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Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad
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About This Book
The definitive history of World War II from the African American perspective, written by civil rights expert and Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont Over one million Black men and women served in World War II. Black troops were at Normandy, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of the Bulge, serving in segregated units and performing unheralded but vital support jobs, only to be denied housing and educational opportunities on their return home. Without their crucial contributions to the war effort, the United States could not have won the war. And yet the stories of these Black veterans have long been ignored, cast aside in favor of the myth of the "Good War" fought by the "Greatest Generation." Half American is American history as you've likely never read it before. In these pages are stories of Black heroes such as Thurgood Marshall, the chief lawyer for the NAACP, who investigated and publicized violence against Black troops and veterans; Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., leader of the Tuskegee Airmen, who was at the forefront of the years-long fight to open the Air Force to Black pilots; Ella Baker, the civil rights leader who advocated on the home front for Black soldiers, veterans, and their families; James Thompson, the 26-year-old whose letter to a newspaper laying bare the hypocrisy of fighting against fascism abroad when racism still reigned at home set in motion the Double Victory campaign; and poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a war correspondent for the Black press. Their bravery and patriotism in the face of unfathomable racism is both inspiring and galvanizing. In a time when the questions World War II raised regarding race and democracy in America remain troublingly relevant and still unanswered, this meticulously researched retelling makes for urgently necessary reading.
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Reviews
"An incisive overview of African Americans during World War II ..."
"He draws attention to the role played by Black personnel in logistics ..."
"Though these names will be familiar to some, the grace with which Delmont weaves them into a broader narrative of contemporary Black experience sheds a harsh light on the pervasive — and often unsuccessful — struggle for fair treatment at every level of the American military."
"Delmont's work restores these times to our collective memory."
"What is sure to become the standard text on the experience of Black U.S."
"This book would have been a significant contribution to our knowledge of World War II history even if Delmont had only focused on the performance of African American combat troops ..."
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