From Kitchen to Combat: The Changing Role of African American Servicemen in

World War I

Charity HaleyDr. Tracey Owens Patton

African American & Diaspora StudiesCommunication & Journalism

PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT

Research Objective

Acknowledgements

IntroductionWhen the United States of America entered World War I on April 6, 1917, able-bodied men across the country signed up to do their part. Once the draft was instituted, Black men enlisted in record numbers and new segregated units were created to manage them. The majority of these men would not see combat and instead were organized into labor battalions. There African American servicemen would spend The Great War building roads, unloading ships, and digging ditches and graves. It was not until increasing pressure from the Black community at home led to the creation of the 92nd and 93rd divisions that African American servicemen would see combat in Europe. The Black press was instrumental in the government’s policy reversal as it provided a platform for debate and organization within the African American community.

Historiographical Methods

Purpose Statement

Importance of the Study

Dr. Tracey Owens Patton Rebecca Letts University of Wyoming McNair Scholars Program University of Wyoming Department of African American and

Diaspora Studies The University of Wyoming Department of Communication and

Journalism Zackie Salmon , Susan Stoddard, and Pilar Flores

The University of Wyoming’s collection of African American periodicals and journals from the era will be reviewed to establish the arguments within the Black community for and against the war.

Quantitative Data from the Department of the Interior housed in the University of Wyoming Government Documents Annex will be reviewed to establish the numbers and distribution of African American troops.

A review of publications by the White press will be undertaken in an effort to access prevalent attitudes of the community in regards to Black servicemen.

Analysis of these sources may demonstrate a correlation between societal pressures at home and the changing role of African American servicemen abroad.

This study will examine the societal pressures within the United States that eventually forced the government to allow African American men into combat roles.

The disparity between the treatment of Africa American servicemen and their White counterparts by the United States military during WWI is often contemptible. In spite of this treatment, African American men continued to enlist in record numbers. This research will address the treatment of African American servicemen during WWI when they were subjected to segregation, and Black regiments were assigned to service rather than combat units. The United States government would eventually allow Black men into combat during this war, but only reluctantly. This research intends to document the societal pressures that forced the government to allow African American men into combat roles. The transition will be assessed through the examination of articles from African American newspapers of the time documenting community attitudes towards The Great War. Additionally, government records will be reviewed to establish a pattern of institutionalized discrimination. Taken together, the findings will demonstrate a correlation between societal pressures at home and the changing role of African American servicemen abroad.

While copious research has been done on World War I, much of it has minimized the contributions of African American servicemen. Likewise, overlooked are the political actions of the Black communities at home that resulted in the US government allowing African American men into combat roles. This study is being done in the hopes of contributing to a holistic understanding of the African American community’s complex relationship to WWI.

William S. Elliot of the 92nd Division

Wounded Veterans in a parade in New York

New York's famous 369th Infantry arrive in New Jersey

The 92nd Division marches into a newly liberated Genoa

Designated Unit Insignia of the 369th Infantry Regiment