The main way World War II hindered the freedom struggle was the shift of government focus from internal national affairs towards external conflicts. Both military and political representatives were concerned with the problems of this global battle, which led to the stagnation of the African American civil rights movement. In addition, the members of Black communities were mostly ignored because the nation’s goal was to defeat Nazi Germany.
While World War II was continuing to be a primary focus of the United States, many activists were attempting to change the institutionalized racism on the home front. For example, Pauli Murray used non-violence as an instrument to eradicate bus segregation laws, which were common in many states, such as Virginia. This approach was the only plausible way to fight for African American freedom because millions of soldiers were dying in WW2.
Moreover, Black people’s struggle for equal rights was hindered by World War II because government officials were ignoring various activists. The main reason was that many resources and attention were directed to fight WW2. The “Double-V Campaign” was an attempt to signify the importance of fighting racism both in the United States and on the battlefield. Thus, World War II highly hindered African American struggle for freedom by shifting the nation’s focus from institutionalized racism towards fascism.
In conclusion, it is clear that WW2 led to a series of challenges for Black people, who were forced to fight both at home and in Europe. The main obstacles were the hindrances for protests and the shift of the government’s attention towards World War II. However, a number of activists were persistent enough to continue their fight for equal rights regardless of the circumstances.