At the start of World War 2 only 4,000 African American men were enlisted in the US Armed Forces, and only 12 of these men had become officers. This was due to the segregated draft in which most African Americans were overlooked by the All-White draft boards. Due to this unequal treatment, the NAACP put pressure on President Roosevelt who eventually pledged that African Americans would be enlisted based on their population percentage. This meant that African Americans would have to make up 10.6% of the Armed Forces because that was the percentage of African Americans in the United States at that time. Although this goal was never achieved, by the end of the war there were 1.2 million African American men serving.
At the start of the war, African Americans were assigned to non-combat units, such as supply, maintenance and transport. At this time units were assigned based on the AGCt, which was a test of intelligence. Due to the fact that African Americans didn't have the same access to schooling as white people did, they usually scored lower and therefore were assigned to these non-combat units. This eventually changed because of the sheer need for men on the front lines. In these new positions African Americans served with the same courage, distinction, and honor as any other soldier.
One notable unit in the war was the Tuskegee Airmen. This group of African Americans were pilots. This group was the first group of African American soldiers who were allowed to fly. During the war these men flew in many battles and did exemplary work for the American cause. 
Segregation in the U.S. Army would end three years after the war (1948), and this helped break down some barriers and prejudice between blacks and whites. Still, at home and in everyday life, blacks were often the object of great distain, especially in the southern states. It would be more than twenty years after the end of the war before the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964, giving all African Americans a constitutional right to equality.
Sources:
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/assets/pdfs/african-americans-in-world.pdfhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-was-black-americas-double-war/
Very interesting! Love how you go in depth with the specifics and the note the progression of the African American 'status' over the span of the war. I think it is important to note that not only African Americans were discriminated against. Many minority groups were picked on because it was easier. Although the Germans, Italians, and Japanese made up the Axis powers, only the Japanese were placed in the internment camps/'relocation' centers. This stemmed from the fact that the Japanese represented a smaller fraction of the population and therefore would not make too big of an impact on the economy. The Germans and Italians were implanted into the roots of society as earlier immigrants and there were much more of them, and thus harder to detain all of them. Also, Mexican-Americans brought over the border by the Bracero program were discriminated against mainly because of their economic status. Simply for wearing zoot suits, they would be ridiculed (Zoot Suit Riots in 1943). I think the notion of a Double Victory really pertained to these minority groups because the war not only represented a struggle against blatant dictatorial genocide/segretation, but also a more subtle but prevalent segregation that existed in the United States. Great post!
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