The crisis in the Great War: W. E. B. Du Bois and his perception of African-American participation in World War I. From: The Historian | Date: June 22, 2008| Author: Smith, Shane A. | COPYRIGHT 2008 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

I. INTRODUCTION

THIS STUDY EXPLORES the innate tension over African-American participation in the Great War. Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, as revealed by his writing in The Crisis, held the paradoxical notion of African-Americans participating in a war for "freedom" and "democracy" in Europe, when they felt themselves bereft of these at home in the United States. The pages of The Crisis, the flagship publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, ...