Map Documenting Widespread Segregation in Wartime Washington, D.C.

"USO Map Guide to Washington",

This street map of Washington by A.F. Free is centered on the National Mall and surrounded by a guide to services for armed forces members. These services are broken out by category and note locations that are for “Colored” members including hotels, theaters, churches, clubs, bike rentals, bowling alleys, and even the USO itself (!). Listings in red are keyed to the map. Related text and illustrations are found on verso. The front wrapper ironically quotes the Declaration of Independence, stating that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” The USO is a federally chartered group established in 1941 to provide morale and recreation services to military personnel and their families. Although its charter forbade discrimination, USO practiced segregation from its inception. Self-folding (4.0 x 8.8”).

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Condition: A

Issued folding on a bright sheet with a bit of soiling along a few folds.