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IV. Negro Americans Join the Fight to Win the War

In every sphere of American life, in every section of the population the cry is the same-win the war over the Nazi Fascists and Japanese bandits!

The Negro people are an exceedingly important phalanx of national unification. They have tremendous manpower and play a big political role in America. Unless the Negro people play their part in helping to win the war, the war effort will be less effective. When the Italian fascists struck Ethiopia; when the Japanese militarists struck China and Manchuria; when the Western European countries were invaded and their national independence and the liberties of the national minorities within these countries were shackled; when Negro Americans together with white Americans went to fight in Spain for the cause of Spanish democracy against the Nazi fascists-the Negro people knew that this was their struggle. They now know that this war for the military destruction of fascism is their war.

The manpower of American Negroes must be brought to bear to help win the war. For the armed forces of the nation, through the democratic selectee system, the Negro male population is available to fight this war against fascism to a successful conclusion. The Negro people must rally to every phase of the military and industrial life of the nation.

Negro women, in their own right and as replacement for men who will be called to arms, are available for America's industries, civilian defense and Russian and Allied war relief work.

The Negro doctor, lawyer, all professionals must do their share to win the war. The pen of the Negro writer, the artist, the brush of the painter, the cheering notes of the singer-all must be thrown fully into the war effort to crush fascism. To paraphrase Frederick Douglass: A war undertaken by Nazi fascists for the permanent enslavement of colored men and women calls logically for colored men and women to help suppress it.

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Negroes, like all other Americans, will respond in every way to win the war against the aggressors and urge that the barriers of discrimination and Jim-Crowism existing against them in the industries and in other phases of national defense be done away with so that the entire manpower of the nation is put into winning the war.

America needs the all-out contributions to production of the Negroes so that more tanks, planes and munitions can be produced against Japan and the Axis. 

Negro Americans must be fully integrated into every phase of the war effort, in the armed forces, in industry, in civilian defense, Allied and Russian war relief.

America's war program already calls for doubling, tripling and quadrupling production. This will require more men and more women. The President's Conference of Government, Labor and Industry must keep the Negro in mind and be urged to utilize Negro workers, who want to play their part in the nation's objective, of every available manpower hour for production to win the war. 

The Negro people, with their glorious record of patriotism and bravery in 1775, in 1861 and throughout the history of this country, stand ready to give their last drop of blood to defend their country and to crush the arrogant Japanese aggressors and their Hitler master. 

The fullest national unity is required to win the war. The main current of Negro leadership supports the war effort. But this opinion is not yet united. The problem before Negro leadership is to activize every single Negro individual and every Negro organization. No individual, no organization must stand in the way of Negro unity behind the war effort. On the contrary, leaders of Negro organizations and thought should take steps to organize a conference on the extent of the stake of the Negro people in the war and the relationship of their problems to it. Prior to the Japanese attack on the United States, unity among Negro Americans against the Nazi fascist enemies was progressing rapidly. Full unity must now be clinched speedily. A supreme responsibility rests with every

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