The Harlem Hellfighters Analysis

The Harlem Hellfighters, written by Max Brooks and Illustrated by Caanan White, is a skillfully written and beautifully illustrated Historical Fiction graphic novel that details a Black-American regiment’s experience in World War I. The graphic novel is brimming with inconspicuous references and cerebral content meant to show the treatment black soldiers received and how they felt during The Great War. The 15th/369th regiment was negligently treated, treated as inferiors because due to their race, and ultimately felt unwelcome in their own country.

From reading The Harlem Hellfighters, it is apparent that, though the 369th regiment was all black, they did not have the same background and had not joined the war for the same reasons. This fact is important because the 369th regiment is in some ways a microcosm of the entire United States in the early 1900s and even today. ‘Black America’ is

such a broad and undefined group, consisting of people from many different ethnic, social, and national groups, that lumping them together is ignorant of each individual’s heritage.
In the graphic novel’s beginning, examples of the aforementioned cultural/social differences are seen when many characters are first meeting to sign up for the National Guard; we see Henry Johnson, a Pullman Porter, who joined to get a “Medal a’ Honors!” (Brooks,16). However, the reader also sees men like Desmond Scatliffe, a man from the Danish West Indies who believes - “Bein’ allowed to fight’s the highest honor any American could want!” (Brooks, 16). The story’s narrator joined due to a completely different reason, though. In the beginning, on page 15, he mentions that what he had been doing in the spring of 1915 inspired him to enlist. It is not apparent until page 180 that the reader finds out that the narrator worked a job ushering at a theater for the Birth of a Nation film. His previous work experience leads the reader to assume that he joined because of the racial prejudice and violence happening in the United States at the time. Though they had different backgrounds, they still fought together with the same goal of representing the United States in the war.
To further the argument that black soldiers came from different backgrounds, the author writes some soldiers’ speech in an accent. One example is Desmond using the words “‘bout,” “ain’,” and “Bein’.” Sergeant Mandla also has an accent when he speaks; on page 21, Mandla says, “...I detest moh than con-trovassies…” (Brooks, 21). The author also illustrates linguistic differences with some characters, like Mandla, sliding in Zulu words, like “Isibungu” and “UmDidi” into their speech (Brooks 21). The latter shows that the soldiers in the 369th regiment were not just in the US by birth, some soldiers came to the US more recently.
Later, towards the novel’s middle, Brooks has a scene that illustrates not only an issue occurring in the early 1900s, but also an issue that still plagues America today. When the 369th encounters some Moroccan and Senegalese troops, one soldier makes a comment to Sergeant Mandla saying, “Hey sarge, these are your people, right? How come you don’t speak African to them?” The Sergeant responds by smacking the soldier in the back of his head in chastisement. It has been nearly a century, and this exchange could have happened yesterday; it is still difficult for Americans to understand that Africa was and is not one large homogenous nation.
In addition, the treatment that the 369th regiment received directly results from American ideologies about race, especially the mistreatment Black Americans received. The narrator says near the book’s end, that the regiment was “...set up to fail” (Brooks, 228). The latter is not unfounded, and is supported well by their experience after joining the military. They had to train with broomsticks instead of guns, because the government had given them away to private rifle clubs, and the white soldiers got brand new rifles first. The white soldiers also received uniforms first, meaning that the 369th regiment had to train in their own personal clothes (Brooks, 34). The black soldiers were equipped horribly, which shows that from the beginning they were not supported by the government/military.
The government was negligent in how they treated black regimens, treating these black regiments as if they were inferior to white regiments. One example is what happened to the 24th regiment. The Army National Guard sent to the south, an area known for racial violence, and when tensions arose - it ended in thirty-three men’s deaths. Sixteen were white, four were black, and another thirteen black men were lynched afterward. (Brooks, 40). Just after this event happened, the government sent another black regiment to the South for training. What were they thinking?
The New York Times ran an article quoting Spartanburg’s Mayor, saying the 369th regiment “...is unwelcome here…” and that he was sorry the army was stationing them there; because of “their northern ideas about race equality, they will probably expect to be treated like white men” (Brooks, 43).

On page 43, while the Mayor’s letter is being read, the comic panel’s background, is storefronts in the town plastered with signs that say “WHITES ONLY!” and “NO DOGS or COLOREDS.” The 369th regiment ended up having a small skirmish with the white townsfolk who made lynching jokes at them. The black regiment fighting back was not allowed, but luckily a white regiment was there to save them. The government’s negligence is evident in this episode of racial violence; they were sent to a dangerous area (where they were unwelcome), and then were forbidden from fighting back because they could be lynched for it. Were there no other places for them to train? Could the military not do more to protect them? These men were supposed to be fighting for America, not being fought by

America.
The graphic novel also makes it evident that black soldiers experienced inferior treatment by Americans. If lacking uniforms and weapons is not enough evidence, when they left for France, they had to travel on an inferior “old tub” of a ship, that was prone to breaking down (Brooks, 61). The white soldiers, however, got to march in a parade in their honor before their send off (Brooks, 63). When the 369th finally arrived in France - they worked as Army Stevedores; the narrator even acknowledges “they never intended to let us fight” (Brooks, 80.) To be clear, the Army sent them off to France without being trained with real weapons, they had not had uniforms, and they were sent off unceremoniously on an inferior vessel - these soldiers had nearly every disadvantage possible!
Later, while the soldiers are working in France, the United States army called them up to help the French fight; the author is creative on page 89, in juxtaposing the American flag with the French flag to show the opposing viewpoints on race between these two nations at the time. The narrator states that because the Germans were advancing, “while our own country didn’t want us...another country needed us” (Brooks, 89). The French commander even tells them that they “will also be treated as equals” while they are with the French Army (Brooks, 90). Next, the narrator elaborates on his statements from page 89 to comment on the French commander’s declaration of equality; “it was a welcome feeling just to feel so welcome” (Brooks 91).
In speaking about unequal treatment black soldiers experienced, it would be an injustice to not mention Henry Johnson, the former Pullman Porter, who was just looking for a “Medal a’ Honors” (Brooks, 16). He fought against a German attack, becoming injured in battle (Brooks, 125-129). For his actions, the French awarded Johnson “The French Croix De Guerre, the “Cross of War; ”Johnson was “the first American Black or White, to win it” (Brooks, 131-132). In the novel’s Historical Notes section, Brooks reveals that Henry Johnson was a real person and that he was actually the first American to receive the Croix De Guerre. Brooks also notes, however, that it took the United States government seventy-four years after Johnson’s death to officially recognize his heroism; Brooks also makes special note that “Members of [Johnson’s] family and supporters are still waiting for the Medal of Honor” (Brooks, 245).
It is difficult to imagine what it is like to feel unwelcome in one’s home country, but entirely welcome and treated as an equal in a foreign country - it is an odd paradox. There is a motif that spans nearly the novel’s entirety that illustrates this paradox well. In many panel backgrounds, there are soldiers singing. The song that they are sang was, “How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?” The song depicts that because the French treated black soldiers so well, and they saw so many amazing places, that the rural southerners in the US feared that they would not want to come back and work on a farm.
The story being framed as a Graphic Novel added an interesting element; it was nice seeing a visual attached to the words. Having more words would have been helpful, though, because it was sometimes difficult to decode the action from only the pictures and a few words. Using Zulu words, and German and French phrases really added an immersive and authentic to the novel, however, more translations would have been exceedingly helpful. There were some translations, but most Zulu words went untranslated - leaving the reader to a wild goose chase in an attempt to find the meaning. Lastly, in analyzing the novel, the story seems almost unfinished. Having just a bit more about the characters and their homecoming would have added closure to the work and made the novel feel complete.
In summation, black soldiers in World War I received unfair, negligent, and inferior treatment from their own government. In the Author’s Note, Brooks talks about how many know about World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen, but few know about First World War’s Harlem Hellfighters. The Harlem Hellfighters fought to bring about peace and freedom in Europe, whilst not having it at home. Their accomplishments were great in helping to win the war, but they also sparked even more debate at home about racial equality and segregation. Brooks closes out the graphic novel by commenting on the latter with a quote from W. E. B. Du BOIS: “We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting! Make way for Democracy! We saved it in France, and by the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United States of America, or know the reason why” (Brooks, 237).