W. E. B. Du Bois & African American Contributions to World War I

Over 350,000 African American men joined the United States military during World War I, serving valiantly despite discrimination and slander. Historian and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois had hoped that their patriotism would help them gain respect and equality, but after the war it was quickly evident that would not be the case. Du Bois spent the next several decades attempting to tell the full story of Black soldiers in the Great War, but despite a vast archive of materials entrusted to him and his own towering intellect, Du Bois was never able to craft a coherent narrative of their participation. Joining me in this episode to discuss Du Bois and his relationship with World War I is Dr. Chad L. WIlliams , the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University, and the author of The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War . Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag , composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “ All Of No Man's Land Is Ours ,” written by James Europe and Noble Sissle, with vocals by Noble Sissle; the song was recorded…