On November 13, 1943, an African American newspaper in New York City announced the launching of a ship named after Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The sixth Liberty Ship to be named for a Negro, the SS Paul Laurence Dunbar, was launched by the California Shipbuilding Corporation at Wilmington, Calif., on Tuesday. Sponsor of the vessel was Mrs. Clarice Williams, oldest employed Negro woman in the yard. The SS Booker T. Washington, first Liberty Ship named for a Negro, was also built in this yard. The Dunbar has been assigned as a tanker -- the 18th Liberty tanker and the 274th ship built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation since Pearl Harbor. Four of the first five Liberty Ships named for Negroes are now in service, two of them with Negro captains and mixed crews.
"SS Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sixth Liberty Ship Named After Negro, Launched Tues." The New York Age (New York, New York). November 13, 1943. Page 2.
When the U. S. entered World War Two, American industry dramatically increased production to support the war effort. Thousands of new vessels called Liberty ships were manufactured to serve as tankers or cargo vessels, carrying vital supplies across seas where enemy submarines lurked. Each Liberty ship was named for someone: historical heroes, movie stars, famous athletes, authors and adventurers. Several were named for prominent African Americans, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.
The Liberty tanker, S. S. Paul Dunbar, slid into the water 31 days after the keel was laid, following her christening by Mrs. Clarice Williams, who was chosen as sponsor in recognition of the fact that she is the senior woman Negro employee. The ship's namesake, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born in Dayton, Ohio, and through his poems became singularly beloved by the Negro people of this country.
"New Ship Named for Negro Poet." California Eagle (Los Angeles, California). October 21, 1943. Pages 1 and 16.
The wartime manufacturing surge required millions of workers, resulting in more racial integration in factories and offices. President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order that banned discrimination in federal agencies and companies engaged in the war effort.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, and as a prerequisite to the successful conduct of our national defense production effort, I do hereby reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin.
Executive Order 8802, June 25, 1941. General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives (Washington, D. C.).
While Roosevelt's order pertained to American industry, racial segregation in the U. S. military continued. However, Liberty ships named for African Americans often had integrated crews.
Pointing to their own crew as an example of true democracy, the Booker T. Washington crew, mixed one, declared that the abolition of Jim Crow throughout the armed forces would build morale and strengthen the fighting qualities of our army. A letter from Navy Secretary Knox brought forth satisfaction from the Washington crew members. The letter was in answer to the crew's communication on the fine relations between gun and merchant crew aboard ship. The policy of the war department is not to intermingle colored and white enlisted personnel in the same regimental organization.
"Racial Harmony on Liberty Ship." The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). November 14, 1943. Page 9.
Most Liberty ships survived the war and were put to other uses afterward. The SS Dunbar went to Russia as part of a postwar lend-lease program. In later years, the ship was renamed several times (and reportedly used to haul bootleg whiskey) before it was scrapped in 1969.
Two more lend-lease tankers have been returned to the United States by Russia, at a time of critical world shortage of such vessels. The tankers are the former Swanee Rail and the Paul Dunbar. They were brought to Yokohama by Russian crews. American crews will be flown here to sail the ships to the Persian Gulf for oil to relieve the shortage along the U. S. east coast.
"Russia Returns Two More Lend Lease Ships." The Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, New York). March 4, 1948. Page 21.