"We return from the slavery of uniform which the world's madness demanded us to don to the freedom of civil garb. We stand again to look America squarely in the face and call a spade a spade. We sing: This country of ours, despite all its better souls have done and dreamed, is yet a shameful land ...
We return.
We return from fighting.
We return fighting." W.E.B. Dubois
Upon the return of African American veterans to the United States, white Americans viewed them with an increased hostility due to some of the freedoms they had experienced in France (mostly relations with white, French women).. Added to that was the competition for jobs Racial tensions escalated and violence towards the black communities manifested in the form of lynchings, mass shootings, and property destruction. However, to the surprise of the white perpetrators, the black community fought back. Having contributed to the war effort both on the homefront and abroad, the black community refused to cower in the face oppression after fighting a war against that very thing. More the 200 casualties resulted from the violence which spanned the North and the South.
By Suzanne Tetteh