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United Negro and Allied Veterans of America pamphlet, C0436, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries
Purchased from Caroliniana Rare Books by Lynn Eaton in 2022.
Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in September 2024. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in October 2024.
The United Negro and Allied Veterans Association (also known as UNAVA) was organized by African American soldiers upon their return to the United States following World War II circa 1945-1946. The organization was in part formed in response to the refusal of the Veterans Administration to grant the claims of African American veterans or provide the same access to the G.I. Bill benefits as white veterans. Membership in UNAVA was aimed at both African American veterans and white veterans who had served with African Americans in desegregated units. The organization of UNAVA, like the NAACP, represented an early development in the formal Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-1960s.
Small illustrated pamphlet used to promote awareness of and membership in the United Negro and Allied Veterans of America (UNAVA). Cover includes an illustrated portrait of Honorary National Commander Joe Louis and a quote attributed to Louis reading "Is America going to fulfill its promises to us? We say America must! That is why we are organizing." Pamphlet is small, measuring approximately 5.25" x 4" and consists of 16 pages of text and black and white illustrations. The last two interior pages include blank forms to be used to become a member of UNAVA and to form a local chapter if none already exists. The back cover includes a blank form to be used to forward the pamphlet to another veteran. Pamphlet originally included a UNAVA eagle pin that is missing.
The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Philip Levy civil rights collection.
This is a single item collection.
Herbold, Hilary. 1994. "Never a Level Playing Field: Blacks and the GI Bill."
Sipe, Richard. 2016. "The Death Knell for Jim Crow: How African-American Soldiers' Experiences Abroad Impacted the Modern Civil Rights Movement."