Question

In this period of power politics, nothing counts but pressure, and still more pressure, through the tactic and strategy of broad, organized, aggressive mass action behind the vital and important issues of the Negro.

—A. Philip Randolph
1940

Recall the circumstances surrounding A. Philip Randolph’s statement at left.

What was Randolph calling for?

an organized effort to take action to meet African Americans’ needs

a boycott of Major League Baseball games

a refusal by African Americans to serve in the US military

Answer 1

An organized effort to take action to meet African Americans’ needs.

Randolph was calling for broad, organized, aggressive mass action — e.g., the planned March on Washington Movement (early 1940s) to protest discrimination in defense industries and the military, which helped pressure FDR into Executive Order 8802.