Workers, Labor, and Race: Records of the Fair Employment Practices Committee, 1941-1946
Created by Executive Order in 1941, the Fair Employment Practices Committee dealt with the needs of minority workers and had specific jurisdiction over complaints against the federal government, complaints against employers and labor unions under contract with the federal government, and complaints against employers and unions engaged in war production. In five years, the FEPC investigated thousands of complaints - 80 percent based on race, 14 percent on national origin and the remaining six percent on creed or religion. Records of the Fair Employment Practices Committee consists of correspondence, case records, field reports from FEPC regional offices, minutes of FEPC meetings, internal studies, memoranda, and individual worker’s records. The collection is divided into two main series: Headquarters Records and Field Records.