Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture) - Tapa dura

Us[es] a diverse range of sources. . . . Reclaims the legacy of black soldiers and establishes the World War I era as a defining moment in the history of African Americans and peoples of African descent more broadly. . . . An important addition to a WWI library.--Lone Star Book Review Torchbearers of Democracy is like nothing else in the field.--Canadian Journal of History William's account of the experiences of African American servicemen in World War I and the transformative impact on them is a model study and one well worth reading.--Journal of American Ethnic History A far-ranging and detailed analysis.--St. Mihiel Trip-Wire A nuanced, scintillating, and highly original work.--Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians Torchbearers of Democracy provides more than a new account of a pivotal chapter in the history of African Americans in the military, it reintroduces us to those who fought for democracy.--Journal of African American History A clear, unvarnished look at America in World War I. . . . Concise, descriptive and easy to read. . . . A very necessary and valuable book.--TOCWOC A masterpiece of interpretative social history . . . . Essential.--Journal of Southern History This well-written, accessible book illustrates the impact of the war in the context of the wider freedom struggle. . . . A fine addition to the growing literature on the relationship between war and democracy." --Journal of American History Torchbearers of Democracy reclaims the legacy of black soldiers and establishes the World War I era as a defining moment in the history of African Americans and peoples of African descent more broadly. . . . This book is an important addition to a W.W.I library.--The Lone Star Book Review Williams places the experiences of African American soldiers during the World War I era front and center. In doing so, he illuminates the powerful, and often shifting, connections between citizenship and military service in a democracy.--U.S. Military History Review Torchbearers of Democracy is not a story with heroes and villains, only victims. And Williams tells the story with the exquisite skill of a scholarly storyteller.--Virginia Libraries [Williams] writes with grace, occasional flair, and a solidly readable style. The book sustains the reader's interest, even in the sections where the material is extremely familiar.--Canadian Journal of History Indispensable. . . . Bits and pieces of this story may be found in a variety of other histories, but none to date have put the entire story together with the comprehensiveness, care, research, and insight of this hefty work. Highly recommended.--Choice [The] balance between the stories of black culturalists and those of black objects of terror, along with an astonishing breadth of scholarship and a graceful style. . . makes Torchbearers of Democracy the best account yet of a complex and decisive moment in African American social, civic, and cultural history.--African American Review

On April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson thrust the United States into World War I by declaring, ""The world must be made safe for democracy."" For the 380,000 African American soldiers who fought and labored in the global conflict, these words carried life or death meaning. Relating stories bridging the war and postwar years, spanning the streets of Chicago and the streets of Harlem, from the battlefields of the American South to the battlefields of the Western Front, Chad L. Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in World War I and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens alike, committed to fighting for democracy at home and beyond. Using a diverse range of sources, Williams connects the history of African American soldiers and veterans to issues such as the obligations of citizenship, combat and labor, diaspora and internationalism, homecoming and racial violence, ""New Negro"" militancy, and African American historical memories of the war. Democracy may have been distant from the everyday lives of African Americans at the dawn of the war, but it nevertheless remained a powerful ideal that sparked the hopes of black people throughout the country for societal change. Torchbearers of Democracy reclaims the legacy of black soldiers and establishes the World War I era as a defining moment in the history of African Americans and peoples of African descent more broadly. |Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in World War I and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens alike, committed to fighting for democracy at home and beyond. Using a diverse range of sources, Williams connects the history of African American soldiers and veterans to issues such as the obligations of citizenship, combat and labor, diaspora and internationalism, homecoming and racial violence, ""New Negro"" militancy, and African American historical memories of the war.