When Roosevelt did not concede to these demands, labor leaders threatened a march on Washington. In 1941, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 to prevent Asa Philip Randolph from continuing with his March on Washington movement. Exec. Order 8802 prevents discrimination in the work place and was the first executive order advocating for fair employment of African Americans. Maintaining the black vote was important to Roosevelt, so he created a “black cabinet” filled with officials to keep him abreast of the racial issues plaguing the country. Members of this cabinet included Mary McLeod Bethune, Robert Weaver and Lawrence Oxley.13 Roosevelt also created the federal Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) as a means of persuading Randolph to not publicly object to the quandary of America’s black people.
The goal of the FEPC was to eliminate any discriminatory practices installed in federal industries. This goal served as the avenue required to create a multitude of civil rights partnerships that in turn helped to create the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. The Conference was a conglomeration of various religious and labor leaders as well as unity and civil rights organizations.14 Because it was such a diverse gathering of ideas and practices, the Conference was in a league of its own when comparing it to other associations entrusted with fighting for civil rights