Black History Month. The Harlem Hellfighters and Chicago “Black Devils”: Battling Racism and Germans on the Western Front in 1918

Feb 15

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Friends of Padre Steve’s World, The theme of Black History Month this year is African Americans in Times of War to coincide with the centennial of the end of the First World War. In 1918 African Americans who in spite of the prejudice, intolerance and persecution they endured at home as a result of Jim Crow, […]

via The Harlem Hellfighters and Chicago “Black Devils”: Battling Racism and Germans on the Western Front in 1918 — Padre Steve’s World…Musings of a Progressive Realist in Wonderland

Posted on 02/15/2018, in Black History Month, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.

  1. mindyme62 | 02/15/2018 at 5:38 am

    From the article. So poignant.

    “Soldiers from the four regiments that served directly with the French Army attested to the willingness of the French to let men fight and to honor them for their achievements. Social interactions with French civilians- and white southern soldiers’ reactions to them- also highlighted crucial differences between the two societies. Unlike white soldiers, African Americans did not complain about high prices in French stores. Instead they focused on the fact that “they were welcomed” by every shopkeeper that they encountered.”

    Official and unofficial efforts by those in the Army command and individual soldiers to stigmatize them and to try to force the French into applying Jim Crow to laws and attitudes backfired. Villages now expressed a preference for black over white American troops. “Take back these soldiers and send us some real Americans, black Americans,” wrote one village mayor after a group of rowdy white Americans disrupted the town.”

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    • Xena | 02/15/2018 at 2:44 pm

      Mindmyme,
      My dad served in WWI. There’s a letter I’m looking for and when I find it, I just might blog about it. It was written by a lawyer. It addressed how White soldiers received favored treatment, even with favorable discharges when doing the same things that Black soldiers did who were dishonorably discharged. My dad never discussed that with the family. I discovered the letter in a trunk about 20 years after he died. It caused me to see that even way back then, my dad advocated for equal rights.

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  2. Dr. Rex | 02/16/2018 at 9:39 am

    Wow!! What an interesting and educational post!!
    On another note … quick question: did WP remove the reblog button? I can’t find it in any of the blogs I follow!! Arrghh … thanks in advance for any info!! ❤ ….

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  3. chuquestaquenumber1 | 02/17/2018 at 10:04 am

    Nice moment of history.

    Also on February 17, 1942 birthday of Black Panther Party Founder Huey P Newton.

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  4. chuquestaquenumber1 | 02/19/2018 at 7:52 am

    Some sad news this Black History Month. Lerone Bennett Jr born October 17, 1928 made his transition on February 14, 2018. Mr. Bennett was 89 yrs old.

    Mr Bennett parlayed his work from a high school newspaper to a lifelong career in journalism. He worked at Morehouse College( where he met and knew MLK Jr) on the student newspaper . After graduating from Morehouse he went to work for the famous black newspaper the Atlanta Daily World.

    From there he began his greatest journalist work. Working for Johnson Publications Jet and Ebony Magazines for decades.

    Mr Bennett was also an excellent author. He wrote 3 of the best books on black history. Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, What Manner of Man( a MLK Jr bio) and Divided Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream.

    Condolences to his Family.

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