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Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era

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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.

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

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