Online Resources: African Americans in World War II

 

A platoon of African-American troops surrounds a farm house in a town in France, as they prepare to eliminate a German sniper holding up an advance. Omaha Beachhead, near Vierville-sur-Mer, France." June 10, 1944. Todd. SC190120. Photo credit.

Some primary resources:  videos

• Three Fronts: Testimonies of Black American World War Two Veterans by Lili Bernard
• Segregated Warriors: The Black Experience in WWII (Youtube interview of about 15 minutes) There is actually quite a bit of information on Youtube. See, for example
• Black Issues Forum: NC's Black WWII Experience
• The WWII Patriot -- Wendell Pierce on His Father and African-Americans in WWII
• The Experiences of Black Soldiers (UNC-TV documentary of the experiences of black North Carolinians in World War II)
• The War: Stories From The Northwest: WWII Vernon Baker (MoH recipient)
• KETC Your Stories-St. Louis Remembers WWII
• African Americans in World War II: A Legacy of Patriotism and Valor Part 4 (1997).wmv

Some primary resources:  documents

• Library of Congress, Experiencing War, Stories from the Veterans History Project:  Buffalo Soldiers:  The 92nd in Italy (These are mostly audio interviews, but some of the interviews include a transcript. See, for example, the Interview with Rothacker Smith [3/24/2006].)
• Pictures of African Americans During World War II (National Archives)
• Abby Callard, Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier [James Daugherty} (article in Smithsonian Magazine)
• General Patton’s Forgotten Troops: African American Soldiers in World War II in Their Own Words (* pdf) (very short interviews; really a set up for a high school interview project)

Black Military Oral History Project (Run by Howard University, this is a great archival resource. The problem is that none of the materials are online yet.)

Some resources:  links

• African-Americans in World War II
• The History Place: African-Americans in World War II  (single page of selected photos)
• Robert Hodges, Jr., African American 92nd Infantry Division Fought in Italy During World War II (a short article)
• Ulysses Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops (Unites States Army in World War II, Special Studies)

Some resources:  videos

• Eric Foner on World War II, pt 1: African-Americans' experience
• Inside Buffalo: Black US soldiers in Italy in WW2 (Trailer) (documentary that tells the story of the 92nd infantry division)
• Tulane: The African American Experience of World War II (conference)