History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With MexicoSweeney, William Allison
History
History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico
Sweeney, William Allison
African American soldiers; African Americans -- History -- 1877-1964; World War, 1914-1918 -- Participation, African American
Negro officers of the division told Dr. Moton this propaganda had no
effect. He said the Negroes, especially those from the South, were
anxious to return home, most of them imbued with the ambition to become
useful, law-abiding citizens. Some, however, were apprehensive that they
might not be received in a spirit of co-operation and racial good will.
This anxiety arose mainly from accounts of increased lynchings and
persistent rumors that the Ku Klux Clan was being revived in order, so
the rumor ran, "to keep the Negro soldier in his place."
After voicing his disbelief in these rumors, Dr. Moton said:
"The result of this working together in these war activities
brought the whites and Negroes into a more helpful relationship. It
is the earnest desire of all Negroes that these helpful cooperating
relationships shall continue."
In conversation with a morale officer the writer was told that the
principal problem with the Negroes, especially after the selective
draft, was in classifying them fairly and properly. Some were in every
way healthy but unfit for soldiers. Others were of splendid intelligence
and manifestly it was unjust to condemn them to the ranks when so many
had excellent qualities for non-commissioned and commissioned grades.
The Service of Supply solved the problem so far as the ignorant were
concerned; all could serve in that branch.
The officer stated that the trouble with the War Department and with
too many other people, is the tendency to treat Negroes as a homogeneous
whole, which cannot be done. Some are densely ignorant and some are
highly intelligent and well educated. In this officer's opinion, there
is as much difference between different types of Negroes as there is
between the educated white people and the uneducated mountaineers and
poor whites of the South; or between the best whites of this and other
countries and the totally ignorant peasants from the most oppressed
nations of Europe.
In the early stages of the war, there was a great scarcity of
non-commissioned officers--sergeants and corporals, those generals in
embryo, upon whom so much depends in waging successful war. It was a
great mistake in the opinion of this informant, and he stated that the
view was shared by many other officers, to take men from white units to
act as non-commissioned officers in Negro regiments, when there were
available so many intelligent, capable Negroes serving in the ranks, who
understood their people and would have delighted in filling the
non-commissioned grades. He also thought the same criticism applied to
selections for commissioned grades.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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