African Americans returning from World War I faced a discriminatory environment greater than that of the army in which they had served. Early twentieth-century America, especially in the South, enforced segregation and discrimination laws, often called “Jim Crow Laws.” These laws segregated African Americans from their white counterparts in schools, public transportation, and public places. Along with this effort to keep African Americans separate and unequal, whites committed violent acts against black Americans. This was the climate that greeted African American soldiers when they came home.
White men, especially in the South, feared African Americans returning from war, as they had been trained in weapons and warfare in the military. As a result, whites lynched African Americans including veterans. White Americans began race riots and attacked African American and destroyed their property. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which had supported the war effort hoping for improved race relations, assisted African American citizens and veterans in this difficult time.
Most African American Veterans came home to the same economic conditions they had left behind. Discrimination and poor educational opportunities limited African American job prospects. Some, though not all, obtained federal employment, which improved their economic status. There was also a great deal of bias against African American intellectuals and artists, although many black veterans and artists participated in a postwar movement called the Harlem Renaissance, which showcased black Americans artistic contributions to American society. While many African Americans had joined the war in the hopes that their service would help prove to the country that they deserved equal rights, their sacrifice was not recognized by many Americans. However, African American veterans and their communities would remain resilient, and throughout the rest of the twentieth century they gained more rights both in their communities and in the military.
Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1998.
Lentz-Smith, Adriane. Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009.
Shenk, Gerald E. Work or Fight!: Race, Gender, and the Draft in World War One. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Williams, Chad. Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
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