Essay On The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters took place during World War 1 or, from 1914 to 1918. Although, the United States didn’t join World War 1 until 1917. Most of the Harlem Hellfighters lived in Harlem, New York before they were brought to Paris for the battle during World War 1. The Harlem Hellfighters were the most vigorous soldiers during WW1. They were very hard working soldiers.
The Harlem Hellfighters were originally called the 369th infantry during WW1. They got there nickname from Germany. German soldiers were called the “Hellfighters.” The 369th infantry was made up of all African Americans from Harlem, NY. Therefore, the 369th infantry got its nickname the “Harlem Hellfighters.” These African American men had many hardships throughout the 1900s. “The first all-black fighting unit to arrive in France was New York’s 369th Infantry.” (Martin) The motto of the 369th Infantry was “God damn, let’s go.” The 369th Infantry “spent 191 days in the front-line trenches, that’s more than any other unit during WW1. There was often nothing between the German Army and Paris but these black volunteers from New York.” (Martin) “A. Phillip Randolph was pessimistic about what the war would mean for black Americans. He pointed out that Negroes had sacrificed their blood on the battlefields of every American War since the Revolution, but it still had not brought them full citizenship.” (National Archives) The 369th infantry were actually not allowed to participate in the farewell parade of New York’s National Guard, the so-called Rainbow division. The reason was that “black isn’t a color of the Rainbow.” (National Archives)
Prior to WW1, the African Americans had rights and quite a few of them. With all the rights they had, not all of them benefitted ...

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...ould to assure his men would be rewarded with a victory parade when they came home in February 1919. After returning the 369th infantry has a parade kicking off at 11:00 a.m. that stretched 7 miles long. (Gates) In Harlem, the Chicago Defender observed, February 17th, 1919, was an official holiday with black school children granted dismissal by the Board of Education. After the parade, city officials honored the troops a special dinner. A. Phillip Randolph said, “I wasn’t to congratulate you for doing your bit to make the world safe for democracy… and unsafe for hypocrisy.”
During and after the Great War blacks and left the rural South of Jim Crow Laws, lynching’s, and oppressive economic conditions also known as the Great Migration. “On a political front, participation in WW1 did little to directly advance the equal rights of African Americans.” (National Archives)