“The war shed light on America’s promise. It created an explosion that accelerated change all the way into the 1960s.” - Betty Reid Soskin

7. THE HOME FRONT LEGACY

   With World War II officially ended, Richmond filled with celebration in September 1945. Years would pass before residents fully understood how much the war had changed their lives. A wave of new civilians bought homes and enrolled in college thanks to the “GI Bill.”

   Although “old-timers” expected them to go home, most wartime migrants remained in the Bay Area. Having fought for democracy, veterans of home front and battlefield would not accept second class status; the path to integrated schools, fair housing and workplace equity was worn by their marching feet. Women had succeeded at men’s work, and they wanted more.

   George Johnson remembered: “They didn’t understand why men made so much fuss over their job when it was so easy to weld.” Though many lost jobs when the men came home, their daughters enrolled their children in daycare (almost nonexistent before the war) then entered the trades, corporate offices and boardrooms. Wartime demands had inspired new approaches to social needs. Affordable housing and childcare centers sprang up around Richmond’s shipyards.

  Kaiser offered pre-paid healthcare to a newly integrated workforce. Those innovations were models for social progress, a glimpse of what could be achieved in time of crisis, and a motivation to accomplish more in time of peace.