Fighting in the Jim Crow Army: Black Men and Women Remember World War II

by Maggi M. Morehouse

Fighting in the Jim Crow Army is filled with first-hand accounts of everyday life in 1940s America. The soldiers of the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions speak of segregation in the military and racial attitudes in army facilities stateside and abroad. The individual battles of black soldiers reveal a compelling tale of discrimination, triumph, resistance, and camaraderie. What emerges from the multitude of voices is a complex and powerful story of individuals who served their country and subsequently made demands to be recognized as full-fledged citizens.

Morehouse, whose father served in the 93rd Infantry Division, has built a rich historical account around personal interviews and correspondence with soldiers, National Archive documents, and military archive materials. Augmented with historical and recent photographs, Fighting in the Jim Crow Army combines individual recollections with official histories to form a vivid picture of life in the segregated Army.

In the historiography of World War II very little has emerged from the perspective of the black foot soldier. Morehouse allows the participants to tell the tale of the watershed event of their participation in World War II as well as the ongoing black freedom struggle.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2000

Reviews

[jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb! The stories your father and grandfather should have told you.

[Darius Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I would recommend this book to someone who doesn't know about black culture, or wants more insight and information on the topic. I personally enjoy learning about African American's History in America and in World War 2. I love how Maggie Morhouse provided the reader with insight of how it really was during that era. Throughout the book the author interviewed World War 2 veterans, who told us about their background and upbringing, and how all their paths ended up with them being soldiers for the U.S Army. African Americans didn't really have a say in what part of the armed forces they wanted to serve in. Some wanted to serve in the Navy and some the Marines, but most of them were sent to the army. Blacks had a important part in our victory in World War 2. The movie: Red Tails did a great job portraying the Tuskegee Airmen and the inequality that they faced. So many people sacrificed their dreams to fight in the war, but for many African Americans it was their only way out of poverty. One notable, but unrelated thing I would like to add is that the author was searching for information on her father when she stumbled across the untold story of many blacks.

[Joshua Dawsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my World War II History Class and I loved it. The oral histories throughout the book help provide a better understanding for what life was like for African Americans during this time. There was so much depth to this book that I really enjoyed learning about. It was also unique to read about different soldiers ideologies and beliefs and how not all of the African American soldiers agreed on every topic, or believed the same things. I think this book does a good job of providing insight on African American soldiers during this time.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being in the armed forces, I was not able to understand some of the "jargon". Or maybe it is not being from that time. The stories were interesting and some quite amusing.

This book gave me a different understanding/angle on politics and the civil rights fight.

I am more aware of what the armed forces have done and are doing for the people residing here in the United States of America.

Thank you for this book Ms. Moorehouse.

[Margaret Drake]

Excellent! Popularized doctoral research book. Oral histories.