Debating the use of African Americans as soldiers -- The fight for a segregated officer training camp -- Life at Fort Des Moines -- Across the Atlantic; fighting two wars -- Legal battles against segregation -- The Black press: is the pen mightier than the sword -- Mentoring the next generation -- The military desegregated -- Conclusion
Summary
In April 1917, Congress approved President Woodrow Wilson's request to declare war on the Central Powers, thrusting the United States into World War I with the rallying cry, ""The world must be made safe for democracy."" Two months later 1,250 African American men--college graduates, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, reverends and non-commissioned officers--volunteered to become the first blacks to receive officer training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. Denied the full privileges and protections of democracy at home, they prepared to defend it abroad in hopes that their service would be rewarded with
