d that at
the same time they had made a contribution to America and the world.

Thus, as the war came to a close and Afro-Americans looked forward to the
postwar years with both apprehension and determination, they feared that,
with the foreign antagonism eradicated, racist feeling at home might
increase. At the same time, they were possessed by a new drive to make
American democracy into a reality. The ideological character of the war
had reminded them of America's expressed ideals of brotherhood and
equality. Their participation in the war convinced them that they were
worthy of full citizenship. Many had broken the bonds of tradition which
had held them in fear and apathy. Some had left their communities to
fight in the Army, and some had moved into large urban centers to work in
defense industries. Although the war against racism abroad had ended,
they were intent to see that the struggle for racial freedom and equality
at home would continue.

The U.S. and the U.N.

The San Francisco Conference which founded the United Nations
organization was looked upon by peoples around the world as the sunrise
of a new day of peace and brotherhood. While hope ran high in most
quarters, some of these same peoples were suspicious about its lofty
ideological character. Humanitarian ideologies had made their appearance
before, but there had always been a gap between theory and practice.
Colored peoples and other minorities around the world observed the San
Francisco Conference with hope mixed with caution. They wanted to see
whether it was mere ideological rhetoric which would salve the
consciences of the exploiters and dull the senses of the exploited, or
whether, perhaps, its aims might spring from genuine conviction and
become established in a framework which would be fully implemented.

The U.N. was to be more sweeping in its goals and programs than the
League had been, and it was hoped that it would have more power to carry
out its decisions. Its very initials signified that the peoples of the
world were to be one people bound together in brotherhood, freedom, and
equality. This should have meant the end of imperialistic exploitation as
well as the end of minority persecution. The Afro-American community
wondered if the U.N. would apply these principles to them. Many skeptics
suggested that the U. S. initiative in founding the U.N. was only part of
a plan to create a world image which would help America in her new role