A Black Regiment in World War I
A Black Regiment in World War I
In this chapter, Harry Haywood talks about his experience as a member of a Black regiment that fought in World War I. Because of his bitter encounter with racism in a school in Minneapolis, Haywood quit school and became a part of the small Black community with which he completely identified. Included in the Black community and among his new friends were a relatively large number of mulattoes, the progeny of mixed marriages between Scandinavian women and Black men. It was in Minneapolis that he also reached a heightened stage of racial awareness. When his family moved to Chicago, he became friends with several members of the Eighth Illinois, Black National Guard Regiment. Intrigued by their experiences, he joined the Eighth Regiment in the winter of 1917. He was nineteen at the time. The regiment gave Haywood a feeling of pride.
Keywords: racism, Harry Haywood, World War I, Minneapolis, Chicago, Eighth Illinois, Black National Guard Regiment, Blacks
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