelt to create the fair Employment Practices committee. The fepc, or defense contractors from discriminate against black workers but silent on gender discrimination to comply factories hired black men. Wartime civil yarr shortage black white women to factory floors. Black women also applied for these jobs, but were not taken on. Very rare rei i should say, in fact, in 1942, in detroit and industrial factory abouts, fewer than 100 worked in the factories. 100 black women. Black female women again, fell through the cracks. Gite invisibility and appalling treatment of black men in the military, africanamerican women had reasons to expect better opportunities and greater respect in the wac than they had as civilians. Ill mention three first as previously noted War Department agree to a policy of equal treatment regardless of race. Second, the shortage of wac fulfill essential noncombat military occupations was so heavily publicized that women knew that their service was greatly needed and, in fact, therm greatly needed. Military didnt take advantage it have. But they were greatly needed. Third, the army claims to be fighting against tyranny inspired hope that it would not tolerate tyranny in its forces these factors emboldened thousands of black women to enlist. Rhetoric did not always match reality. Certainly circumstances differed around the country yet most black wac at some point during their time in the service experienced the same type of discrimination that young Murphy Morrison and greene encountered. When these women arrived at the Induction Center in Fort Des Moines, iowa, the wac was under pressure to meet mounting personnel requests from demandingers. To pex pee diet process it quickly trained and terrified them to assignments, at least this was the case for white wacs. Soon as soon as few commanders requested black recruits most of them languished for monthses at Fort Des Moines. Young Murphy Morrison and greene arrived at dissents time during spring and early summer of 1944 did not receive transfer orders until late october. Months later and sent to fort eafns to work under demand of of the post hospitals. Unbeknownst to them fought this transfer tooth and nail first he insisted he didnt need them. Later he warned a superior that with black men on post, the presence of black women surely lead to in his words social problems. With Fort Des Moines overflowing with black wac and different times where white wac be sent elsewhere. The War Department was not having any of this. It olderred to put in the and it was clearly intending to marginalize troops that he did not want he requested wac without military skills so he could place all of those needed to staff detachment, as orderly as orderly in the hospital. Members of the detachment arrived at fort evans excited to at last begin their training and their assignments. Imagine their surprise then when ushered into jobs that king thed of cleaning wards and waiting on staff and patients. Assuming that this was temporary afterall they joined the enlisted based on certain agreements, the new arrivals inquired about their training while diligently carrying out their current task. They really cleaned up the recalled their supervisor Sergeant Harold less commitment as it may seem in 1940s employed black women worked in service jobs. Roughly the same proportion of the black wac assigned to cleaning duties this was about 77 worked at some point during their service. So yes, these women did an excellent job scrubbing floors. Which as women increasingly suspected, their officers assumed they were naturally best suited to do. The women hopes of other opportunity were dashed two months after their arrival he noticed alice young taking a patients temperature according to witnesses, he bellowed that black wacs were not here for that purpose but to do the dirty work. Quote unquote contested phrasing but not the meaning. Thelys and plummeted, several other incidents over the next two months fought further to moralize the women. This included the demotion of three new arrivals all army trained surgical technicians to orderly duties. Tragically another was the attempted suicide of a member of their detachment. On that three others attempted the same. But theres no problems with the detachment. The explosive situation came to head on march 9, 1945 after yet another incident had had at last convinced women that nothing would change unless they took a collective stance. That morning, they launched a strike to protest treatment that was congruent i will mention this was not planned in advance and it was overnight and thats what happened in the morning. The soldiers knew that a strike were mutiny in military terms involved great risk. But black press regularly reported similar actions by black men in uniform and years in even decades of prison sentences incurred for resisting Racial Discrimination. Yet after five months of manual labor, it was hard to refute morrison admission that the women were working like dogs. And that it was time to take the site of action. Not all were ready for this. According to private loraine upon waking up that morning all of the commotion around there, she remarked you all striked while i sleep. Most of the others so not initially not sure what to do chose to join the strike. As ola jackson explained, it was a matter of cooperation that if all of the girls refuse to go to work then it was up for me to stay request them. Nearly all of those on duty at the hospital refused to return to their orderly jobs under the same conditions. That is until the general of their command of the First Service command finally got their offices attention presented them with a choice. Report to work or face a courtmartial. Private Young Morrison and greene opted for the courtmartial so did murphy who forcefully declared i would take death before i would go back to work. Arrested and held in commune cad had no way of knowing their actions had sparked a National Fire storm. Outside the confinement area, news of the strike in courtmartial spread rapgdly in both the black and mainstream presses unusual for the time. Mary mccloud a member of the president s black cabinet, and founder of the National Association of the colored women, dismanagedded an investigation as dp several members of congress. Other organizations contacted high level officials about the case and worked with local members who rallied behind the defendants. Scores of ordinary citizens male and female black and white followed the case many barraging secretary of qard Simpson Henry simpson and president roosevelt with inquiry about how the army treatment of these women who had volunteered to serve when the country was in such great need. Other were furious over dirty work remark. While still others remindinged their lead percent that the nation waging war with to suppress tyranny. Are we going to be as cold and human in our practices of hitler asked one white woman of roosevelt . The president called wac director to the white house to discuss the matter. Eleanor roosevelt also sought and appointment to be referred to her . Angt. With the vast majority of the civilians who were following the case sprouterring supporting women the chief attorney marshal considered its potential in taking on segregation in the military. Fort evans case hit a nerve when courtmartial black personnel claiming Racial Discrimination were as routine as they were out ignored outside of aron american communities, this one stood out. Between defendants who were both black and female, the case laid open fresh and thorny context to discuss three of the most contentious issues of the war women in the military. Racial segregation and war for democracy and in the investigation of the strike the army holy denied the discrimination at fort evans. But just didnt happen. The fact that 75 of black wac worked as orderlies compared to just 12 of white wac would suggest to us otherwise. But not not too many white personnel in 1940s. They pointed to poor army test scoreses is as kirchls did not qualify for skilled assignments. Officers also describe the women as fallen thoroughly lazy often late usually complaining. Hardly the character of a molds wac a number of them spoke of their women having a tendency to place a race card play the race card when they did not get their way. These were the usual complaints leveled against black wacs across the United States. So lets see how they stack up at fort evans. First, the army general passed a test score the agct. Yes at fort evans women army test score were low. As was the funding of black schools in south where more than 70 of africanamericans live as a side, black soldiers from better funded schools in the north typically outperformed southern qhiet recruits. In any case back at fort eaves detachment overall scores were engineered to be low. Requested personnel with no training so he could isolate them in menial jobs his reassignment of the three surgical technicians to orderly duty substantiates this detention as far as character, yes with, black wac complained about their jobs at fort evans. But this and they were tardy for work. But not at first when they first arrived they worked very hard at their jobs. But after their officers ignored their request