Half American

The ambivalence many Black soldiers felt toward the U.S. in WWII was matched only by the ambivalence the U.S. showed toward principles on which WWII was fought.

Today, the military is perhaps the largest integrated institution in the US. But how it came to be this way reveals a history of racism and resistance.

Several years before the United States officially entered World War II, Black Americans were tracking the international spread of fascism.

Service members were attacked, discredited, and shortchanged on GI benefits—with lasting implications.