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Book Cover for: Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, Chad L. Williams

Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era

Chad L. Williams

For the 380,000 African American soldiers who fought in World War I, Woodrow Wilson's charge to make the world "safe for democracy" carried life-or-death meaning. Chad L. Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in the global conflict and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens, committed to fighting for democracy at home and beyond. Using a diverse range of sources, Torchbearers of Democracy reclaims the legacy of African American soldiers and veterans and connects their history to issues such as the obligations of citizenship, combat and labor, diaspora and internationalism, homecoming and racial violence, "New Negro" militancy, and African American memories of the war.

Book Details

  • Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
  • Publish Date: Aug 1st, 2013
  • Pages: 472
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.20in - 6.10in - 1.30in - 1.55lb
  • EAN: 9781469609850
  • Categories: Wars & Conflicts - World War IMilitary - United StatesCultural & Ethnic Studies - American - African American & Bl

About the Author

Williams, Chad L.: - Chad L. Williams is associate professor of African and Afro-American studies at Brandeis University.

Praise for this book

A clear, unvarnished look at America in World War I. . . . Concise, descriptive and easy to read. . . . A very necessary and valuable book." --TOCWOC
A far-ranging and detailed analysis." --St. Mihiel Trip-Wire
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
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
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
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
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
A masterpiece of interpretative social history . . . . Essential."--Journal of Southern History
[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
Torchbearers of Democracy is like nothing else in the field."--Canadian Journal of History