On May 1, 1941, civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph issued a bold call for 100,000 Black Americans to march on Washington, D.C., in protest of racial discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and the defense industry. With World War II escalating, Randolph recognized the hypocrisy of fighting fascism abroad while tolerating segregation and inequality at home. His mobilization campaign placed enormous pressure on President Franklin D. Roosevelt, eventually leading to Executive Order 8802, which banned discriminatory hiring in defense industries and established the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). Though the march was called off after the executive order, Randolph’s efforts laid the groundwork for the modern civil rights movement and the iconic 1963 March on Washington.