As the nation marks Black History Month, many famous African Americans are celebrated and commemorated. It is equally important, though to always remember and share the enduring impact of Black Americans on the U.S. and the world.
One institution that preserves such stories and artifacts is the National WWI Museum and Memorial, based in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to the Lora Vogt, curator of education at the Museum and Memorial, entry into World War I transformed the United States. Prior to entry into the war, the United States had a standing army of 120,000 – and now urgently needed to mobilize. The Selective Service Act of May 1917 did not exclude any male of fighting age based on color or foreign birth. The War Department recognized it could not exclude any individual and that all workers regardless of color were recognized as being of great importance to the war effort.
“Yet, the nation was roiling with racial injustice as Americans struggled to define citizenship in a country with laws creating ‘separate but equal’ realities, white and Black,” said Vogt. “African Americans faced both subtle and overt attacks on their citizenship throughout the country, from horrific domestic terrorism to resegregation and new institutional barriers against housing, employment, and voting rights.”
The reasons many African Americans took up the burden of war were the same reasons as their white and foreign-born counterparts: honor, patriotism and the American draft board. For others, the call to fight beneath the claim of “champions of the rights of mankind” rang hollow. Many more within the African American community approached the war as an opportunity to redefine their citizenship and improve social, political and economic conditions within the United States, Vogt notes.
Among the notable African Americans from Connecticut to serve during World War I was Howard P. Drew – a man who broke color barriers as a World War I soldier, Olympic athlete and the first Black judge in the state.
As a serviceman, Drew entered World War I in 1918 as a private in the Supply Company, 809th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, in the 88th Division of the U.S. Army. During his time in the war, he helped train the U.S. track team in the Inter-Allied Games, an Olympic-style competition between the Allied troops. He was discharged in 1919 as a first sergeant.
A sprinter, who at the time was billed as “the world’s fastest man,” Drew qualified for two different Olympics in 1912 and 1916 before enlisting in the U.S Army.
Drew didn’t compete in either Olympics, however. In 1912, he was injured and in 1916, the Olympic Games – for the first time in history — were cancelled because of the war.
Upon his return from the war, Drew was unable to compete in the 1920 Olympics and opted to return his focus to continuing his education.
He began studying law at Drake University. Once he received his degree, he passed the Connecticut bar exam and became a lawyer in Hartford, making him one of the first African Americans in the state to practice law.
To add to the accolades, he became the first African American city clerk and also police judge in the state of Connecticut.
Although African Americans made up only 10% of the United States population, African American servicemen made up 13% of the total United States Armed Services during the war.
Despite prejudice and reluctance, two predominantly African American combat divisions were formed in WWI. The 92nd Division, under U.S. command, and 93rd Division initially under French command. The 369th Infantry Regiment, part of the 93rd Division, exemplified the capabilities of African American troops, serving the longest of any American combat troops in the trenches and establishing an excellent reputation fighting under the French, earning such nicknames as the “Harlem Hellfighters.”
Among the members, a total of 68 Croix de Guerre and 24 Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to men of the 93rd Division along with several unit commendations, making it one of the most decorated American units of the war. Clearly, the performance of the 369th and other African American combat units informed the American military to reconsider its segregation practices in later years.
Countless African American women also stepped forward in strong support of the war effort. While these women were not allowed to serve in Europe, they found various ways to serve stateside. Many became nurses, ambulance drivers, Navy Yeomen, canteen workers, club administrators, office workers, railroad workers, munitions workers, and as extremely successful fund-raisers with a variety of government organizations and departments, relief organizations, and war industries. African American poet and civil rights advocate, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, was recognized for her mobilization for the Council of National Defense.
While some African American servicemen and servicewomen received national accolades and medals for their service, many were overlooked for their patriotism until later years. At the time, the success and service of Black Americans in WWI challenged the doctrine of white supremacy, spewing new battles on the home front. In the summer of 1919, known as the “Red Summer,” the nation faced one of its most extreme periods of interracial violence. Eleven African American soldiers who had served their country in a time of war were lynched in their uniforms that summer. W.E.B DuBois, with essential patriotism, sounded a call as the war for equal rights continued:
For the America that represents and gloats in lynching, disenfranchisement, caste, brutality and devilish insult–for this, in the hateful upturning and mixing of things, we were forced by vindictive fate to fight. We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting. Make way for Democracy! We saved it in France, and by the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United States of America, or know the reason why.
The War to End All Wars was, in fact, the beginning of countless others. African American involvement in this war did not end racial subjugation or segregation. But the act of putting a uniform on, itself, was for some an act of defiance, and for others, an act of unity and equality. That participation marked the beginning of a modern civil rights movement, a fight to define the true meaning of democracy.
The National WWI Museum and Memorial’s online exhibit, Make Way for Democracy!, portrays the history of these forgotten pioneers through a series of rare images, documents, oral histories and more. Even though its collection is one of the most diverse, the National WWI Museum and Memorial recognizes that it’s missing some key elements related to minorities, women and indigenous peoples who served in The Great War. The Museum and Memorial is looking to add more diversity to its collection and is calling on those who may have artifacts from this era to assist.
Anyone interested in donating items can reach out to the Museum and Memorial or visit https://www.theworldwar.org/support/donate-object to learn more.
