Final answer:
After Executive Order 9980, African Americans saw an increase in defense industry employment but still faced challenges in attaining well-paid positions. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was pivotal in reducing employment discrimination, but racial disparities in education and earnings persisted.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the signing of Executive Order 9980, which aimed to promote federal employment equity, African Americans did experience an increase in hiring within the defense industry. For instance, President Roosevelt's earlier Executive Order 8802 created the Fair Employment Practices Committee to bar racial discrimination, forcing defense contractors to hire African Americans. Despite these efforts, significant challenges persisted. For example, while companies like DuPont started to hire African Americans as low-paid construction workers, they were still not hired for well-paid positions such as laboratory technicians. In the broader context, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was legal to refuse to hire a Black worker in many states.
Despite these legal advancements, African Americans continued to face racial discrimination in the labor market, affecting both employment opportunities and wage disparities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was significant in reducing these disparities but did not entirely eliminate them, as educational opportunities continued to be restricted, and poverty and unemployment rates remained high in many Black communities.