Although the U.S. government repeatedly stated that the U.S. was fighting in World War II to establish freedom and democracy across the globe, and fighting against a form of slavery imposed by the Nazi regime in Germany, neither freedom nor democracy were very apparent to African Americans on the Home Front. African Americans still faced the Jim Crow laws of segregation and economic deprivation in the South, they faced discrimination in the workplace across the country, and they fought in a segregated military. They also fought back. Did the experiences of African Americans during World War II lay the foundation for the modern civil rights movement, and, if so, how did they do so?

Although the U.S. government repeatedly stated that the U.S. was fighting in World War II to establish freedom and democracy across the globe, and fighting against a form of slavery imposed by the Nazi regime in Germany, neither freedom nor democracy were very apparent to African Americans on the Home Front. African Americans still faced the Jim Crow laws of segregation and economic deprivation in the South, they faced discrimination in the workplace across the country, and they fought in a segregated military. They also fought back. Did the experiences of African Americans during World War II lay the foundation for the modern civil rights movement, and, if so, how did they do so?