March 1944. St. Patrick's Day dancers at the Washington labor canteen party sponsored by the United Federal Workers of America. View full size. Medium format safety negative by Joseph A. Horne for the Office of War Information.
Submitted by Brian Griffin on Mon, 03/17/2008 - 4:54am.
An excerpt from an article published by the American Veterans Committee, December 12, 1946:
“All servicemen's canteens in Washington during the war, except for a Labor Canteen operated by the CIO Women's Auxiliary, were for men of one color only. There, with servicemen and hostesses of both races, no friction developed.”
From an article concerning the Lisner Auditorium segregation controversy, 1946; RG0054/Lisner Auditorium; From Strength to Strength; GW Magazine, George Washington University, Fall 1995.
As you said a while ago, there is definitely interracial dancing in this picture. I wonder if serving in the war broke down some barriers, or if the United Federal Workers were just really progressive. Nobody in the picture looks unhappy about the situation.
