Free Double Victory by Cheryl Mullenbach Page B

about the need for a permanent FEPC. Some members of Congress wanted the commission to end when the war ended. Anna and others knew that it was an important committee that must continue after the war.
    While Anna was at the Senate answering questions from the senators, she experienced discrimination, which only underscored FEPC’s importance for her. During a break for lunch, Anna joined a group of white people who were testifying at the hearing too, and they all went to a government cafeteria in the Senate Building. It was there that an employee told one of thewhite women in the group, “We have orders from the management not to serve Negroes.” The group went to another restaurant—in the Senate Office Building. They were again told they could not be served. Finally, the group went to the US Supreme Court building and had lunch in its cafeteria.
    One of the white women in the group wrote a letter to President Roosevelt telling him about the injustice. She reported that two restaurants in a government building had refused service to the women because Anna was black. But she added, “I am proud to report here in the building of the highest court of our land we found food and freedom.”
    The March on Annapolis
    When news about the Double V campaign reached Maryland many black residents were inspired. Black soldiers were already fighting for victory on the war front. And now black citizens were prepared to fight for victory at home—in Annapolis, Maryland. They also listened when E. Pauline Myers talked about “mass organization” that was “nonviolent in character.”
    Black citizens in Maryland were fed up. They claimed too many blacks had been killed by the Baltimore police department. The police said the killings were justified; the black citizens said they were signs of police brutality. Black leaders orchestrated a letter writing campaign to Governor Herbert R. O’Conor. But no one ever got a response from the governor. Was he ignoring the black community’s concerns?
    A black woman named Juanita Jackson Mitchell managed to
finally
get the attention of Governor O’Conor. She did it by bringing 2,000 black people to the state capitol in May 1942 to make their demands heard. That was impossible for the governor to ignore.
    The well-organized event was supported by the Citizens Committee for Justice, which was made up of representatives from 125 black organizations. They contributed $800 to cover transportation costs for anyone who wanted to join the march. People traveled by train, bus, and car. They gathered in front of the state capitol and made their way into the stately old building with its marble halls and crystal chandeliers. A newspaper reporter commented on the “many occupied seats that had never held a colored body before.”
    The protestors were serious, quiet, and resolute. The governor listened for two hours as individuals explained what actions they wanted. They demanded an end to police brutality. They wanted a new police commissioner and a black judge. They wanted more black police officers—in uniform—so they were visible to all in the community. Lillie M. Jackson asked for an additional black
female
police officer. The group also demanded at least one black person on boards that oversaw institutions in the state. Virgie Waters, the president of the Master Beauticians Association, spoke about the need for a black representative on the state board of beauty culturists and hairdressers. And she wanted an additional black state inspector of beauty shops.
    After listening to everything that was said, Governor O’Conor said he would establish a biracial committee to study conditions in the areas of concern. He said the committee would act promptly on some matters but that others would have to be dealt with “gradually.”
    Juanita Jackson Mitchell gave the final speech. She said, “This demonstration was born out of the