THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN WORLD WAR I: …

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN WORLD WAR I: MAKING AMERICA UNSAFE FOR HYPOCRISY

Nathan W. Gergel

A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

Department of History University of North Carolina Wilmington

2011

Approved by

Advisory Committee

W. Taylor Fain

Glen Harris

Candice Bredbenner Chair

Accepted by

DN: cn=Robert D. Roer, o=UNCW, ou=Dean of the Graduate School & Research, email=roer@uncw.edu, c=US Date: 2011.07.19 10:22:23 -04'00'

Dean, Graduate School

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: HOME-FRONT .....................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 2: FRANCE AND THE FRENCH ............................................................................56 CHAPTER 3: POST WAR EVENTS AND ATTITUDES ..........................................................91 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................111 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................117

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ABSTRACT

The impact of World War I on African Americans, especially on the soldiers who served in the perceptibly more tolerant French society, transformed the black community and served as an important, yet often overlooked, episode in the civil rights movement. Despite strong white resistance to blacks serving in the war, between 1917 and 1919 the mind-set of American blacks was fundamentally and permanently altered by African Americans' experiences during that conflict. To understand the civil rights revolution in the era following World War II, one must consider the African American experience in the years of the First World War.

During the war, the generally amicable relationship between the African American soldiers and French soldiers, French citizens, and colonial African and Asian troops led to a new black identity. The patriotic service of the African American soldiers, the war's lofty aims for democracy, and rapid demographic changes all contributed to opening a new front in the battle for civil rights. Likewise, these changes fostered the "Harlem Renaissance" and a positive selfimage for African Americans, often described as the "New Negro."

The analysis of diaries, mainstream newspapers, black newspapers, memoirs, letters, government documents, and secondary sources detailing the experiences of African Americans in the war and on the home-front, permits a more thorough understanding of African Americans' rapidly changing expectations and perceptions brought-on by their wartime experiences. The resulting study illuminates how the African American community was significantly influenced by black soldiers' descriptions of their interactions with the comparatively liberal French people. This analysis also includes an examination of the fear arising among the whites who sought to inhibit this transformation and African Americans' response to these proscriptive efforts.

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President Wilson's desire "to make the world safe for democracy" served to re-energize African Americans' claims that democratic America could no longer tolerate racial hypocrisy. Conversely, for many whites, the war advanced and intensified their aspirations to retain their racial hegemony. But, unlike many of the lofty goals of the war, prideful African Americans' heightened intolerance of the status quo and their war-induced commitments to bolder social and political change did not fall victim to the passing of time. These changes found expression in their music, political writings, and cultural organizations and represent an important advancement in their long struggle for equality in America.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to recognize the suggestions, editing, and dedication of my committee. Their efforts gave me ideas, support, and assurance. Likewise, I want to acknowledge my wife, Deb, who gave me nothing but support during the last four years. It was her confidence in me that both began and sustained this endeavor and I appreciate her steadfast encouragement.

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