History Geekery for Steve Rogers

Over Here, Over There is written by Maxene Andrews and, I presume, ghost-written by Bill Gilbert. The book is fairly chatty, and attempts to give both an idea of what civilian life was like in America during the war, and the part played by the USO performers. It pads out Maxene's history with materials from other USO performers, newspapers snippets, letters, and other materials. Unfortunately, hardly anything is cited in such a way that you could chase it down without effort.

I am actually enough of a newb at this historical period that it's possible everything I learned from this book is on the order of SPOILER: Liberace was gay! I think it gives a decent overview of America during the war years, if one keeps in mind that the Andrews sisters were actually comparatively wealthy by the end of the war years, simply from record sales. (Maxene doesn't touch on their financial situation, and frames everything in terms of their popularity, but at one point she mentions she "owned a kennel on the ranch, and had seventy-five dogs—boxers, Dobermans, and cocker spaniels." (78) This suggests a level of affluence. (Also, OMG, I want to live there! Maxene is a dog lover after my own heart, and apparently took a dog with her all the time while on tour.))

She attempts to deal with the racial inequality of the era, but mainly talks about the segregation of the troupes and USO entertainers. (Two paragraphs are dedicated to race riots, in 1943.) She mentions one entertainer, Kathryn Grayson, who insisted on performing for Black troupes as well as white. When Grayson was told her (black) maid was going to be staying at a separate hotel, she told the organizers she would stay at that hotel as well, but her inclusion in the book suggests she was the exception. (63) The book also includes a photo of a performance of "Hellzapoppin" with what looks like an all-white cast. (Compare with this youtube scene, from the film Hellzapoppin which claims to be 'the best swing dance ever captured on screen.' (Seriously, watch it. It's amazing.))

(I was also rather non-plussed to see reference to Al Jolson. Was he performing blackface, for the white troupes? They couldn't see a black performer, but a white/Jewish man in blackface, that's fine?)

As far is the book is concerned, gay is something invented in the 1960s.

The parts I found particularly fascinating were the bits about rationing, and war bonds.

( rationing, the black market )

( War Bonds )

I actually bailed out of the book when the war ended, so I have no idea what happens in the bits about the reconstruction.

I do not consider myself to be well versed in history, but I do consider myself moderately experienced in running a community, so here are my suggested rules. Your input at this stage is welcome.

1. Posts should stay on topic. (Comments are welcome to wander.)

   A post is on topic if it deals directly or indirectly with the historical era from 1915 to 1945. This era can be either within actualfax history, or special Marvel "history," but if it's the latter, please take care to specify. A certain amount of flexibility will be permitted, since history does not nicely segment itself.  Use your judgment, final authority rests with mods.

2. If you think it's relevant to rec fic or fanart or vids here, that's fine, with the single rule that you cannot rec stuff that you produced yourself.
3. Please tag your posts! The idea of this community is that it will be a resource, as well source of awesome.  See next post for discussion of tags.
4. Please source your research!  I don't care if you use APA or Chicago, or geotag it, but someone with an internet connection should be able to figure out where you got whatever you're citing, even if they can't find the physical object themselves, or the source is "My grandma once said."
5. When linking to or including period materials that are racist, or otherwise offensive, please warn, or place behind a cut.  No one needs to be insulted first thing in the morning while browsing their reading list.
6. Don't be creepy.

   Please don't go around fetishizing either the victims or perpetrators of genocide in this space until you have obtained bystander consent from the entire internet.  (I hope this won't come up.)

Specific questions: 
Should I try to make this comm more accessible to other WWII-era fandoms?  More research=more awesome!
Your thoughts?

ETA: I don't want to pretend that the racism of the era didn't exist, but I think any such material should have a warning so people can decide whether or not to expose themselves.