Fighting for Freedom through Film
By Laurel Schlegel
Norman Arnett Ford
December 22, 1921-February 17, 2011
African Americans served with distinction in every theater of World War II. By the end of the war, 1.2 million African Americans were serving in uniform. Norman Arnett Ford was one of these brave and resilient men. Though he was unable to serve in the front lines and forced to endure terrible treatment on the basis of his skin color, Norman fought for his country proudly and did his part to make positive changes for his community.
Norman Arnett Ford was born in Washington, D.C. on December 22, 1921 to Joseph Norman Ford and Maggie S. Ford.[1] He had one older sister named Laura who had been born two years before him. Their home was always full of people while Norman was growing up, from relatives staying with the family to other people lodging with them.[2]
Norman’s parents were both from Virginia originally but had moved to the nation’s capital in search of work opportunities. While Washington, D.C. may have had better job opportunities than other places, for African Americans in the city, the options were still heavily limited. Norman's dad worked as a car cleaner for the Pennsylvania Pullman Company, a railroad car manufacturer.[3] His mom Maggie worked at home as a dressmaker.[4] In the decade leading up to Norman’s birth, during what is known as the Great Migration, many African Americans just like Joseph and Maggie poured into industrial cities to find work and fill labor gaps created by World War I.[5] They continued to face exclusion in employment and discrimination in the workplace and outside of it however. [6]
The Fords were among many African American families during the early part of the twentieth century to settle in Washington, D.C.[7] During the Civil War and Reconstruction period, from about 1861 to 1877, more than 25,000 African Americans moved to the nation's capital knowing that it was largely pro-Union.[8] By 1900, Washington, D.C. had the largest percentage of African Americans of any city in the country. African American families like the Fords were able to find educational opportunities for their children, plenty of black-owned businesses and a more supportive community environment in the city. It was not free of racism and segregation of course, and the Fords were still forced to send their children to segregated schools and face discrimination on a daily basis. However, in D.C., “at the dawn of the 20th century, African Americans had created a cultural and intellectual capital.”[9] By 1957, Washington, D.C.’s African American population surpassed 50 percent of the total city population, making it the first predominantly black major city in the nation and one in which civil rights movements like Black Power would flourish.[10]
Norman attended school in the city and successfully graduated from high school.[11] He remained in the city for a couple years after graduation and found work in a navy yard. [12] He would not stay in the capital forever though. In February of 1942, when he was 20 years old, Norman was drafted to fight in World War II and joined the Army.[13] Norman was not the first Ford man to serve in the Army, however. His father, Joseph, served in World War I as a Private in the colored division of the 316th Infantry, shipping out to France aboard the Agamemnon in August of 1918.[14] He would also serve in World War II, getting drafted at the age of 52. As the military was still segregated during World War II, Norman would also serve in a colored unit and face similar discrimination while fighting abroad that he did at home.
While all soldiers in World War II faced brutal combat and perilous conditions, African American men were also battling segregation and discrimination. African American soldiers were rarely given the respect they deserved.[15] Instead of receiving combat or leadership positions, they were typically demoted to labor and service units such as cooks or mechanics. Although segregated units were most often led by white men, for African American soldiers that did receive higher ranking positions, they were only able to lead men in segregated units.[16]
African American soldiers were able to use their mistreatment to fight for more rights however by reporting their horrendous treatment to civil rights organizations and press outlets at home. They were able to bring needed attention to the hypocrisy of fighting a war for democracy and yet fighting in a racially segregated Army.[17] They were not only fighting the battle abroad, but they were fighting a battle against racism at home as well. In what is known as the “Double V” Campaign, African American leaders called for equality during the war and after, laying the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement that would take place in the coming years.[18]
Cover of the “Negro Soldier,” Norman is in the front.
During his service, Norman was presented with the opportunity to participate in a film about African American servicemen. The film, called “The Negro Soldier,” was produced by the War Department at the time for recruitment purposes. The film targets African American men, calling them to join the Armed Forces in the fight against the Nazis. Through historical reenactments, the past accomplishments of African American soldiers are portrayed, beginning as early as the American Revolution.[19] In portraying these men as valued participants of the U.S. Armed Forces, “The Negro Soldier” was created in hopes of increasing enlistment of young black men.
Norman plays a leading role in the film as the son of a concerned churchgoer who reads a letter she received from her son. Norman’s character goes on to portray the progress of a black soldier through basic training and then eventually Officer’s Candidate School prior to entering combat, emphasizing his pride at becoming an officer. Historian Thomas Cripps claims in an article about the film that it “represented a watershed in the use of film to promote tolerance.”[20] By the spring of 1944 the film became mandatory for viewing by all soldiers, black and white, in American replacement centers where reserve soldiers were preparing for deployment. It remained required viewing for the duration of the war. [21]
Given the negativity surrounding the African American military experience and the lack of recognition for their contributions in every war fought by the United States since the revolutionary war, the film was clearly a step in the right direction. Norman’s participation in this is as deserving of recognition as his time serving his country on the battlefield.
During his time in service Norman married Genevieve Zenobia Orme. Similar to Norman, Genevieve had grown up in Washington, D.C. as well.[22] They were married on February 21, 1942. Norman reached the rank of Second Lieutenant while in the Army.
After the war, Norman and Genevieve moved to Denver, Colorado where they settled down and started their family.[23] Norman worked as a state auditor until his retirement in 1979.[24] He enjoyed spending time in the mountains and had a second home in Black Hawk, Colorado where he would often spend his time. Norman lived until 2011, dying at the age of 90. He and his wife are buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery and are remembered by their family. His granddaughter Yasmaine Ford works for the University of Denver as the Departmental Assistant for the History Department.
Footnotes ↓
[1]“1930 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancesty.com, (accessed July, 2020) entry for Norman Arnett Ford.
[2] “1930 United States Federal Census.”
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] “The Civil Rights of Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom (The Segregation Era)”, Library of Congress, Accessed July, 2020, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/segregation-era.html.
[6] “The Civil Rights of Act of 1964…”
[7] Marya Annette McQuirter, “A Brief History of African Americans ###### in Washington D.C.,” Cultural Tourism D.C., Accessed July, 2020, https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/a-brief-history-of-african-americans-in-washington-dc.
[8] McQuirter, “A Brief History of African Americans in Washington D.C.”
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancesty.com, (accessed July, 2020) entry for Norman Arnett Ford.
[12] “1940 United States Federal Census,” and “U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men,” database, Ancesty.com (accessed July 2020) entry for Norman A. Ford.
[13] “U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men.”
[14] “U.S. Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939,” database, Ancesty.com (accessed July, 2020) entry for Joseph Ford.
[15] Alexis Clark, “Black Americans Who Served in WWII Faced Segregation Abroad and at Home,” History.com, Accessed July, 2020, “https://www.history.com/news/black-soldiers-world-war-ii-discrimination.
[16] Clark, “Black Americans Who Served in WWII.”
[17] Clark, “Black Americans Who Served in WWII.”
[18] “African Americans in World War II, Fighting for a Double Victory” The National WWII Museum, Accessed July, 2020, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/african-americans.pdf.
[19] “The Negro Soldier,” Accessed July, 2020, https://media.dlib.indiana.edu/media_objects/w66343689.
[20] Thomas Cripps and David Culbert, “The Negro Soldier (1944): Film Propaganda in Black and White,” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979) https://www-jstor-org.du.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/2712429.pdf, 637.
[21] “2011 National Film Registry More than a Box of Chocolates,” Library of Congress, Accessed July, 2020, https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-11-240/.
[22] “District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953,” database, Ancesty.com, (accessed July, 2020) entry for Genevieve Zenobia Orme.
[23] “U.S. Public Records Index,1950-1993, Volume 1” database, Ancesty.com, (accessed July, 2020) entry for Norman Arnett Ford.
[24] “U.S. Public Records Index,1950-1993.”
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