HYDE PARK, NY -- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum will present an African American History Month conversation and book signing with David Lucander -- author of WINNING THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY: THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON MOVEMENT, 1941-1946 on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. Following the presentation, Lucander will be available to sign copies of his book.
This is a free public event but registration is required. Visit www.fdrlibrary.org or CLICK HERE to register.
Scholars regard the March on Washington Movement (MOWM) as a forerunner of the postwar Civil Rights movement. Led by the charismatic A. Philip Randolph, MOWM scored an early victory when it forced the Roosevelt Administration to issue a landmark executive order that prohibited defense contractors from practicing racial discrimination.
WINNING THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY: THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON MOVEMENT, 1941-1946 recalls that triumph, but also looks beyond Randolph and the MOWM's national leadership to focus on the organization's evolution and actions at the local level. Using personal papers of MOWM members such as T.D. McNeal, internal government documents from the Roosevelt administration, and other primary sources, David Lucander highlights how local affiliates fighting for a double victory against fascism and racism helped the national MOWM accrue the political capital it needed to effect change.
Lucander details the efforts of grassroots organizers to implement MOWM's program of empowering African Americans via meetings and marches at defense plants and government buildings and, in particular, focuses on the contributions of women activists like Layle Lane, E. Pauline Myers, and Anna Arnold Hedgeman. Throughout he shows how local activities often diverged from policies laid out at MOWM's national office, and how grassroots participants on both sides ignored the rivalry between Randolph and the leadership of the NAACP to align with one-another on the ground.
David Lucander is a professor of pluralism and diversity at SUNY Rockland Community College. His fields of professional interest also include 20th Century African American History, the New Deal and World War II, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lucander is the author of WINNING THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY: THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON MOVEMENT, 1941-1946 and FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM: THE SPEECHES AND WRITINGS OF A. PHILIP RANDOLPH.
Please contact Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745 with questions about the event.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Designed by Franklin Roosevelt and dedicated on June 30, 1941, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is the nation's first presidential library and the only one used by a sitting president. Administered by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1941, the Library preserves and makes accessible to the American people the records of FDR's presidency. The Roosevelt Library's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the lives and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their continuing impact on contemporary life. This work is carried out through the Library's archives and research room, museum collections and exhibitions, innovative educational programs, and engaging public programming. For more information about the Library or its programs call (800) 337-8474 or visit www.fdrlibrary.org.
