Posted on Mar 4, 2022
Kansas City veterans' WWI fight shows democracy is durable — and a work in progress
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World War I was cast as an effort to make the world safe for democracy. A photography exhibit at Kansas City's World War I Memorial and Museum shows that was a complicated prospect for the African Americans who served.
Even before the current war in Europe was cast as an effort to make the world safe for self-determination, Americans of all political stripes worried about the health of democracy at home.
A collection of World War I photos housed in Kansas City shows, in beautiful black-and-white detail, another time democracy's durability and promise came into question.
For some of the African Americans in the military during what is sometimes referred to as "the war to end all wars," time serving in France prompted a curious revelation.
Even before the current war in Europe was cast as an effort to make the world safe for self-determination, Americans of all political stripes worried about the health of democracy at home.
A collection of World War I photos housed in Kansas City shows, in beautiful black-and-white detail, another time democracy's durability and promise came into question.
For some of the African Americans in the military during what is sometimes referred to as "the war to end all wars," time serving in France prompted a curious revelation.
Kansas City veterans' WWI fight shows democracy is durable — and a work in progress
Posted from kcur.org
WWI
Kansas City
Democracy
Museums
Photography
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The call to fight for democracy
As the war started, many Black communities debated whether to fight in the service of a country that didn’t grant them many basic rights, according to Vogt.
“And yet, when war was declared … basically on the premise of making the world safe for democracy, you have a community of Black Americans … who show this patriotism for a variety of different reasons,” Vogt said. “Including, they wanted to show they were deserving of that full citizenship that they were not yet receiving inside the United States.”
Though African Americans made up only 10% of the country’s population, they comprised 13% of the U.S. armed services during WWI. According to Vogt, 80% of Black troops were assigned a support role in the war, as opposed to a combat role. The rate was 60% for everyone else."...
..."The call to fight for democracy
As the war started, many Black communities debated whether to fight in the service of a country that didn’t grant them many basic rights, according to Vogt.
“And yet, when war was declared … basically on the premise of making the world safe for democracy, you have a community of Black Americans … who show this patriotism for a variety of different reasons,” Vogt said. “Including, they wanted to show they were deserving of that full citizenship that they were not yet receiving inside the United States.”
Though African Americans made up only 10% of the country’s population, they comprised 13% of the U.S. armed services during WWI. According to Vogt, 80% of Black troops were assigned a support role in the war, as opposed to a combat role. The rate was 60% for everyone else."...
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