Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in WWII

The special gallery exhibition, Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in WWII, begins in the 1920s with segregation and discrimination directed at African Americans. Jim Crow laws restricted their civil liberties in every part of society, including the military.

At the outbreak of World War II, many African Americans rushed to enlist. They were determined to fight to preserve the freedom they themselves had been denied. This is their story.

The exhibition highlights African American achievements and struggles during World War II both abroad and at home and explores how the war served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition includes personal accounts of those who served, including an eight-minute video on the Tuskegee Airmen.