During the World War I period, W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the most influential African American voices in the country at the time, wrote extensively about African American involvement in the war effort in The Crisis. When the US declared war, Du Bois threw himself into the war effort and advocated for the use of black soldiers—especially black officers—in the US Army. In the July 1918 issue of The Crisis, Du Bois wrote his “Close Ranks” editorial encouraging African American’s to join the war effort stating, “Let us, while this war lasts, forget our special grievances and close our ranks shoulder to shoulder with our own white fellow citizen and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy.”
Shortly after the war ended and the reality of democracy denied to African Americans set in, Du Bois took a completely contrary viewpoint, declaring:
We return.
We return from fighting.
We return fighting.
Help us commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice to end World War 1 and celebrate the opening of The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s new exhibit, We Return Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/we-return-fighting
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) was the founding editor of The Crisis, the official publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which presented articles and essays on civil rights, history, politics, and culture. This July 1919 issue is The Crisis’s annual “Education Number,” featuring images, editorials, and articles about African American education. In addition, this issue includes an editorial by Du Bois discussing the treatment of African American soldiers in Europe during the war.
