February 1942

The Pittsburgh Courier, then the largest Black newspaper in America, launched the Double V campaign after reader James Thompson proposed it: victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home. The campaign — reprinted across the Black press — reframed Black military service as a claim on full citizenship.

On February 7, 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, the nation's most widely read Black newspaper, launches the Double V Campaign — Victory over fascism abroad, Victory over racism at home — responding to a letter from James Thompson. The campaign articulates Black Americans' determination to link military service to civil rights demands. The FBI under Hoover considers the Black press seditious and monitors its editors. The Double V campaign reaches millions through the Courier's national distribution and becomes a rallying framework for wartime civil rights activism.

On February 7, 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, the nation's most widely read Black newspaper, launches the Double V Campaign — Victory over fascism abroad, Victory over racism at home — responding to a letter from James Thompson. The campaign articulates Black Americans' determination to link military service to civil rights demands. The FBI under Hoover considers the Black press seditious and monitors its editors. The Double V campaign reaches millions through the Courier's national distribution.