African Americans in WWI

African Americans in WWI

The onset of the First World War appeared to the African Americans as if they would never be part of it. As well, the war would have come as a gateway for the African Americans to attain social freedom, political breakthroughs, economic growth, among others privileges that they had since long been denied by the whites. In other words, World War I acted as a platform that would showcase the potential of the Black people politically. And based on the fact that the Blacks were not ready for the war at the beginning, maybe they had not noticed the potential it had as far as their demands for democracy and justice were concerned..

However, the experience of African Americans during the war was double-edged. In that case, following their acceptance to join the army, they stood a good position to winning great favor from the government, and maybe the racial judgments would eventually cease. Regarding the latter, more wars erupted among the Black soldiers and the White Soldiers as of 1917. That is a reflection of the experience of African Americans during the war. Despite recruiting up to 300,000 Black soldiers into the American Army, nothing was offered in return by the regime in power as of that time.

Nevertheless, World War I became an avenue that brought together African Americans than never before. As noticed, their aggression escalated, especially after a portion of them had qualified to be soldiers in the army. This was the first time heard of the Black people confronting the whites to the point of even killing them. Generally, the war’s experience brought in a new realization of being an African American before the Whites. Additionally, gender issues never mattered at that time, especially among the African American community, since women too worked hard to support the Black soldiers who had gone out to fight in the war either overseas or within America.

In summary, World War I was the greatest experience for the African American Community to notice their identity as well as their potential to fight for their right in even a more intense approach. It was a chance to get more exposed to the world as well as a new encounter of getting closer to politics, economic, and democratic platforms.