In 1917, the most prominent spokesperson for African Americans, W.E.B. DuBois, shocked many when he threw his support behind enthusiastic and patriotic participation in World War I. He thought it was the key to expanding rights and treatment for African Americans. He was only to be later disappointed by the treatment of soldiers in France, the treatment of veterans when they came home, and the revision of history after the war to downplay accomplishments of African American soldiers. He struggled to write a book but could never come to terms with his own role in World War I and what came after. We discuss the life and legacy of the author and activist W.E.B. DuBois with Chad L. Williams, the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University. He is the author of The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War.
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