American Fighting Fraternity Breaks Racial Barriers

During the last two and a half months' fighting in the European treatre, the American forces were somewhat, thinned out following the wilder of 1944-45, and it was necessary to take personnel from the lines of communication for combat purposes in order to assure the success of the final assault. When a call was sent out for volunteers, several thousand Negroes offered their services. Of these. 2,600 were accepted.

Formed into separate rifle platoons, the Negroes were officered by whites, and a platoon was superimposed on the normal company complement within eleven infantry divisions. When those divisions went into action, the Negroes killed and died as the whites.

But more important was the reaction of white troops. In May and June, 1945, trained Army interviewers questioned 250 officers and n.c.o.'s who had actually been in combat with Negroes.

1.	Did you like the idea of serrina with Negroes? 60% answered "No."
2.	After 60 days fighting together, they were asked how well the Negros performed in combat.

To this 84% of the officers and 81 % of n.c.o.'s answered "very well," 16% "fairly well," 1% "not so well," and none "not well at all." In answer to the question: "How did the white and coloured troops get on together?" the results were 73%, 7%, and nil respectively.

"Has your feeling toward negroes changed since serving in the same unit?" Not a single man said his attitude had become less favourable, while 77% of officers and n.c.o's said that they felt more favourable toward them ("feel more respect for them," "like them better").

From a cross-section of those who had never fought with Negroes, 62% said that they would dislike very much to serve with them; whereas among infantrymen who had served with them there was a total of 60% who were favourable toward mixed companies.

The outstanding point is the additional proof that racial discrimination, to survive, must be nurtured by stimulation, by a positive policy of maintaining customs, laws and propaganda that serve to feed the malignant growth. Remove these stimuli, replace them by officially sanctioned fellowship, and the blight withers.

And once again we are driven to the same conclusion: "that there are millions of Americans of wealth, education and power who believe that the necessity of keeping black men from ever becoming free citizens is more important than the triumph of democracy in the world." While the USA has subscribed to the Charter of the United Nations and, earlier, to the principles of the Atlantic Charter, the Ku Klux Klan has been reborn in the South, and Senator Overton and others have re-opened their campaign for the intensification of discriminatory legislation.

The importance of this issue, and its perspective, is made clear by William Henry Hastie, Dean of Howard University (for Negroes):—

"If it were possible to conceive of America by herself, then we might experience a period of very serious fascist reaction within a short time—though democratic forces might beat it in the long run. But the, lines are being set up so rapidly all over the world that it is not a question where America will stand in fifty years, but where America stands today, and will stand tomorrow. As our nation is the only one sufficiently prosperous, untouched by the war, to be of real help in the struggle for democracy over the world—if we are so minded. If we go over to the side of reaction, it would set the world back a long time—and a bloody time."

Once the American workers realise that the Negroes' fight is their fight, Jim Crow will be on the outer.