The Harlem Hellfighters

[X-Files]

Max Brooks is best known for writing World War Z, a fictional oral history of a zombie outbreak that sets itself apart from other undead lit via its detailed imagining of what geopolitics and military strategy might actually look like if a hellish plague of lurching, man-eating monsters overtook Earth. Brooks’s ability to mix the incredible and the plausible is on display again in his latest project, The Harlem Hellfighters, a research-driven graphic novel (illustrated by Canaan White) about the remarkable 369th Infantry Regiment, an all-black unit of the New York National Guard that saw heavy action in France during World War I.

 

http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/max-brooks-harlem-hellfighters-interview.html

 

 

When it comes to Brooks' new book—his first graphic novel, with illustrator Caanan White—The Harlem Hellfighters, his reverence for the subject matter is clear. We spoke with Brooks about what inspired him to document the 369th Infantry, one of the first all-black regiments to fight in World War I. Brooks also talks about the book's gruesome battle scenes, and his involvement with the Harlem Hellfighters movie.

 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2014/04/03/bookish-max-brooks-harlem-hellfighters/7250777/

[RETAC21]

"The US Army concluded on 8 April 1918 to assign the unit to the French Army for the duration of the United States' participation in the war. The men were issued French helmets and brown leather belts and pouches, although they continued to wear their U.S. uniforms. While in the United States, the 369th Regiment was never treated like similar all white units. They were subject to intense racial discrimination and were looked down upon. In France, the 369th was treated as if they were no different from any other French unit. They did not show hatred towards them and did not racially segregate the 369th. The 369th finally felt what it was like to be treated equally. The French accepted the all black, 369th Regiment with open arms and welcomed them to their country."

[X-Files]

Their first battle was during training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., in October 1917. Just weeks earlier, the arrival of another African-American regiment sparked a race riot in Houston.

Tense standoffs arose between the Hellfighters and white residents in Spartanburg. "[it was] a powder keg!" Brooks say. "The whole nation was keyed up for another race riot, and you're sending northern black troops to train in South Carolina ... the first state to secede from the Union."

But in the end, the Hellfighters left town without a major incident.

 

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/04/01/294913379/the-harlem-hellfighters-fighting-racism-in-the-trenches-of-wwi

[Colin Williams]

"The US Army concluded on 8 April 1918 to assign the unit to the French Army for the duration of the United States' participation in the war. The men were issued French helmets and brown leather belts and pouches, although they continued to wear their U.S. uniforms. While in the United States, the 369th Regiment was never treated like similar all white units. They were subject to intense racial discrimination and were looked down upon. In France, the 369th was treated as if they were no different from any other French unit. They did not show hatred towards them and did not racially segregate the 369th. The 369th finally felt what it was like to be treated equally. The French accepted the all black, 369th Regiment with open arms and welcomed them to their country."

And it's no coincidence that their battlefield performance was superior to those African American units kept under American command. No matter what other factors are in play, when your superiors expect you to perform poorly, you are likely to perform poorly.