The outbreak of the war increased the demand for labor in newly created munitions, but even then, several defense-related industries failed to benefit many black workers (Sharp 87). However it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt message to Congress on January 1941 though that really rallied the African American communities. In his speech, Roosevelt stated that American democracy consisted of "Four Freedoms": the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of religion, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. Claiming that as a country, they looked forward to a world founded upon those 4 essentials. African-Americans, especially soldiers, noted the irony and hypocrisy of fighting for freedom and democracy in Europe when they could not enjoy those same privileges in their own country (History.com). Not long after such sediment, African American Union leader A. Philip Randolph pointed that the policies in place to supposedly protect blacks, allowed private employers, union and local officials to bar them (William). Philip Randolph announced that if the administration failed to take action against racial discrimination in the defense program, he would organize and lead a mass march on Washington. Six days before the scheduled march, on June 25, 1941, the President signed Executive Order 8802 that banned work discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin for defense contractors and appointed the Committee on Fair Employment Practice to monitor compliance with the order. In the end, though well intentioned, the FECP was toothless and politically vulnerable as it lacked enforcement capability.
As blacks continued to face discrimination in the postwar years of WWII, the March on Washington group met annually to reiterate blacks' demands for economic equality. "In the turbulent decade and a half that followed, Civil Rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change as the federal government made legislative headway with initiatives" (History).
