89% of all black troops drafted during World War I served in labor battalions, salvage companies, stevedore organizations, and infantry support units. The maintenance of racial segregation in the military was sanctioned by President Woodrow Wilson and the army’s senior and civilian command structure, including General John Pershing and the Secretary of War Newton Baker.Īdherence to this rigid policy meant that black troops, particularly draftees, were assigned to quartermaster and engineer units-occupational categories that performed the bulk of menial and unskilled labor for the army. Traditionally, black officers were allowed only to command black troops while white officers commanded both black and white units. Since the Civil War era, the US Army had been segregated and had only a small number of black officers. Unfortunately, because of institutional racism, the US Army was not prepared to provide equal treatment to African American soldiers. Nearly 368,000 African American men became soldiers in an army of 4 million. We make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make it gladly and willingly with our eyes lifted to the hills.”
W.E.B Du Bois, one of the leading African American intellectuals of this period, rallied black support for the war effort in his memorable essay titled “Close Ranks.” Du Bois wrote: “Let us, while this war lasts, forget our social grievance and close ranks shoulder to shoulder with our fellow citizens and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy. By Calvin Mitchell, Assistant Curator of Philatelyĭespite concerns about racial discrimination in America, African Americans’ enthusiasm for supporting America’s entry in World War I was quite high in 1917.
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