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    17K views23 pages

    Final Race Wonk Room

    Uploaded by

    ivolsky

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 23
    WHITE ENLISTED MEN TOWARD NEGRO TROOPS ATTITUDES OF SHARING FACILITIES WITH BASSO OW 4 SORTEY OF REPRESKATATIVE CROSS SbOTIONS OF THREE DIVISIONS IN NAT, 1942 RESEARCH BRANCH, SPECIAL SERVICE DIVISION SERVICES OF SUPPLY, WAR DEPARTMENT / Siro Moun aiLs¥ eandobe ATTITUDES OF WHITES TOWARD SHARING FACILITIES WITH NEGROES Army policy with respect to the Negro often must take into account the attitudes not only of Negroes but also of white soldiers toward Negroes. This is a report on the attitudes of white soldiers toward sharing facilities with Negroes. The findings may be sum- marized as follows 4. Mite enlisted men trom the Worth chow a strong prejudice against sharing recreation, theatre, or post exchange facilities with Negroes. 2 As would be expoctod, the white enlieted men from the Border States show a stronger dislike for shahing facilities with Negroes than 40 the Northerners, and the white enlisted men from the South show the strongest dislike of all. 3. Within geographic regions there are no marked differences in avti- tudes as becneen rural ané urban men, 4, Within regions, there are few marked differences in attituaes vy educational levels of che men. The etter educated nay be some— what more Liberal in attitude than men with a grade school educa- tion onty. 5. The Uhrve divisions studied show remarkable similarity of patterns im avticude, when men Ineach division crom the North, Border, and South are tabulated separately. These results are based on a survey of 2,360 enlisted men who constitute a representative cross section of three divisions stationed in the South. Division X is a regular infantry division, with 51% of the troops from the Border States and South; Division Y is an armored division, with 48% from the Border States and South; Division Z is a National Guard Di- vision from the North with 13% of the men from the Border States and South. Negro troops are stationed at all three posts, although at some distance from the white troops. Ko eyrae CONFIDENTIAL Wop «pqs By AQ) ani one “/2€/]h QUESTION: See NonTHERK STares @& vorase stares STATES Cond DECLASSIFIED Woo <12.03 Tell . By AQ wana’ Date / sos: ‘The Army has not always been able to have special FX's for Negro soldiers. Which of the following things do you think should be done? Negro soldiers should use the Px's for white soldters end should receive exactly the same privileges. Negro soldiere should be alloned to buy chings at the Px it they don't hang around or sit down. Negro soldiers should ve Kept out of the Px's for white soldiers altogether. pur’ aur DON'T RANG AROUND se xcrr our EQUAL paiviteces "Border" states include Delauare, Maryland, District of Colundia, Firginia, West Virginia, Kentuchy, Tennessee and Oklahoma. "South" includes all other states south of the Nason and Dixon line. QUESTION: @ @8en STATES sonore Staves sour enw Saves Cod DECLASSIFIED In some camps the Army cannot provide separate Recreation Buildings and Service Clubs for Negro and white soldiers, Which of the following things would you do in such a case? White and Negro soldiers should use the sane bufldings at the same tine. White and Negro soldiers should use the buildings at che ame time except on dance nights. Negro soldiers should be allowed to use Service clubs and Recreation Sutidings but only at certain hours or on certain tents. The Negro soldiers shouia rind ree: che tr own, ation facilities of Fino THEIR OWN Use EXcEFT ON USE RECREATION SHOULO USE AT CERTAIN TIMES DANCE NiGHTS ALWATS Lae tan 0.5. AS 4G x28 vxe /2elh QUESTION: GBS saes WonTHeRN STATES & sonner Srares sourneny STATES Cone CONFIDENTIAL Sometimes the Army cannot provide Negro soldiers with Camp movie houses of their own, If you were in one of these camps, which of the following Practices would you recommend? Negro soldiers should not see camp movies, but should nave to go to town, Negro soldiers should have spectel nights on which to see camp movies. Negro soldiers should dee the sane movies as the white soldiers but sit ina section of their ovn. Negro and white soldiers shoula be treated alike - come, fire: served. souls ave sriRst come, GoTo) SPECIAL rest ‘Torn wicwrs SIT 1 SECTION OF omn staveor Vs 2} hae LASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL Authority MOD 14.036 Siowrociol au webianlll 5y44) wand Dae 7/2e/]| CONFIDENTIAL QUESTION: Should white and Negro basebell and basketball teams compete against each other in the same post leagues? BD ves ® vo NonracRN STATES & sonoce STATES sourmenn STATES Gal NOES: Aithough most Southern soldiers are opposed to conpet- ing with Hegroes in sports, the Jortherners are rather Mderai in their attitude, especially when compared to their attitute on the other issues. Houevér, the type Of soctat contact implied in this question ts quite atfferent fron the sharing of movie houses, recreation butldings, or Pris. woe CONFIDENTIAL Henne ao Auihority BOD 14636 vB nas dae Z/2c[]} 24.8 : vce Bl Lop 7 - ATTITUDES ENLISTED MEN TOWARD NEGROES FOR AIR FORCE DUTY BASED OF A SORTBY OF A REPRESSHEASIVE CROSS SECTION OF 4672 WHISE ENLISTED NEE IN 6 ABN AIR PoRCE factIoat ONES AND 3 ARMY AIR PORCE FRAINING SCHOOLS RESEARCH BRANCH, SPECIAL SERVICE DIVISION SERVICES OF SUPPLY, WAR OEPARTHENT November 30, 1942 DECLASSIFIED a Authority WROD 13.036 SSWORY TOL Sagoo oA sank oae (21) CONFIDENTIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD NEGROES FOR AIR FORCE DUTY Prevailing opinion among 5872 typi- cal white enlisted men in the Air Forces is: Train Negroes as pilots, Dombardiers and navigators, but segregate the Negro both in training and in subsequent duty. * * Differences in rank and amount of formal education have little effect on the enlisted man's attitude. There is high agreement among both Northerners and Southerners on the policy of having Negroes trained for Air Force duty and on segregating them. There are, as might be expected, sharp differences between Northerners and Southerners on the subject of working personally with Negro soldiers. 1. Two out of three men favor training the Negro, and only one man in ten definitely objects. 2. More than three out of four men favor separate training schools: combat and ground crews. 3. Less than one-half the men (44%) say they have @ personal objection to working in the sane ground crew with Negroes. Yet two out of three Southerners object toworking with Negro soldiers, whereas only one out of three North- erners objects. DECLASSIFIED ae Sop S2HOuy Maou a1 iv caonCOHEE FE] wand dae ell 2NEDENTIL ONLY ONE MAN IN TEN IS OPPOSED TO TRAINING NEGROES FOR ARMY AIR FORCE DUTY FAVOR ALL MEN 65% NORTHERN, MEN SOUTHERN MEN NOTE: The exact question askec was: . tNegroes are now being trained as pilots, bombardiers and navigators. How do you feel about this? (Check one of following) Highly in fevor of it__, Moderately in favor__, Indifferent, Opposea__, Strongly opposes. DECLASSIFIED — a Sl Bass ‘aa Snoumai dSRMO wit bac 7/2¢/]] SONFIDENTIAL. SEONEIDENTIAL— AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE MEN FEEL THAT NEGRO AND WHITE SOLDIERS SHOULD BE SEPARATED BOTH DURING AND AFTER TRAINING TRAINING SCHOOLS. COMBAT oREWS. 13% GROUND cREWS 15% MEN FROM THE NORTH, AS WELL AS FROM THE SOUTH FAVOR SEPARATION TRAINING SCHOOLS COMBAT CREWS GROUND CREWS 79% 92% 74% 83% 72% 81% NOTE: The exact Q. "Do you think that white soldiers and Negro soldiers in the Air Force should be in the sane or separate (a) training schools? (x) combat crews? (c) ground ceewst* DECLASSIFIED ~ Aushoriyy NOD 413036 ‘Sshlow nou au ivespouee, By .< Ze] 3ONABENHA CONFIDENTIAL LESS THAN HALF OF THE MEN OBJECT TO WORKING IN THE SAME GROUND CREW WITH NEGRO SOLDIERS ALL MEN NORTHERN MEN SOUTHERN MEN NOTE: The exact question askee was: @ AWoula you have any personal objection to working in the same ground crew with Kegro soldierst (Check one of the following) Yes we__* DECLASSIFIED — authority HOD ‘our www avcasnooue, 64 wank due oell *ONFIDENTIAL _-RONEIDENTIAL 7 WAR DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS. ARMY SERVICE FORCES SPSPX 330.11 WASHINGTON. B. €. (sou 43) 15 July 1943, MEMORANDUM FOR THE COMUNDING GENERAL, ARMY SERVICE FOROS: Subject: quarterly report to the Chief of Staff on factore relating to worale, 2, Tate report sunuarizes some major aspects of recent studies on the attitutes and interests of troops, These studies are based on the statistical analysis of replize sate anongwcusly to questions asked of thousands of soldiers, nore end abroad. In the fielé covered, such factual evidence is nore representative, and therefore nore generally appli- cable, then the personal inpressions of even the ost experienced observer. 2,. Our studies indicate the satisfaction of troops with muy piiysieal factors gen erally'relstad to morale, ‘The man like their £000; they are acpreciative of the nedicel services; they acpreciate their technical training, The picture is not eo favorable with respect to factors less tangible bat equally inportent to morale, 3. The first section of the report shons the attitudes of the aen tonard thelr role af soldiers, Hera we find that only tro men out of five feel that they would be sore useful 9s soldiers than as civilian mar workers, len with doubte about the far or ebout our Allies are more likely to orefer the role of civilian war worker, This reluctance to be soldiers 1s greatly accontunted anong, those who are married, olde, ani those wo are claseified a3 linited service. The general picture is made woree by the ciscorery that the longer a private has been'in the service, the lese hs believes he can contrisute sore ns» roldier than as a civilian mar sorser, Perhone even nore disturbing is the evidence tant tne-longer men are in the service the less is their pride in their outfiter 4, Such attitudes nay nell be a hondicap to training and to efficiency in combats These studies indicate the need Zor unrenitting effort to depart to the nena pride in their service, a sense of personal participation, and a belief in the enuse for wnich they ere fighting.’ This effort will be moat effactive if special attention ie siven to the older, murrisd, ané limited service nen. 5. The fect that the great majority of men AW.O.L, are found at the loner educa tional levele eurzests that the Command my desire to acqueint iteelf nore fully wita the soecial problens of the sen with low eduestion nnd make clear to then the oenalties ine volved for being A.¥.0.L, and the reasons for the necessary discipline. 6, The second section of tne resort deals with general problens of the soldier. 8, The favorable reaction of the nen to Amy technical schools is highly satis~ factory, and a gratifying nucher are assigned to Jobe which make use of thie special train ing. b, The attitudes of our troops towards our Allies in this ar must necseearily reflect a carry-over fron civilion attituies, Yet proper attituies tovard our Allies are esrentinl to teaz-vork in the Tar, and it 18 evident fron these studies that only the con stant effort of the Comand can iiprove these attitudes end keeo then fron deterioratine, tH. Gh, F, #, OSBORK, Brigadier Generel, Director, SPECIAL SERVICE DIVISION, DECLASSIFIED ae _SONFIDENTIAL pee ori HOD sepz.s5 s ieteaeenit * near ——_— ee sy 4 vari dae ell CQMELDENTTA, f/GEI] 200 VIS PES qaalaissv 1936 HOW THE STUDIES ARE MADE The staff of the Research Branch of the Special Service Division is composed of Army officers who are specialists in this field, together with a number of civilians from leading universities and from commercial life. Techniques have been developed, tested and adjusted to fit the Army's problems. The basic steps in conducting a study are as follows: The questionnaire is prepared in consultation with the War Department Branches inmediately concerned. All de- tails are worked out in advance. 2. The questionnaire is pre-tested on smaller groups to make certain that the questions are meaningful and understandable to the enlisted men. 3. The project is cleared for action with the Commands in which the study is to be made. The number of men to be surveyed is set sufficiently large to insure statistically reliable findings. 5. The men to be surveyed are selected to insure as true 8 cross-section as possible, The men are assembled in class rooms or mess halls, Where they themselves--in absolute anonymity--fill in their questionnaires. No officers are present, the classes being conducted by trained enlisted men, The questionnaires bear no names, serial numbers, or other Personal identification. Ordinarily, illiterates or men of vory low intelligence are interviewed personally by trained enlisted men, Other techniques, of course, are employed from time to time to fit special needs, COVRLDEN TIME. cowripewrs (PL 00 PN OF nePcouero AT ne waTONL HacmNS PUES Gow uory aaaissv1986 RACE SEPARATION IN THE ARMY - ++ AS THE NEGRO SOLDIER SEES IT In response to each of three questions on separation of Negroes and whites in the Army, a minority of Negro soldiers--but a sub- stantial minority, from $8 to 48 per cent--say they consider some form of separation a good idea. About half favor separate service clubs; four in ten favor separate post exchanges. Thirty-eight per cent believe that Negro and white soldiers should be in separate outfits; 36 per cent believe Negro and white soldiers should be in the same outfits; the rest are undecided. Many of jegroes and some of the whites who favor separation in the Army indicate by their comments that they are opposed to segregation in principle. They favor separation in the Army to avoid trouble or unpleasantness arising from race prejudice, This point is most often made in connection with service clubs where social relations are most important. Negroes who oppose segregation in the Army indicate most fre~ quently that their reasons are related to the idea that we are fighting for democracy and equality. The longer a Negro has served in the Army, the less likely he is to favor separation of the races. Most favorable to racial separation in the Army are the Southern Negroes with least education, Least favorable are the better educated Northern Negroes. The chart at the right presents the anewere of Negro and white soldiers to the three questions on racial separation in the Army. ve CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL NEGRO OPINIONS DIFFER ON RACE SEPARATION QUESTION..."0o you think it is o good idea or apoor idea for Negro and white soldiers to have SEPARATE SERVICE CLUBS in Army comps?" PERCENTAGE SAYING (ae) NEGRO = ‘SOLDIERS: 39% ware aes a SOLOIERS : ii QUESTION. . "Do you think it is a good Idea or a poor idea for white and Negro soldiers 10 have SEPARATE PX's in Army camps?" NeoRO B' SOLDIERS 48% wire SOLDIERS QUESTION... “Do you think white and Negro soldiers should be in SEPARATE OUTFITS or should they be together inthe SAME OUTFITS?” necro SOLDIERS ware SOLDIERS DECLASSIFIED roriy NOD «13036 Ae) vans dae aed 0 RBSERIGTED Information and Education Division Hoadquarters, Aray Service Forces Report No, B-157 Copy No, Washington 25, D.C. 3 July 1945 Classification Canceled eP-Changed-te By duth, of Dir., inf. @ Ba, D: By. D.D. Be Date___22 Sop 45. NIONS ABOUT NEGRO INFANTRY PLATOONS IN WHITE LS.F. COMPANIES OF 7 DIVIstoNS Based on survoy made in May-June, 1945, by Roscarch Branch Information and Education Division, Headquarters, European Thoater of Operations, under authority of ‘The Commanding General, ETOUSA RESTRICTED: Dissémination Af Restricfod lat tend The infofmation fontainsd dn rostricfed documofts and the/ossontidl charae mcg rostrictéa natoridl nay of zivon to/any porsok known to/bo in the sfrvice of the Unitdd States And to porgons of uAdoudted/loyalty afd discretfan who arf co- opofating 3X GovernnoAt work, bft mill nof be con muficated Zo tho rubfic or to tho press fxcept by afthorizod nilitary/rublic rofations agéneios. (Soc alof per, 1Bb/ AR-380-5/ 28 sep. £93) RESSRIGEED DECLASSIFIED a 777 OPINIONS ABOUT NEGRO INFANTRY PLATOONS IN WHITE COMPANIES OF 7 DIVISIONS What do the white company grade officers and the thite platoon sergeants in 8.7.0, think of the conbst performance of Negro rifle Platoons which were attached to their companies in March and ipril and fought side by side with white platoons through VE~doy? This question is answered by a survey, made in lete May and early June, 1945, by personally interviewing 250 respondents, namely, all available white company grede officers and a representative sample of platoon sergeants in 24 companies conteining Negro platoons in several infantry divisions, namely, the Ist, 2nd, Sth, 69th, 78th, 99th, end lo4th, “Standardized questions were used’ in the survey, which nas con~ Gucted by five trained interviewers of the Research Branch, I and = Division, E,7,0 In all except one of the companies visited, thé standard organi- zation of three rifle pletoons and one heavy infantry platoon had been augmented ty one rifle platoon of colored soldiers. The colored Platoons were made up of men from rear echelon units who volunteered for service with the infantry and were trained for aporoxizstely six weeks in reinforcement depots, usually by a white officer or non-con who later led them into combat. In generalizing the opinions here reported, the fact that the Negro infontrymen in these pletoons were volunteers must be kept in mind, as must also the fact thet not sll of the platoons expericnced heavy and arduous fighting, LASSIFIED Wop

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