We The People - The Harlem Hellfighters in World War I (virtual) Online
Generations of Americans have used military service to expand notions of citizenship and advance civil rights. As a result, military service has become a tool to broaden the concept of “the people” and what it means to be an American.
On Dec. 27, 1917, the all-Black 369th Infantry Regiment docked at Brest, France. The all-Black regiment, comprised of men from Harlem, New York and surrounding cities, were assigned to the Service of Supplies – unloading ships and building roads and railroads. Three months later, the regiment was transferred to the French Army and earned a new nickname: “Hellfighters.” In the 191 days the men spent on the front lines no ground was lost and no man was captured. Learn how their actions along with the thousands of other Black World War I veterans contributed to the Allied victory.
In this We the People talk, examine the legacy of their service and its impact on the civil rights movement.