The Black Soldier in World War I

The contribution of American black soldiers during World Wars I and II is touched on lightly in United States history texts, and the subject is sometimes ignored in the social studies curriculum, even during black history celebrations. Usually Crispus Attucks, the Tenth Cavalry, and the Tuskegee Airmen are all that is popularly known about blacks in the United States military during wars. This document focuses on the black soldier of World War I and the period of intolerance that followed the Armistice.

Poor race relations in the United States resulted in inequitable draft practices and conflicting attitudes among white commanders toward black troops. In World War I blacks were drafted out of proportion to their numbers in the population. Under the Selective Service Act of 1917, 36 percent of eligible black males were drafted as compared with 24 percent of eligible white males.

Military commanders dealt with the race issue in various ways. Gen. Thomas H. Brady, Camp Grant (Illinois), chose to ignore the issue of color in his directive about the use of recreational areas, announcing that "The only color recognized in Camp Grant is to be O.D.—the olive drab of the Army uniforms." Gen. C. C. Ballou issued Bulletin 35 to the black 92nd Division at Camp Funston (Kansas) ordering them to "avoid every situation that can give rise to racial ill-will. Attend quietly and faithfully to your duties, and don’t go where your presence is not desired." Capt. Eugene C. Bowan was court-martialed for refusing to obey an order to assemble a troop formation that included black and white forces.

Records show that a number of white of-ricers were separated from service for discrimination against "colored" soldiers and for unwarranted acts of cruelty in dealing with them. Yet both black and white soldiers faced the same hazards at the front. Just like his white counterpart, the black male enlisted or was drafted and received basic training. He sailed across the Atlantic on a troopship to fight in the trenches of France. He killed, was killed or maimed, was decorated or buried. He returned home to a victory parade. But the black soldier’s return to United States soil was often followed by a period of confusion and disillusionment. Although he had changed as a result of the experience of war, his status at home had not. The potential for conflict for the black veteran, both internal and external, was heightened by this realization.

During the early postwar years, Violence against blacks increased in the United States. Old stereotypes of the black persisted, including fear of his supposed unbridled lust and fear that he would intermarry with whites. The black soldier was suddenly seen as capable of doing well in a number of trades and therefore became an economic as well as a social threat to the white worker. White contempt of blacks. gave way to hostility and mindless killing. In 1918, 68 people were lynched, of whom 58 were black. By 1919 a new element of terror was added as blacks were burned alive. Of the 83 people killed by mobs in 1919, 77 were black and 11 of those were burned to death.

This bigotry produced a group of black protest writers and journalists. W.E.B. Du-Bois and Marcus Garvey were particularlyactive publicists, developing an audience among disenchanted black veterans. Some writers recommended direct action for redress of their grievances. Others sought unity among blacks to provide both protection and action against the violence that confronted them.

At the peak of the violence, DuBois, writing in Crisis, called for a war for equal rights:

But the white workingman also sought unity and security through organized labor, but the activity of labor organizers, particularly those who were associated with the International Workers of the World (IWW), was perceived by many other elements of American society as part of a Bolshevist plot to undermine the American way of life. It was an easy exercise to relate the writings of DuBois and the active black press to Karl Marx’s rallying cry, "Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains." The so-called Red Scare of the 1920s wound up fanning racial hatred, as well as fear of communism, for years to come.

This document is found in the National Archives Record Group 28, Records of the Office of the Solicitor, under Records Related to the Espionage Act of World War I, File B-584. Under section 12 of the June 1917 Espionage Act, the Postmaster General was authorized to deny mailing privileges to newspapers, periodicals, and other materials that advocated treason, insurrection, or forcible resistance to any law of the United States. The Solicitor was appointed to take charge of legal matters arising from the enforcement of this act. Correspondence of the Solicitor in the file of The Favorite Magazine included a letter from the postmistress of Melbourne, Florida, samples of two issues of the magazine, and this poster. In a letter dated August 5, 1919, she asked the Postmaster General, "Are the inclosed [sic] periodicals and newspapers in accordance with postal rules and regulations?" The memo from the Solicitor’s Office provided no clear decision regarding the suitability of this document for mailing.

Teaching Activities

Before the foregoing background of the document is presented to the students, use an inquiry approach to the document to introduce the subject.

1. Pass the document around the class or project it with an opaque projector. Ask the students to examine it carefully.

2. Discuss the major content of the document, using the following questions: What is the family doing? What war is depicted in this poster? What does the blue star flag in the window indicate? Why is the portrait of Lincoln higher than the father’s portrait? What features appear to be out of place? Are sex-roles obvious in this print? Why is the poster titled "True Blue"? [Note: The blue star flag in the window indicates that a person in that home is serving in the military.]

3. Discuss the use of propaganda. Ask the students to write a paragraph answering the question: Is the poster an example of wartime propaganda? If NO, why not? If YES, who is the audience, what is the desired effect of the work, and what might be some undesirable effects of it?

4. Students could do additional research for oral or written reports on the contributions of the black soldier during all the wars of the United States. They could attempt to determine how many served, where they served and in what capacities, and who the heroes and villains were. They could also attempt to report on the racial composition of the current Armed Forces.

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5. Students should consider launching oral history projects, using their families as primary sources. Students can be encouraged to talk to family members about their experiences of race relations in the military. This special project could compare the experiences of the several generations to determine if conditions have changed since Harry Truman’s Executive Order in July 1948 to desegregate the military forces.