Executive Order
Executive Order 8802
Prohibited racial discrimination in the national defense industry and established the Fair Employment Practice Committee.
Year
1941
Impact
Positive
Status
Expired
Party
Democratic Party
Era
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
Impact Context
A wartime labor equality measure that opened some defense-sector opportunities to Black workers.
What This Policy Did
A wartime labor equality measure that opened some defense-sector opportunities to Black workers.
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Sources
The National WWII Museum • Other • Feb 15, 2025
Overview noting that Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 in response to pressure from the March on Washington Movement and that it banned discrimination in the defense industry.
The National WWII Museum • Other
Historical overview explaining that Executive Order 8802 applied to federally contracted defense industries and created an enforcement mechanism through the Fair Employment Practices Committee.