This month, ICT is presenting “The Double V” by Carole Eglash-Kosoff, a compelling true story that sheds light on the nation’s first Black civil rights movement. Though profoundly inspiring, this pivotal chapter in history remains relatively unknown.
We begin on January 31st, 1942, James G. Thompson of Wichita, Kansas—a reader of the prominent Black newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier—addresses a letter to the Courier editors. Questions that left him lying awake at night after being denied the opportunity and beaten for trying to enlist; “Will things be better in the next generation for the peace to follow?” “Should I Sacrifice to Live ‘Half-American?” “Is the kind of America I know worth defending?” This plea for change resonated with the editors of The Pittsburgh Courier who dedicated considerable efforts to prioritize articles that asked the community when ‘enough was enough’. Already threatened with a cease and desist, the editors at The Pittsburgh Courier had one choice. They published Thompson’s letter.
Thompson’s sign-off challenged the hypocrisy of the ‘V for Victory’ symbol. Prominently displayed throughout the war to signify the fight against aggression and tyranny, he calls for the adoption of a ‘double VV.’ “The first V for victory over our enemies from without, the second V for victory over our enemies from within.” With a solidified calling card from the Courier and a call to action the campaign was ready.
The objective was clear; Desegregation of the military, fair employment practices, and creating a united front. The Double V campaign swept black communities nationwide. There were Double V dances and parades, Double V flag-raising ceremonies. Double V baseball games between black professional teams, Double V beauty contests, there was even a Double V hairstyle. Most importantly, in the end there were 1.2 million African American men and women that served in the U.S. military during the war.
When we think about the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, we focus on the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education or the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, but historians will remind you it was the Double V campaign that foreshadowed the activism that would characterize the entire civil rights movement.
The Double V has a three week run from August 21st- September 8th, 2024.
You can get purchase your tickets to the show at https://ictlongbeach.org/thedoublev/
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