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In the years before World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt chose to position the United States as the leader of the “Free World.”
At the time, two political paths stood in stark contrast: authoritarianism, which served the interests of a select few, and liberal democracy, which promised rights and opportunities to the many. This divide lay at the heart of both World Wars. FDR wanted the U.S. and its allies to be seen as a beacon of hope.
But a nation cannot serve as that beacon while denying basic rights to its own citizens. On December 12, 1941—just five days after Pearl Harbor—FDR took a decisive step. Although the Civil War had ended chattel slavery and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments had enshrined freedom in law, forms of forced labor such as peonage still flourished, especially in the South. FDR’s Justice Department issued Circular No. 3591, instructing federal prosecutors to actively enforce existing anti-slavery laws. Without passing new legislation, this order effectively ended legalized forced labor in America.
This move strengthened America’s moral standing. Nations could now look to the U.S. as a genuine model of democracy and rule of law—especially those seeking to join our market economy. FDR understood that public opinion throughout the world matters.
After WWII, America’s global image became another battleground—this time in the Cold War. No one understood the stakes better than those still denied full citizenship.
In Alabama in 1946, Black women were routinely hunted and raped for sport on weekend nights. No one was prosecuted. The NAACP in Chicago sent a young activist to investigate. She approached the crimes like a determined prosecutor, even though she knew convictions were unlikely. Her tactics: document the crimes, publicize them, and make the world watch. Soon, the stories were front-page news in Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan. The result? The U.S. Attorney General called the Alabama governor, who called the local sheriff with a clear message: This stops now.
In short, she understood what FDR understood – public opinion matters.
Fast forward to 1954. By a twist of fate, that same activist—Rosa Parks—was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. The NAACP’s leader quipped, “They arrested themselves the wrong Negro” Parks was untouchable by the usual smear tactics. She knew the system—and had beaten it before.
When the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional, Alabama had already been backed into a corner. The Montgomery bus boycott had crippled the system, and the arrest of Rosa Parks had only strengthened community resolve.
I’ve told this story for nearly two decades because it illustrates a truth: you cannot fully understand American history without understanding Black history. And once you understand Black history, you see there is no separate Black history at all—only American history.
Every community’s story is part of the whole. That interconnectedness, the constant push to live up to our ideals, is the real foundation of American exceptionalism.
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