Although African-American leaders anticipated a rough time when a Missouri politician named Harry Truman assumed the mightiest office in the land – in the end, he proved to be their champion.
“NAACP officials say frankly, however, that the Eisenhower administration must ‘prove itself’. They still regard President Truman as their real hero for pressing anti-poll tax, anti-lynching, FEPC and anti-segregation programs in the face of heavy Southern Democratic Opposition.”
Before too long, many Black leaders would be pleasantly surprised with the resolve of President Eisenhower, too.
More on Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights can be found on the Truman Library website
Those councilors who advised FDR on all matters African-American were popularly known as “the Black Brain Trust”…
