The Basis of Negro Morale in World War II [cover title]

[Washington, D.C.: ca. October, 1942. Very good.. [1],454-464pp. Original printed self wrappers, stapled. Minor fraying to edges, light dust-soiling and toning to wrappers. An offprint of an important article on the morale of African-American soldiers during World War II, written by Charles H. Thompson and first published in the Journal of Negro Education in October 1942. Thompson actually delivered the article as a commencement address to the June 1942 graduating class of Virginia Union University. The work traces the morale of African American troops through a study of their status during World War I and the tendency of African-American troops to be critical of current segregationist military policies. As Thompson points out: "Negroes point out that you can't put a ball and chain on a man and expect him to run as fast or as far as other men who are not so encumbered...Negroes have tried to point out to the Government that the gratuitous and reactionary segregation policy of the armed forces not only must inevitably affect Negro morale but constitutes an obstacle to the war effort in general." Thompson offers two suggestions for improving "Negro Morale" in the U.S. armed forces: "first, that you broaden your understanding of what we are fighting for in this war...and second, that you deepen the foundations of your faith in our ability to attain those ideals for which we fight." This offprint is not separately accounted for in OCLC.