African-Americans WW I

1. African-Americans in World War I Darren Miller His-240

2. World War I draft registration cards Some six weeks after the United States formally entered the First World War, the U.S Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917, giving the U.S. president the power to draft soldiers. The act provided an opportunity for young Black men to join the militaryandto filltheir patriotic duty. Many of these black Americans saw the war as a chance to show their loyalty to the United States and her White people. In 1917, 2.3 million Black men registered for the draft. Arriving at their local draft boards, The African-Americans found that they were composed of entirely white men. (1) When they did register with ideals of proving their ability on the battlefields they found that the majority of blacks were used as laborers. The General Staff in the army maliciously branded the Blacks as having lesser ability than the Whites.

3. W.E.B Du Bois • "Let us, while the war lasts, forget our special grievances and close ranks shoulder to shoulder with our white fellow citizens ... fighting for democracy. We make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make it gladly and willingly”. W.E.B Du Bois was one of the most respected Black leaders before and during the Great War. In his famous editorial, “Close Ranks” Du Bois asked “should Black Americans enlist in their country’s service and fight for freedom in Europe when they themselves denied freedom at home?” losing their lives to preserve freedom, surely they would now receive it”. (2) He promoted racial equality before, during and after the war effort.

4. Freedom isn’t a word that African-Americans have heard since the forbidding of slavery. Southern Blacks hopedtheir willingness to defend their country would end the Jim Crow law. They fought for equal status and treatment from their government. By fighting for an opportunity to validate their loyalty, patriotism, and sheer determinationfor equal status in the United States ; they had tochose to support that same nation that was denying them full citizenship and equal rights. They clung onto their beliefs that fighting for America would get them equal status after the war. Why Should we Fight For Freedom when we we’re not Free

5. Jim Crow “Jim Crow” refers to a system developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s to support white supremacy and oppress black citizens. Although there were many laws that discriminated throughout the country, the Jim Crow system was only foundin the South. Through racial segregation, blacks and whites were kept apart as much as possible. (3)Jim Crow laws continued for the Black Servicemen in the war. Laws forced blacks and whites to be separate from each other in a variety of public accommodations. •There were separate black and white rest rooms, drinking fountains, and waiting rooms. •Blacks sat in the balcony of movie theaters or in separate theaters for blacks only. •Blacks could not order food at the front of restaurants. Many restaurants simply refused to serve blacks at all. •Blacks and whites went to county fairs on different days. •Blacks were not allowed to use public libraries (4)

6. Basic Training Camp During World War I, African-American soldiers faced discrimination in training camps. The government segregated blacks and white training camps. Some Southern states were so concerned about Blacks training in their area that they pressed PresidentWilson to not allow the Black soldiers to train in their states. There was an abundance of Southern White civilians complaining of having blacks from other states stationed in their training camps.The War Department announced that no more than one-fourth of the Black trainees could live in Army camps in the U.S. (5) Black soldiers were often treated horrific and they went for long periods of time not having the proper clothing. There were also reports of blacks receiving old Civil War uniforms and being forced to sleep outside in pitched tents instead of the warmer, sturdier barracks that Whites received. Some were forced to eat outside in the cold winter months, while numerous others went without a change of clothes for months at a time. Treatment of black trainees was deplorable, and after basic training, most black servicemen were assigned to labor units.(6)

7. The Great Migration One the more powerful effects of World War I on African-Americans came from the Great Migration. Southern rural farm laborers moved to the north and west in search of higher wages in industrial jobs and better social and political opportunities. This Great Migration led to the accelerated growth of black urban communities in places such as New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles. The Great Migration reshaped Black America as never seen before. (7) The war itself provided Southern Blacks who moved North with employment at the North’s many factories in helping build the necessary weapons and other much needed war supplies. Northern industries were running 24 hours a day and they needed strong men to run them. The North’s labor pool was away fighting the war. Economic and patriotism helped motivate the Southern Blacks to go North.

8. Life Overseas The first black troops who went overseas, they went into service labor units. Despite all the strong and crucial work they provided, African American stevedores received the worst treatment of all. The term "stevedores" means placing of people who were physically or mentally unfit to be fighting men. (8)They were looked upon as uselessto others soldiers. Because the work that these units did was absolutely invaluable to the war effort, commanders promised special privileges in return for high results. With such motivation, the soldiers would often work for twenty-four hours straight unloading ships and transporting men and materiel to and from various bases, ports, and railroad depots. Unfortunately the White commanders weren’t true to their word. As the war continued and soldiers went to the battlefields, most found their units were responsible for digging trenches, removing unexploded shells from fields, clearing disabled equipment and barbed wire, and burying soldiers killed in action. (9)

9. The Harlem Hellfighters In France The Hellfighters were the first all-black fighting unit to arrive in France. Their motto was "God damn, let's go." Years later, a soldier, whose name has been lost to history, recounted his march to the front, "There were a whole lot of blind men, and one-legged men, and one-armed men, and sick men, all coming this way. I asked a white man where all these wounded men come from? And he says, 'Nigger, they're coming from right where you're going the day after tomorrow.'" (10) Whereas African American heroics usually went unnoticed, well over one hundred soldiers of the regiment received French medals, including the first two Americans, Corporal Henry Johnson and Private Needham Roberts to be awarded the coveted French Croix de Guerre, which was one the highest military medals for bravery in combat.

10. Life backHome When the war ended on November 11, 1918 returning African-Americans were happy and optimistic that their patriotic sacrifices would have a positive impact on race relations and help tear down the walls of segregation. They returned gallantly from overseas as they were excited to see the joyful reactions of their heroism. Sadly the fight for freedom they gave their country didn’t return to them at home in White America. Nothing much changed for equality and in some ways even worse.

11. Resources: • 1. Mjagkij, N. (2011). Loyalty in time of Trial: The African American Experience during World War I. United Kingsom: Rowan & Littlefield. African-Americans in World War I. (). Retrieved from http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/african-american-soldiers-world-war-i-92nd-and-93rd-divisions • 2. Mjagkij, N. (2011). Loyalty in time of Trial: The African American Experience during World War I. United Kingsom: Rowan & Littlefield. African-Americans in World War I. (). Retrieved from http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/african-american-soldiers-world-war-i-92nd-and-93rd-divisions • 3. Major Hardeman. Special Adjutant to Secretary of War, War Department as published in Emmet, J.Scott ’Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in World War I” War Department • 4. Woodland, Jan. Liverpool University "How did Participation in America's Wars affect Black Americans?” The World War I Document Archive. • 5. Mjagkij, N. (2011). Raising a Jim Crow Army: The Mobilization and Turning of African-American Troops. In Loyalty in the Tome of Trial (pp. 75-76). United Kingdom: Rowan & Littlefield. • 6. Major Hardeman. Special Adjutant to Secretary of War, War Department as published in Emmet, J.Scott ’Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in World War I” War Department • 7. 13. Black Migration http://www.pbs.org/jazz/places/faces_migration.htm • 8. Belluscio, L. (2011). African-American World War I Veterans. Retrieved from http://www.leroypennysavernews.com/LynneBelluscioArticles/WWI_Veterans.htm • 9. Woodland, Jan. Liverpool University "How did Participation in America's Wars affect Black Americans?” The World War I Document Archive. • 10. The Harlem Hellfighters and Henry Johnson Fighting in WW I. (). Retrieved from http://forloveofliberty.org/overview/Harlem_Hellfighters.html