Executive Order 8802 On June 25, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 which prohibited racial and other discrimination in the defense industry. The Executive Order was a partial response by the White House to a <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/329">planned march by African American activists on the National Mall to protest discrimination in the defense industry</a>. Defense jobs were a major source of employment even though the United States was not yet at war. National Archives at Washington, DC. <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/300005">View original</a>. 6/25/1941 <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>