Negro Colleges in Wartime

About

Content warning: the title of this film and the writing about it quoted below include an outdated term for historically Black colleges and universities.

Informational film with voiceover narration illustrating the education and training of African American women and men in various fields and trades in service of the U.S. war effort during World War II.

From Educational Film Guide, 1945: "Shows how the Negro colleges of America have gone to war and are using their resources in the drive to victory. Specifically, the wartime activities of four such colleges are shown — Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Prairie View College in Texas, Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Hampton Institute in Virginia. 'In these Negro colleges and others throughout our nation, there are scientists in laboratories to produce the vital materials of war, students studying chemistry, meteorology, and animal husbandry, young men and women preparing to become doctors, nurses, technicians. In these ways and hundreds of others — in farm management, surveying, industrial accounting, forging — the Negro colleges are performing their function and duty in wartime.' Indiana"

African American soldiers and sailors in uniform on campus. Aircraft flying classes. African American students and scientists in laboratories. African American women taking an automotive repair class are shown changing a car tire. Scenes of African American women in laboratories, engineering study and other science/technical fields; also farm management. African American people involved in the study of agricultural production and animal husbandry are shown. Study of meteorology, the chemistry of explosives, medicine, radio communications, surveying and topography.

Stock shots made for but not used in this film are described here: https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2018/02/22/stock-footage-spotlight-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-in-wwii/ (accessed October 3, 2023).

Human-made No record of this work says a model made it. What this means.

Archive

Internet Archive, in Prelinger Archives

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Rights statement

no notice on film

Credit

U.S. Office of War Information, Bureau of Motion Pictures

Language

English

Subtitles

English (automatic)

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed