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Meaghan Morrell

Dr. Wallilus

Fifth Short Paper

13 June 2017

Double Victory

The concept of a double victory dates back to the beginning of World War II and the

role of minority groups in the war. At the time, Germany and Japan were at war with the

rest of the world and the US became involved due to the bombing at Pearl Harbor in

Hawaii. This war was vital because it was perceived as a war against racism in Germany

because of the racial superiority that Hitler was trying to enforce in creating the supreme

race by sending [predominantly] those of Jewish and Gypsy decent to concentration

camps. Due to the bombing at Pearl Harbor in the United States, a sense of fear was

established in the American homeland in regards to Japanese and Chinese Americans a

fear that these groups were working in part secretly with Japanese and German forces to

win the war. This eventually led to the displacement of Japanese Americans into

internment camps from Hawaii and the rest coast, along with many Japanese who lived in

Hawaii having to rebuild Pearl Harbor and some even being drafted to fight against the

Germans (not the Japanese because they did not want them joining forces and betraying

the US in the process because of the way in which they were being treated on the home

front). According to Takaki, the concept of the double victory during this time period was

that of the US fight against Japan and winning, along with the notion of the Japanese getting

involved in the war effort to help show Americans they were good fighters and

contributors to the war effort. It was evident the war on racism had not yet been won -
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Captian Daniel Inouye a Japanese American soldier returned home from fighting in the war

effort in 1945 and went to get his haircut in San Francisco and was told he couldnt be

served because he was Japanese (Takaki, 350). Also, at the beginning of the war, the notion

of a double victory originated in a Pittsburg newspaper on the issue of African Americans

becoming involved in the war effort to bring light to the issue of segregation in a segregated

society. Upon arrival home from the war, the early beginning of a civil rights movement

was sparked.

The idea of a double victory today according to Wallilus stems from the idea of

individuals coming from low-income, minority backgrounds as first generation college

students and make it through completing a higher education after their Bachelors,

especially being involved in the process of societal distortions. A double victory opens up

the possibilities for graduate victories that are personally and racially significant

(Wallilus, 90).

The transferability of the notion of a double victory easily transfers to the modern

day because minority groups still battle for fair treatment in society. For example, minority

groups that live in poor areas are less likely to receive the same quality public education as

their white peers who live in more affluent areas where schools receive better funding, but

yet the US is striving to surpass other world countries to have a stronger public educational

system and turn out more intelligent people overall. However, this is impossible to achieve

unless all schools receive the quality funding they need in order to invest in our students

and our future regardless of their location. When minority and low-income students prove

this system wrong in the sense they make it to college coming from predominantly poorer

areas, they prove the concept of a double victory in progress. However, when schools
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take the time to invest in poorer schools and the turnout rates for students from minority

backgrounds go off to receive a higher education increase and our rankings increase among

other nations, that is when a double victory is won.