"Negro Colleges in Wartime" was a short propaganda film produced by the
Office of War Information in 1943. Other than in the screen title no
reference is made to the students' race.
The film begins with a shot of the famous statue of Booker T. Washington
at Tuskegee, and notes that progress and industry has a new meaning for
the present - winning the Second World War. A brief overview of the war
related work at several different black colleges follows, starting with
Tuskegee where the famous George Washington Carver was putting his
brain to work for the war effort. Students are encouraged to join the
Tuskegee Airmen or learn about aviation manufacture.
At Prairie View College in Texas and Howard University in Washington, DC
students learn the increasingly technical skills of war industry and
agriculture. At Howard's medical school, training is also being offered
to supply the field with nurses. Hampton University in Virginia is
practically on a 24-hour basis training more war workers.
Prior to WWII, African Americans had made some strides in the area of
Civil Rights. The onset of the war meant that the dream of race
equality would once again be deferred. During the war many African
Americans served with honor, enabling some of the great strides forward
in later decades.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest
historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage
collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available
for licensing in 24p HD and 2K. For more information visit
http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
