272 ChaPter^5
employees, including government-sponsored childcare, eating facilities located
at the factories, and on-site grocery vendors. Programs such as those, ER
argued, would provide peace of mind for mothers raising children while their
husbands were at war and save them time by eliminating trips to the grocery
store. No federal laws, however, were passed to ensure such programs, just as
Congress passed no law to provide equal pay for equal work.
Eleanor had always been a feminist activist, and she also consistently sup-
ported civil rights for African Americans. Before the outbreak of World War
II, she had boldly criticized New Deal programs as discriminatory against
African Americans. She also called attention to lynching, segregation, and
disenfranchisement. Moreover, as noted earlier, she invited both controversy
and Marian Anderson to be the first African American to perform at the
White House and sponsored a huge concert for her at the Lincoln Memorial.
Racist southerners in particular resented the First Lady’s support of African
Americans and spread ridiculous rumors that “Eleanor Clubs” were formed
by servants to bond against their employers and “Eleanor Tuesdays” took place
when African American men supposedly knocked down white women they
passed on the street. In any case, she remained an active supporter of African
Americans during WWII. Eleanor pushed for the passage of legislation to
ban discrimination against Black employees in both federal and private
defense manufacturing industries and ensure desegregation of armed forces.
NAACP President Walter White and A. Phillip Randolph, president of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, worked with Eleanor to demand that
FDR provide those rights. They also threatened a mass demonstration in
Washington if FDR refused to act. Eleanor persistently pressured FDR, and
on June 25th, 1941, he issued Executive Order 8802 that created the Fair
Employment Practices Commission [FEPC]. The order banned employment dis-
crimination by the federal government and in private defense contractors
based on “race, creed, color or national origin.” It established the FEPC to
make sure industries followed the new law. Executive Order 8802 was the
First Lady’s most notable achievement, but she also made a point to highlight
the service of African Americans during the war and wanted to see that they
received equal praise for their bravery and service. Accordingly, she sup-
ported the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of men that became the first African
American combat pilots [featured in a 2012 movie, Red Tails]. The press cov-
ered her visit to the Tuskegee Flying School in Alabama and she made nation-