Existing comment:
African American Soldiers in World War I
During World War I, African American servicemen faced discrimination despite their service. Conceding that the government would not admit blacks to white training camps, the NAACP supported Joel Springarn's 1917 call for a segregated officers' training camp. The War Department established a separate camp in Des Moines, Iowa, and Spingarn helped recruit the 1,250 enrollees, mostly college students or graduates. But treatment of African American trainees was deplorable, and after basic training, most black servicement were assigned to labor units. |