Course Description

Instructor: Charlie Richards, JD

Over 380,000 African Americans served as soldiers in the U.S. Army in World War I, yet despite their patriotism, and their contribution to the war effort, their story has, for the most part, been written out of U.S. history. Despite the deeply racist society in which they lived, they answered their country’s call to service. Hearing Woodrow Wilson’s clarion call to “make the world safe for democracy,� they hoped that their service would help to bring full democracy to the United States. They fought a two front war, first against institutional racism in the U.S. Army, then against the Germans. Overcoming all odds, they made a large and invaluable contribution to the Allied war effort. But rather than receiving the full gratitude of our nation for their meritorious service, they were slandered as cowards, and their true story was intentionally written out of mainstream U.S. history. They have been done a grave historic injustice. They deserve to have their story told.