The
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) implemented US
Executive Order 8802Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry...
, requiring that companies with government contracts not to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. It was intended to help
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
s and other minorities obtain jobs in the homefront industry. On June 25, 1941, President Roosevelt created the
Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) by signing Executive Order
8802Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry...
, which stated, "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race,
creedA creed is a statement of belief—usually religious belief—or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe...
, color, or national origin." This was due in large part to the urging of
A. Philip RandolphAsa Philip Randolph was a prominent twentieth-century African-American civil rights leader and the founder of both the March on Washington Movement and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a landmark for labor and particularly for African-American labor organizing.-Early life:Randolph was born...
, who had the support of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersThe Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labor union in the United States organized by the predominantly African-American Pullmans Porters...
.
In 1943, Roosevelt greatly strengthened the FEPC with a new executive order, Executive Order 9346.
The
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) implemented US
Executive Order 8802Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry...
, requiring that companies with government contracts not to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. It was intended to help
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
s and other minorities obtain jobs in the homefront industry. On June 25, 1941, President Roosevelt created the
Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) by signing Executive Order
8802Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry...
, which stated, "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race,
creedA creed is a statement of belief—usually religious belief—or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe...
, color, or national origin." This was due in large part to the urging of
A. Philip RandolphAsa Philip Randolph was a prominent twentieth-century African-American civil rights leader and the founder of both the March on Washington Movement and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a landmark for labor and particularly for African-American labor organizing.-Early life:Randolph was born...
, who had the support of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersThe Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labor union in the United States organized by the predominantly African-American Pullmans Porters...
.
In 1943, Roosevelt greatly strengthened the FEPC with a new executive order, Executive Order 9346. It required that all government contracts have a non-discrimination clause. During the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the federal government operated airfields, shipyards, supply centers, ammunition plants and other facilities that employed millions. FEPC rules applied and guaranteed equality of employment rights. Of course, these facilities shut down when the war ended. In the private sector the FEPC was generally successful in enforcing non-discrimination in the North, it did not attempt to challenge segregation in the South, and in the border region its intervention led to
hate strikesStrike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to perform work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became important in factories and mines...
by angry white workers.
But Congress had never enacted FEPC into law. In 1948,
President TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
called for a permanent FEPC, anti-
lynchingLynching is an extrajudicial punishment meted by a mob, usually by hanging. It is an enumerated felony in all states of the United States, defined by some codes of law as "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person which results in the death of the person," with a 'mob'...
legislation, and the abolishment of the
poll taxA poll tax, head tax, or capitation tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
. The conservative coalition in Democratic-controlled Congress prevented this. In 1950, the
HouseThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
approved a permanent FEPC bill. However, southern senators
filibusterA filibuster, or "talking out a bill", is a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body whereby one attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a proposal by extending a debate on that proposal....
ed; the bill failed. Five states enacted and enforced their own FEPC laws: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Washington.
External links
See also
- African-American Civil Rights Movement
- Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
- President's Committee on Civil Rights
The President's Committee on Civil Rights was established by U.S. President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9808 on December 5, 1946. The committee was instructed to investigate the status of civil rights in the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of...