Which U.S. president was the first to desegregate government employment?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt learned of a planned March on Washington D.C., and he became very concerned. Thus, Roosevelt then desegregated governmental employment in 1941.
Greatly concerned with the prospect of thousands of angry African-Americans descending upon the nation's capital, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which stated that there shall be "no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin." The Order also created the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) to investigate discrimination complaints in wartime.
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13 Comments
Richard D. Boyle
I guess military service during WW II was not considered to be federal employment because none of the military services were desegregated until Truman did it in 1948. The service chiefs were not pleased. Truman was moved to do so as a result of an especially heinous act perpetrated against a black veteran in uniform by a gang of white racists in the Deep South. When Truman heard about it the details sickened him and, consulting no one, he desegregated all military services by executive order. He knew where the buck stopped.
klmilles
Truman desegregated the military in 1948 (although some of the services resisted this into the 1950s). FDR tried to desegregate the federal government (in terms of hiring) in 1941.
teacherchicky
Wrong answer again! It was Harry Truman; learn your history and get your answers correct!
earlepg
I agree with the comments already made. This isn't the first time that I stand against your "correct" answer.
Katherine Lake
Harry Truman did in 1948! Check your facts, please.
Celesta Petrus Harhai
Wrong answer. It was Harry Truman.
Richard G Schwartz
I picked Truman and I'm sticking to it.
Corey Taylor
Richard D. Boyle, For once!
Gordon Mehaffey
again, a wrong answer!! it was Truman.
Richard D. Boyle
As an addendum to my Truman comment below, I was 13 at the time and my dad told me about it in general terms. I didn’t learn the details until I read about the incident years later in American Heritage while on active duty in Alabama.
jshehan
Wrong answer, H.S. Truman is correct.
Marian Spitzig
Totally wrong. Truman did with executive order 9981, which integrated the military. If it wasFDR, why was the Pentagon built with segregated bathrooms? Why did we have all Black military units?
Carole Benner
Thought Truman