In October 1940, Mary notes brief unity inside the Federal Council after General Watson confirmed the June agreement with President Roosevelt. That momentum collapses as reports show Black volunteers still being rejected or confined to menial duties, with segregated, substandard barracks. The Council reads this as presidential appeasement and begins to splinter.

At NCNW, Dovey Johnson advises Mary to keep sending meeting invitations to assert continuity despite poor attendance. Mary turns to fundraising correspondence when Walter White calls with urgent news from the president’s office.

Walter summarizes a new press release: it confirms pilot and combat training and opportunities for advancement for Black servicemen, aligning with Mary’s negotiated terms. But Steve Woodburn’s closing line declares the War Department will maintain a policy against intermingling white and Black troops, effectively formalizing segregation.

Mary and Walter conclude Woodburn exploited the announcement to entrench segregation without legislation, risking decades of setback. Angry but focused, Mary resolves to force a correction, while Walter insists the president must act to reverse the damage.