A. Philip Randolph Institute, http://www.apri.org/randolph.html
EO 8802 - Fair Employment Practice in Defense Industries
Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry.
African Americans fought in World War II for what President Franklin Roosevelt called the "four essential human freedoms (freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear), even though they faced segregation, racial violence and lack of voting rights at home.”
~ FDR and the Four Freedoms Speech, Roosevelt Presidential Archives: State Dept., 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum Website; version date 2016.
"Defense Contractors Banned from Practicing Racial Discrimination, Collier's Magazine", 1941, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/article-summary/anti-discrimination_defense-hiring_law#.Xnev7NNKgdU
A. Philip Randolph, a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement, threatened a protest against discrimination in the defense industry in Washington DC. In order to call off the March, President Roosevelt had to issue Executive Order 8802.
Executive Order 8802 is considered the first major federal action to prohibit discrimination, and promote equal opportunity, in the United States since the Civil War.
“There shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.”
~ Executive Order 8802 dated June 25, 1941, General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives