'Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad' by Matthew F. Delmont sheds light on Black Americans who have been left out of history books despite helping the Allies win the war
One reason for that is “plain old racism,” argues Matthew F. Delmont, author of a new book, an encyclopedia of Black Americans’ contributions to, out Oct. 18. Military planners, Black newspapers, and Black families promoted Black Americans’ heroic work during the Second World War, but “there was an intentional effort in the years after the war to write Black troops out of the story,” Delmont says.loves to feature in movies and TV shows.
Black Americans were blocked from combat roles, but near the end of the war, the U.S. needed more troops in combat and asked Black Americans to volunteer. Carter did and served in the 12th Armored Division, earning a Medal of Honor, posthumously, for fighting in Germany—one of seven Black Americans to receive the award for service in World War II.Adams, a member of the Women’s Army Corps, served as the leader of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
The 6888th was also the largest unit of Black women to serve overseas during the war, and Adams saw her duties as a way to show white Americans what Black women could do. “What we had was a large group of adult Negro women who had been victimized, in one way or another, by racial bias,” Adams later said. “This was one opportunity for us to stand together for a common cause.
“Evers and Roundtree are part of a generation of Black veterans who use their service as a way to launch their involvement with the civil rights movement,” says Delmont. “They’re making sure that the United States is a place where freedom and democracy will be true for all people, and they come back and fight for that.”
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