Perhaps the sorriest chapter in the story of the war which has just come to an end is the treatment accorded Negroes in the American armed forces. In a war ostensibly fought against a racist ideology we ourselves have practiced precisely the same ideology. Yet thanks to various pressures brought to bear in this connection and thanks to the need for the efficient utilization of all our available manpower, there has been considerable improvement in the status of the Negro both in the Army and in the Navy. The improvement in the Navy is the more spectacular in that at the beginning of the war the Navy's race policy was considerably worse than the Army's. It consisted in using Negroes almost entirely as mess attendants—a menial function much resented by a people whose innate abilities by no means limit them to work of this sort. It should be explained that after the last war the Navy stopped enlisting Negro personnel altogether, and continued this policy for some years. Early in the thirties enlistments were resumed, but exclusively for service as mess attendants or in the stewards department.
With the tremendous expansion of our naval establishment in wartime an additional use was found for Negro "sailors." They were given the very dangerous and arduous task of handling ammunition at various bases. Again this limitation to menial labor was an understandable cause of hurt. But the Port Chicago explosion and the Mare Island mutiny did a great deal to persuade the Navy Department that its policy needed overhauling. Undoubtedly some of the credit for this must go to Mr. James E. Forrestal and to Admiral Randall Jacobs, Chief of Naval Personnel. In any case the result was the issuance, early this year, of a "Guide to Command of Negro Naval Personnel" which is an outstanding document in the field of civilized race relations. Whoever is responsible for having formulated it deserves the highest praise, especially for its admirable tone of objectivity and its careful avoidance of sentimentality. It should at once be added that the Army has an equivalent document which likewise possesses merit, but in the opinion of those best qualified to judge the relative merits of the two, the Navy has done the better job.
Of course it is all very well to have a good policy; if the policy is not carried out in the field, it is useless. Yet it is better to have a good policy only partially carried out than to have a bad policy which is obeyed to the letter. For this reason I shall present here a number of excerpts from the "Guide," asking the reader to remember that only a few years ago Negroes in the Navy were viewed as fit only to be personal servantsfor white officers, and that there is some reason to believe that the Navy desired not even to reward them adequately when they performed exploits of personal heroism.
As I have already said, a realistic approach in matters of this sort is the only approach compatible with the self respect of everyone concerned. Thus the "Guide" wastes no time talking about justice or equal rights. Such things it assumes. It flatly states (and in all quotations hereafter given the italics are the italics of the Navy Department):
In modern total warfare any avoidable waste of manpower can only be viewed as a material aid to the enemy. Restriction, because of racial theories, of the contribution of any individual to the war effort is a serious waste of human resources.
The Navy accepts no theories of racial differences in inborn ability, but expects that every man wearing its uniform be trained and used in accordance with his maximum individual capacity determined on the basis of individual performance.
It is recognized, of course, that Negro performance in Naval training and tasks on the average has not been equal to the average performance of white personnel. Explanation of this difference by resort to some theory of differences in natural endowment, however, leads only to confusion in which the potentialities of individuals become obscured.
It has been established by experience that individual Negroes vary as widely in native ability as do members of any other race. It is the Navy's responsibility to develop the potentialities of individuals to the extent that the exigencies of war require and permit. It would be possible to continue to quote many additional paragraphs in this vein, but I feel that here is a sufficient sample of the excellent tone which prevails throughout the document. It is careful, furthermore, to give credit for "satisfactory Negro performance" in a number of new activities which had been tried experimentally prior to the issuance of the "Guide."
The "Guide" is very clear in stating that the Navy intends to give Negroes every opportunity for advancement:
Proper development and utilization of individual abilities and civilian skills is essential not only because of Naval needs for trained men for specific jobs but also because it is a basic factor in military morale. All men should feel that their officers are concerned with their natural desire to increase their military efficiency. Like other Americans, the Negro wants widening opportunities. Indifference to individual potentialities, and policies which summarily forbid requests for changes in assignment or for specialist training, impede the effective utilization of personnel and create discontent. Enlisted men, white and Negro alike, are notoriously quick in sensing any lack of positive interest in their advancement. Moreover, the Negro has been made extra sensitive in such matters by his civilian experience.
It is the policy of the Navy Department that no discrimination as to race shall be allowed to influence the nomination of candidates for advanced school training. When Negro personnel are qualified under existing regulations and directives, they shall be given the same consideration as white personnel and will be assigned to schools in the same manner and on the same basis. (BuPers. Circ. Ltr. No. 194-44 Dated 10 July 1944.)
Throughout the "Guide" there is complete recognition of the sensitiveness of Negroes—a result of their status in our society—and the recommendations for dealing with this psychological factor are the epitome of common sense:
Hard manual labor must be done in the normal operation of the Naval Establishment, and both white and Negro personnel are doing it. It is not good personnel procedure, however, to dismiss the matter with merely a statement of its inevitability for all races. There is an extra problem in the case of the Negro seaman of avoiding any basis for the suspicion that he is given such work because he is a Negro. This can be accomplished without coddling by making certain that he receives equitable treatment on the job and that he is aware of the importance in the war of the work he is doing, and that he understands that white personnel are performing the same type of duty.
Here are two further specimens of the same understanding awareness:
Negroes prefer to be referred to in their individual capacities as Americans without racial designation. The word "nigger" is especially hated and it has no place in the Naval vocabulary. Negroes are suspicious that the pronunciation of the word Negro as though it were spelled "Nigra" may be a sort of genteel compromise between the hated word "nigger" and the preferred term "Negro." The terms "boy," "Darkey," "coon," "jig," "uncle," "Negress" and "your people" are also resented. If it is necessary to refer to racial origin, "Negro" and "colored" are the only proper words to use.
. . . even well-intentioned and admiring emphasis on supposed advantageous qualities . . . may be cause for annoyance. The annoyance of this type most likely to occur in the Naval Establishment is the entirely friendly insistence that Negroes contribute to both formal and informal entertainments by showing off their alleged superior abilities in singing, dancing, boxing, or burlesqce theatricals.
Although individual Negroes have been outstanding ;n these forms of entertainment, there is no scientific evidence of inherited racial qualities giving Negroes an advantage in these activities other other races. Perhaps their comparative success in athletics and entertainment have resulted from their being permitted a more normal participation in these fields. They have been pushed forward to do their popularly ascribed specialties so often that in many instances they have become suspicious that tap dancing, guitar playing, the singing of spirituals, and the like, may now be symbols of their special racial status.
Some Negroes can, and would like the chance to put on performances not characterized as Negro. It is a good rule to let all volunteer entertainers decide for themselves what to offer the audience. Under such freedom, no doubt the programs will be much the same as though the customary pressures had been exerted. The privilege of free choice, however, is appreciated.
The idea of compulsory racial segregation is disliked by almost all Negroes, and literally hated by many. This antagonism is in part a result of the fact that as a principle it embodies a doctrine of racial inferiority. It is also a result of the lesson taught the Negro by experience that in spite of the legal formula of "separate but equalfacilities," the facilities open to him under segregation are in fact usually inferior as to location or quality to those available to others.
The accomplishment of the assigned mission through the harmonious and efficient use of existing equipment and facilities should always be the objective of the commanding officer. Joint use of facilities is frequently possible and desirable, particularly where the ratio of Negro to white personnel is not high. Signs restricting the use of facilities to one or the other of the races are especially offensive to Negroes and under no circumstances should they be used in the Naval Establishment. Difficulties may be minimized if it is realized that in most instances objection voiced by white personnel emanate from a small minority and are usually in the nature of a test of the commanding officer's mettle. If the policy laid down by the commanding officer is impartial, fair, and reasonable, the men, white and Negro alike, are quick to realize it and to accept the situation providing it is clear that the policy will be enforced.
There is no space available in which to quote more extensively from this admirable "Guide." The means it suggests for preparing white personnel to serve side by side and on equal basis with Negroes, the devices of leadership suggested, the advice given to officers regarding the acquisition of knowledge about those in their charge are all cogently stated. Indeed in my opinion the "Guide" should be read by everyone with any interest in personnel management. As a final quotation from it, here is a paragraph relating to what is calls "ready generalizations":
More dangerous than careful experiment is reliance on untested theories. There are many current theories about what the Negro can or cannot learn, about what work he can or cannot do, about the likelihood of conflict or cooperation between Negro and white personnel in school or on the job, and about all other questions with which an officer may be faced. All of them should be viewed with skepticism until there is evidence that they have been thoroughly tested under practical conditions as found in the Naval Establishment.
A policy, of course, is of genuine value only to the extent that it is put in practice. Some months ago the Secretary of the Navy invited Mr. Lester Granger of the National Urban League to visit naval establishments all over the United States in order to ascertain exactly how fully the new policy is being observed. Mr. Granger was given full freedom to go anywhere he wished and to talk with any Naval personnel he might have a mind to. Mr. Granger has not yet completed his tour of visit, but he has seen enough to make it possible for him to form a rough judgment.
A few days ago I interviewed Mr. Granger in order to find out how he felt about the whole business. What follows is a rough summary of the facts so far available to him. There are approximately 142,000 Negroes in the Navy, 15,000 in the Marines and 3,000 in the Coast Guard. More than half of those in the Navy are still either mess attendants or in the stewards department, but Negroes are being reassigned rapidly to other types of duty. Most of this is still shore duty. A general rule, however, has been set up that at ammunition depots only 30 percent of personnel may be Negro, the balance having to be white. Negroes assigned to sea duty are mostly in harbor and service vessels, where it is the general practice to limit their number to approximately io percent of the total crew. So far as Mr. Granger has been able to ascertain, there has been no instance of trouble because of racial animosity.
So far 32 Negroes have been commissioned as reserve officers; on V-J day 5o Negroes were completing either V-12 or V-7 training. No Negro candidate for a commission has been refused it. Fifteen of the commissioned officers have been assigned, a few of them to combat service. There is at present a single Negro midshipman at Annapolis, and he is reported to be making good progress.
On naval vessels mess attendants often live in separate quarters because their hours differ from those of the rest of the crew. The effect of this is physically the same as segregation, but this is the only form of segregation now reported to exist on board ship. At the Great Lakes boot training station the new Navy policy has been carried out in its entirety. It resulted in a few letters of protest from the parents of some of the white trainees, but such letters soon ceased coming and at present everything is operating very smoothly.
As might be expected, Mr. Granger found that the application of the principles stated in the "Guide" depends almost entirely on the individual commanding officer. If he is really interested and is determined to make a job of it, everything works well. If he is timid, or is unduly impressed by the civilian customs of the area in which his establishment is located, no perceptible improvement is visible, and in some Southern states, "signs restricting the use of facilities to one or other of the races' continue to affront Negroes despite the explicit prohibition of them in the "Guide."
It continues to be impossible for the Press to secure photographs of Negro personnel in action; thus the general public has no idea that a battalion of Negro Marines acquitted itself with honor at Iwo Jima. Photographs were taken of these troops in combat, 'but the Navy Department has not released them.
In summary, Mr. Granger is convinced that the highest bracket of officials in the Department is completely sold on the new race policy and is doing all it can to have it put into effect. But he is not completely optimistic. It is possible that changes in top command would produce a reversal of the policy which has not yet had time to become an "accepted" thing, and necessarily corn-manding officers on the spot are slow to change. But at least a real beginning has been made, and if the Navy continues in its present direction, we may have at least one advance in humanity and civilization to credit to the second World War.
