African-American Welders, New England Shipbuilding Corporation, South Portland, Maine, 1943. Courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum.
African-American Welders, New England Shipbuilding Corporation, South Portland, Maine, 1943. Courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum.
African-American men worked in the Bath Iron Works shipyard as machinists, painters, and pipe fitters before America entered World War II in December 1941. African-American women, as seen in the front row of this photograph, joined the ranks along with other women recruited for shipyard work. The women pictured here are wearing welding gear. Welding was a high-skilled job in shipbuilding.