1943

In 1943 McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) moved from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, following thousands of Black Southerners in the Great Migration. He bought his first electric guitar in 1944 and began playing South Side clubs, adapting Delta blues to the amplified urban environment. His electrified Delta style would define Chicago blues and lay the foundation for rock and roll.

Josh Gibson posted one of the most statistically dominant seasons in baseball history in 1943: a .517 batting average in 57 games, 22 home runs (more than the next three players combined), with 33 doubles and 8 triples for the Homestead Grays. His 10 home runs at Griffith Stadium alone exceeded the full-season total of the Washington Senators sharing the same park. MLB officially incorporated his statistics in 2024, making him the all-time batting average leader at .372.

Duke Ellington performed his extended suite Black, Brown and Beige at his Carnegie Hall debut on January 23, 1943. A 45-minute tone poem tracing the history of African Americans from slavery through the present, it was jazz's most ambitious attempt to date to claim the concert hall as a space for Black musical expression. The performance established Ellington as a serious compositional voice.

Throughout 1942-1945, Joe Louis served in the U.S. Army, donated two championship purses to service relief funds, and conducted hundreds of exhibition bouts for troops. His service despite the Army's segregation made him a symbol of the Double V spirit. Louis held the heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949 with 26 successful defenses.

Throughout 1942-1945, Joe Louis served in the U.S. Army, donated two championship purses to service relief funds, and conducted hundreds of exhibition bouts for troops. His service, despite the Army's segregation, made him a symbol of the Double V spirit — contributing to the war while fighting for dignity at home. Louis held the heavyweight championship continuously from 1937 to 1949, with 26 successful defenses.

After the FSA was absorbed into the Office of War Information in 1943, Gordon Parks was embedded with the 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen) in Italy, creating one of the most important photographic records of Black military service in World War II. Parks's visual documentation provided evidence of Black excellence and sacrifice that contradicted the logic of segregation.

MGM released Cabin in the Sky on April 9, 1943, directed by Vincente Minnelli in his feature debut. The most prestigious all-Black cast film made by a major studio to that point, it starred Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, and Lena Horne, with Duke Ellington's orchestra and Louis Armstrong performing. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

20th Century Fox released Stormy Weather on July 21, 1943, starring Lena Horne alongside Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Cab Calloway, and the Nicholas Brothers. Horne's title performance became one of the most celebrated musical numbers of the decade. As one of the few Black stars under a major studio contract, Horne fought to ensure her scenes could not be cut in Southern markets.

The King Cole Trio recorded 'Straighten Up and Fly Right' on November 30, 1943, at C.P. MacGregor Studios in Hollywood; it was released April 14, 1944, on Capitol Records. The record sold half a million copies, reached No. 1 on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten nonconsecutive weeks, and launched Nat King Cole toward superstardom as both musician and vocalist.

The Golden Gate Quartet, one of the premier Black vocal harmony groups, performed extensively for USO tours and troop entertainment throughout the war years, having previously performed at FDR's inaugural gala in 1941. Their gospel-inflected vocal ensemble style reached millions of servicemen and helped sustain the Black gospel quartet tradition during wartime disruptions.

The Golden Gate Quartet, one of the premier Black vocal harmony groups, performed extensively for USO tours and troop entertainment throughout the war years, having previously performed at FDR's inaugural gala in 1941. Their gospel-inflected vocal ensemble style reached millions of servicemen and sustained the Black gospel quartet tradition during wartime disruptions.