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Reporting America's "Colour Problem": How the U.S. and British Press Reported and Framed Racial Conflicts during World War II

Walck, Pamela E.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8890-6346
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438173577

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Journalism (Communication).
Race and ideologies of racial supremacy were at the very heart of World War II. U.S. troops did not have to look far to see how race influenced the American war machine as the country's military policies required African American and white troops to be processed, trained, and stationed at separate but supposedly equal installations across the country. Race determined whether one carried a rifle or drove a supply truck; operated the naval big guns or loaded munitions into Liberty-class ships; and even whether you would deploy or not. This study took an historical look at how the media reported race and race relations in a war fought over race. Specifically, it examined three events in the United States: the Detroit race riots, Harlem riots, and the Port Chicago explosion; and three incidents in the United Kingdom: the first racial incident in Antrim, Northern Ireland, the mutiny at Bamber Bridge, and the Bristol race riots, to reveal how mainstream newspapers and the American black press reported these events. Through an extensive examination of news coverage in twenty-four newspapers, U.S. and British government and military documents, and oral histories, this study examines how race was reported and framed in the media; and attempts to demonstrate how those frames and newspaper routines expand our understanding of race and race relations during this critical period of history. This study found that often the mainstream media in both nations downplayed race or at the very least attempted to minimize it during major news events, unless it was impossible to ignore. Sometimes this effort to curtail the role of race came from overt pressure from the government, as it was with the British press. Other times, news workers self-censored for fear that images of violence between Americans would fuel the Axis propaganda machine. Still other times, wartime censors severely delayed news reports. This study also found differences in how the U.S. and British press reported domestic incidents, particularly in terms of volume and tone of coverage.
Michael Sweeney (Committee Chair)
Patrick Washburn (Committee Member)
Kathryn Jellison (Committee Member)
Benjamin Bates (Committee Member)
281 p.
African American Studies; American History; Black History; History; Journalism; Military History
World War II press; race relations; black press; British press; wartime censorship; Detroit race riot 1943; Harlem riot 1943; Port Chicago; Bamber Bridge mutiny; Antrim stabbing; Bristol riots

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Walck, P. E. (2015). Reporting America's "Colour Problem": How the U.S. and British Press Reported and Framed Racial Conflicts during World War II [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438173577

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Walck, Pamela. Reporting America's "Colour Problem": How the U.S. and British Press Reported and Framed Racial Conflicts during World War II. 2015. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438173577.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Walck, Pamela. "Reporting America's "Colour Problem": How the U.S. and British Press Reported and Framed Racial Conflicts during World War II." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438173577

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.