African American Army officers of World War I : a vanguard of equality in war and beyond / Adam P. Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Adam P., 1983- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army.

World War, 1914-1918--Participation, African American.

World War, 1914-1918.

United States. Army--Officers--History--20th century.

United States.

African American soldiers--History--20th century.

African American soldiers.

African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century.

African Americans.

African Americans--Civil rights.

History.

Discrimination in the military--United States--History--20th century.

Discrimination in the military.

Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.

Civil rights movements.

Race relations.

Racism--United States--History--20th century.

Racism.

United States--Race relations--20th century.

Armed Forces--Officers.

Military participation--African American.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 226 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Other Title:

African American Army officers of World War one

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2015]

Summary:

In April 1917, Congress approved President Woodrow Wilson's request to declare war on the Central Powers, thrusting the United States into World War I with the rallying cry, "The world must be made safe for democracy." Two months later 1,250 African American men-college graduates, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, reverends and non-commissioned officers-volunteered to become the first blacks to receive officer training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. Denied the full privileges and protections of democracy at home, they prepared to defend it abroad in hopes that their service would be rewarded with equal citizenship at war's end. This book tells the stories of these black American soldiers' lives during training, in combat and after their return home. The author addresses issues of national and international racism and equality and discusses the Army's use of African American troops, the creation of a segregated officer training camp, the war's implications for civil rights in America, and military duty as an obligation of citizenship. Book jacket.

Contents:

Debating the use of African Americans as soldiers

The fight for a segregated officer training camp

Life at Fort Des Moines

Across the Atlantic; fighting two wars

Legal battles against segregation

The Black press: is the pen mightier than the sword

Mentoring the next generation

The military desegregated

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780786495122

078649512X

OCLC:

895338231