Jim Crow Must Go

Chapter Six illustrates how, during World War II, black women in Washington, D.C. worked to steer the city on a path toward racial integration. Women’s activism became more militant in the 1940s as they built on the rich tradition of resistance from the previous decade in economic justice, civil rights, and campaigns for safety. During World War II, black women protested interstate transportation segregation, staged sit-ins at lunch counters throughout the city, and returned to their position as lobbyists in the federal government. As men departed to fight in World War II, black women crafted gendered arguments, contending that it was their duty to fight for racial equality in the city. At the conclusion of World War II, black women had laid the foundation for the post-war black freedom struggle across the nation.