The 1940's brought new challenges and opportunities to the NAACP and Walter White.  Defense industries geared up and pulled the country out of depression as WWII in Europe broke out. When the United States was drawn into the war African Americans heeded the call to fight even though army units were still segregated and they faced a denial of their rights at home. Walter White made trips both to the European and Pacific theaters of the war to build the morale of the troops. Once they returned home the NAACP took on prominent cases of black servicemen who faced violence and intimidation particularly in the South. Franklin Roosevelt's untimely death and Truman's succession to the presidency created opportunities for the NAACP to advance its cause of which Walter White took advantage. He intertwined his fate with that of Truman supporting his foreign and domestic policies as a rabid anti-communist Cold Warrior. In his personal biography White had a heart attack and decided to change his life.  He took a leave of absence from the organization which defined him, divorced his wife, and married his longtime white mistress Poppy Cannon. When he returned to the NAACP it was to a changed role.

Begin this path

1. 1940's Defense Industries and the March on Washington Movement
2. The NAACP and the Popular Media Images of African Americans
3. Walter White tries to persuade Hollywood to change its portrayal of African Americans
4. Walter White investigates in World War II
5. Walter White and Harry S. Truman
6. Walter White's Divorce and Remarriage

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