For the 380,000 African American soldiers who fought in World War I, Woodrow Wilson's charge to make the world "safe for democracy" carried life-or-death meaning. Chad L. Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in the global conflict and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens, committed to fighting for democracy at home and beyond. Using a diverse range of sources, Torchbearers of Democracy reclaims the legacy of African American soldiers and veterans and connects their history to issues such as the obligations of citizenship, combat and labor, diaspora and internationalism, homecoming and racial violence, "New Negro" militancy, and African American memories of the war.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781469609850
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication Date: 08-01-2013
Pages: 472
Product Dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Series: The John Hope Franklin African American History and Culture
About the Author
Chad L. Williams is associate professor of African and Afro-American studies at Brandeis University.
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From the Publisher
In a manner that no previous author has achieved, Chad Williams vividly captures the turbulent times and sentiments of African Americans in general and black soldiers in particular during the World War I era. His scholarship is outstanding.—John Morrow Jr., Franklin Professor of History, University of Georgia
In this important, sophisticated, and original study, Chad Williams establishes the centrality of black soldiers and veterans to the struggles against racial inequality during World War I as no other book does. Torchbearers of Democracy sensitively examines the fraught connections between citizenship, obligation, and race while highlighting the diversity of black soldiers' experiences in fighting on behalf of a democracy that denied them rights and dignity. This is a major contribution to political, military, and civil rights history.—Eric Arnesen, George Washington University