1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: I'm Happy Saturday, everyone. Today's classic episode looks at the 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: Harlem Hellfighters. This is a segregated army unit in World 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: War One, and it also specifically focuses on Henry Johnson, 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: who was a member of that unit who was posthumously 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: awarded the Medal of Honor on June two. One of 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 1: the things that this episode talks about is the connection 7 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: between returning World War Two veterans and the Civil rights 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: movement in the United States, and why there wasn't a 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: similar movement when black veterans returned from World War One. 10 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: A piece of that discussion is Red Summer, which we 11 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: talked about in more detail in our episode from June three. 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: This episode originally came out on November two. Welcome to 13 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of I 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy 15 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frown. Pretty recently, we talked about 16 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: Maccario Garcia, and we talked in that episode about how 17 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: World War Two often comes up as one of the 18 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: factors of many that led to the United States Civil 19 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: Rights movement. So told very simply soldiers who had put 20 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: their lives on the line to serve their country and 21 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: to fight against oppression abroad, came back home to fight 22 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: against depression where they actually lived. And this story is 23 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: usually told as it related to African American soldiers in 24 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: World War Two, and in this particular case of the 25 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: episode we already did. Maccario Garcia was a Mexican national, 26 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,199 Speaker 1: so after he returned from World War Two, his experience 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: being denied service at a Texas restaurant contributed to a 28 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: social movement for equal rights for Mexican Americans and other 29 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: Hispanics and Latinos who were living in that part of 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: the United States. So when we did that episode on 31 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: Macario Garcia, we hinted that World War Two was not 32 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: the only time that happened, that the subject of that 33 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: was going to be in an upcoming episode, and that 34 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: is two days episod sawed. We are going to tell 35 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: this story about World War One's effect on civil rights 36 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: in the United States by talking about the Harlem Health Fighters. 37 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: This was a segregated regiment that served in combat in 38 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: World War One, So we're going to start by talking 39 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: about the regiment itself. Then we are going to talk 40 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: about one of its most decorated members, as an example 41 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: of the just really exceptional valor and courage that the 42 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: health fighters exhibited while they were serving in World War One. 43 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: And lastly, we're going to talk about why World War 44 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 1: One does not come up very often when we're talking 45 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: about things that inspired civil rights activity in the United States. 46 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 1: It's much more overshadowed by World War Two. And whenever 47 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: we talk about segregation on the podcast, we make it 48 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: a point to note that the practice was not something 49 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: that was confined to the South. That sort of rumor 50 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: sort of persists. Yeah, somebody emailed us about it the 51 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: other day. Even though I feel like we keep saying it, 52 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: We're gonna say it again today very directly. Not just South. 53 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: Although formalized, legally enforced segregation persisted in the South longer 54 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: than it did than it did in many other parts 55 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: of the United States, And in a lot of ways 56 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: it was most obvious there, which is also here where 57 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: we are. Uh, segregation really existed all over the nation. 58 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: For example, President Woodrow Wilson, who had promised in his 59 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: campaign to treat African Americans fairly if he was elected, 60 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: instead started taking steps to allow segregation of federal government 61 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: positions almost immediately after his inauguration in nine many many 62 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: black federal workers all over the country were segregated or 63 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: flat out dismissed. As a result, the United States armed 64 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: forces were segregated as well, and the years leading up 65 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: to World War One, the Marines did not accept black 66 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: soldiers at all. The Navy did accept a few, although 67 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: most of them were restricted to support and manual labor roles, 68 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: so most black soldiers who served in the military wound 69 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: up serving in the Army, which was ggregated. There were 70 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: also almost no black Army officers, and the black Army 71 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: officers who did exist were not ever placed in command 72 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: of white soldiers. They were only placed in command of 73 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: black soldiers. In addition to being restricted to segregated units, 74 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: black soldiers serving in World War One faced violence while 75 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: still in the United States before being sent overseas. These 76 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: men were sent into the South, sometimes the Deep South, 77 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: to be trained, and large numbers of armed black men 78 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: were often explicitly not wanted in the Southern States, and 79 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: the sudden influx of so many black soldiers led to 80 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 1: some very real hostilities and on more than one occasion, 81 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: riots and murders. The army has also been fairly candid 82 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: and acknowledging that it discriminated specifically against black soldiers during 83 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: this time, apart from just placing them in segregated units, which, 84 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: as we have talked and many other podcasts before, segregation 85 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: based on races inherently discriminatory. So command at this point 86 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: did not think that black men were suited for combat. 87 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: They were viewed as untrustworthy and lazy and complacent, so 88 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: overwhelmingly black soldiers were assigned to work as manual labors. 89 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: So most of the two hundred thousand black soldiers who 90 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: went overseas in World War One wound up working as stevedor's. 91 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: They dug ditches, they dug latrines, and to be clear, 92 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: this was absolutely essential work. It needed to be done, 93 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: but it was also often backbreaking and degrading, and overwhelmingly 94 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: being assigned to only the black soldiers. Black soldiers were 95 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: also the ones who were frequently tasked with burying the dead. 96 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: Only about forty two thousand Black soldiers saw combat in 97 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: World War One. These men served in the ninety second 98 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: and ninety three combat divisions. The ninety two mostly comprised 99 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: men who had been drafted along with their officers and 100 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: was part of the muse Agne Offensive in nineteen eighteen. 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: This offensive did not go as well as hoped, and 102 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: the ninety two wound up being a scapegoat for everything 103 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: that had gone wrong. Their time in combat was brief. 104 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: On the other hand, was made up primarily of National 105 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: Guard units, including the fifteenth New York Colored Regiment. About 106 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: seventy percent of the men in this regiment were from 107 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: Harlem in New York, and these were the men who 108 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: would go on to be nicknamed the Harlem Health Fighters. 109 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: The ninety three Combat Division, under the command of Colonel 110 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: William Hayward, wound up essentially being loaned to France to 111 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: fill a labor shortage in their own army. And this 112 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: was in spite of the fact that when the United 113 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: States entered the war, the President had assured the population 114 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: that US soldiers would not be on loan to other armies. 115 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: They would be fighting as American units under American command. 116 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: So when it went overseas, the fifteenth New York Colored 117 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: Regiment was renamed the three hundred sixty ninth Infantry, and 118 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: the three hundred sixty nine served a hundred and ninety 119 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,679 Speaker 1: one days in combat. This was longer than any other 120 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 1: American unit in World War One. Contrary to the American 121 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: military's assumption that black soldiers were outfit for combat and 122 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: for their expectations for how black soldiers would perform, the 123 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: three sixty nine Inventory became one of the most decorated 124 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: units to serve in the war. Much like German forces 125 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: named Russia's all female night bombers the night Witches in 126 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: World War Two, they nicknamed the three nine the bloeterstick 127 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: Shvartza Mana or the Bloodthirsty black Men in World War One, 128 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: and this nickname was eventually translated into the hell Fighters. 129 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: In addition to their consistent valor and high performance in combat, 130 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: the three sixty nine Inventories marching band was also a 131 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: skilled and talented one and was one of the ways 132 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: that jazz music made its way from the United States 133 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: to France during the war. The Harlem hell Fighters time 134 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: in combat was so prolonged and it touched so many 135 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: actions on the Western Front that it's actually difficult to 136 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: get a sense of their remarkable heroism in valor. So 137 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: to get a glimpse of it, uh, we are going 138 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: to talk about one of their most incredible members who 139 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: really exemplifies what we're talking about. But first we are 140 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: going to have a word from one of our great sponsors. 141 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: So we're going to tell the story of how the 142 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: ninth Infantry was pretty incredible in their service by talking 143 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: about specifically the story of Henry Johnson. Henry Johnson was 144 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: born William Henry Johnson in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and 145 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: he moved to New York when he was a teenager. 146 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: Once he got there, he worked at a variety of jobs, 147 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: most of them involving manual labor, until he eventually became 148 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: a red cat porter at the Albany, New York train station. Later, 149 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: he joined the National Guard unit that would become part 150 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: of the Harlem hell Fighters. In May of nineteen eighteen, 151 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,599 Speaker 1: Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, both of them then privates, 152 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: were acting as centuries at a lookout post in the 153 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: Argon Forest on the Western Front. John Hnson heard the 154 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: sound of someone snipping through barbed wire. Concluding that this 155 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: was a German advance, he sent Roberts to go for help, 156 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: called for help himself, and then lobbed grenades at the 157 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: source of the sound. It was indeed a German advance, 158 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: and the Germans returned fire with both grenades and bullets. 159 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: Roberts turned back to try to help Johnson, and both 160 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: men were hit. Roberts was actually hurt so badly that 161 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: he was not able to continue fighting, so he passed 162 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: grenades to Johnson, and Johnson threw them at the approaching 163 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: Germans until he ran out, and then Johnson got his 164 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: rifle and he fired upon the advancing German soldiers until 165 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: his weapon jammed after he accidentally tried to use an 166 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: American clip with a French rifle. At this point, the 167 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: German soldiers closed into hand to hand range, and so 168 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: Johnson tried to fight them off basically by swinging his 169 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: rifle like a club until the butt of it literally splintered. 170 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: And Johnson, we should point out, was not a large man. 171 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: He was only about five ft four you wait, about 172 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: a hundred dirty pounds, and once his rifle was destroyed, 173 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: he was struck in the head and knocked down. But 174 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: then he saw that the German soldiers were trying to 175 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: take the injured Private Roberts prisoner, so Johnson managed to 176 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: get to his feet. He pulled out the only weapon 177 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: he had left, which was his bolo knife, and he 178 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: fought back with that while trying to drag Roberts to safety. Fortunately, 179 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: at this point, the sounds of gunfire and grenades and 180 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: their calls for help had brought other soldiers to their aid, 181 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: so Johnson continued trying to drag Roberts away from the 182 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: fighting until he lost consciousness. Fortunately that was when reinforcements 183 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: arrived and the German soldiers who were still upright fled. 184 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: In the morning, it was revealed that then Private Johnson 185 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: had single handedly killed four enemy soldiers and wounded somewhere 186 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: between ten and twenty more, all while he was injured 187 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: himself with twenty one wounds, sustained in his combat and 188 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,760 Speaker 1: refusing to allow his compatriot to be taken captive. So 189 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: both men were awarded the lot of Gear, which is 190 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: the French military decoration for valor and heroism. This made 191 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,559 Speaker 1: Johnson and Roberts the first American privates of any race 192 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: to earn this recognition, and Johnson and Roberts were not 193 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: the only members of the Harlem Heal fighters to ultimately 194 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: be awarded the Quadi gear for their valor. All in all, 195 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,079 Speaker 1: a hundred and seventy one individual members of the Harlem 196 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: Heal Fighters received the Quadi gear, and the unit as 197 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: a whole was awarded one as well for capturing say 198 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: Show while advancing ahead of French and other American lines. 199 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: The Harlem Heal Fighters were the first to reach the 200 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: Rhine after the armistice, and they were commended again and 201 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: again for their valor. So basically they performed above and 202 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: beyond the call for any combat unit, and especially in 203 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: a way that flew in the face of what the 204 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: American command was expecting of them. Yeah, I don't think 205 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:53,959 Speaker 1: you could get a much more um, kind of poignant 206 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 1: portrait of heroism. Right. So, roughly eight hundred Harlem Hell 207 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: Fighters lost our lives in Europe. About three thousand others 208 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: returned home from the war. In February of nineteen nineteen, 209 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 1: they had a welcome home parade in which they marched 210 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: up Fifth Avenue in New York and into their home 211 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: neighborhood of Harlem. And this parade was in part to 212 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: make up for the fact that on their departure from 213 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: New York in December of nineteen seventeen, they had not 214 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: been permitted to take part in the New York National 215 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: Guards farewell Parade through New York City. The New York 216 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,680 Speaker 1: National Guard was known as the Rainbow Division because it 217 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: included members from twenty seven states, and the reason for 218 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: the fifteenth New York Regiment's exclusion was black is not 219 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: a color of the Rainbow. On their return, however, the 220 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: Harlem health Fighters received a legitimate heroes welcome. Accounts very 221 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: wildly about how many people were there for the parade. 222 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: You will find news sources that site anywhere from two 223 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: hundred thousand people to more than two million. Johnson was 224 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: riding in a car for injured veterans, and in spite 225 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: of the fact that he had a shattered foot that 226 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: was held together with the metal plate, he stood up 227 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 1: to wave at them, and people called him Black Death. 228 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: The response from both white and black onlookers at the 229 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: parade was so a brilliantly positive that too many it 230 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,559 Speaker 1: was a symbol of hope for improved race relations to come. 231 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: And this was bolstered by the fact that President Theodore 232 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: Roosevelt called Johnson one of the five bravest Americans to 233 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: serve in the war. That's high praise, and the army 234 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: used his image on recruitment posters and to sell victory 235 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: War stamps. I couldn't find a picture of this actual advertisement, 236 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: but reportedly what it says signed is Johnson licked a 237 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 1: dozen Germans. How many stamps have you LICKD I looked 238 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: for I because yeah, that's some copy right. So all 239 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 1: of this Johnson's fame is a war hero. The overwhelming 240 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: tide of support for the returning black veterans, this overall 241 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: theme that the war had been fought in a quote 242 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: to make the world safe for democracy, gave a lot 243 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: of people hope that this signaled a major change in 244 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,959 Speaker 1: the social and legal status of African Americans and the 245 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 1: United States. Sadly, this was not to be true, and 246 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about why and how after another 247 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: brief word from a sponsor. So, when he was committing 248 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: American troops to World War One, Woodrow Wilson very famously 249 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: said that quote the world must be made safe for democracy. 250 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: We alluded to that just before the break, But when 251 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: African American soldiers returned home to find that they were 252 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: still the targets of segregation, discrimination, and oppression, it really 253 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: seemed like there was an unspoken for white people at 254 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: the end of that sentence, hoping to tie the fight 255 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: for civil rights to the ideals that had underpinned the 256 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: United states very involvement in the war, and the fact 257 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 1: that so many black soldiers had returned as highly decorated heroes, 258 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: black civil rights leaders called for action. The idea of 259 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: making the world safe for democracy came up again and 260 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: again in art, call, speeches, pamphlets, and other materials about 261 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: equal rights for black citizens. In May of nineteen nineteen, 262 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,119 Speaker 1: for example, W. E. B. D. Boys wrote quote, returning soldiers, 263 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: we return, we return from fighting. We return fighting make 264 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: way for democracy. We saved it in France, and by 265 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United 266 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: States of America. Or know the reason why. But this 267 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: is not the war that winds up being referenced in 268 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: terms of how it affected civil rights. That distinction always, 269 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: as we've said, goes to World War Two. The biggest 270 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: reason for this is that it's much easier to frame 271 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: World War Two as a more positive story. Following World 272 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: War Two, returning black veterans added their voices to a 273 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: growing grass grassroots movement all over the nation, which coalesced 274 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: into what we know is the civil rights movement today. 275 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: And although there was definitely a violent backlash and lots 276 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: of resistance. That was a hallmark tow part of this movement. 277 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: It did eventually lead to civil rights legislation that was 278 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: meant to help put Black Americans on more equal footing. 279 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: That's an oversimplified way to look at World War two, 280 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: but no amount of oversimplification can put the years following 281 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: World War One into such a positive light. World War 282 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: One ended on November eleventh of nineteen eighteen. The following summer, 283 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: violence broke out all over the United States, driven by 284 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: a number of social and economic factors. One was a 285 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: backlash against advocacy for equal treatment of African Americans, especially 286 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: as others began to view this movement as militant. But 287 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: also in play was the return of soldiers who had 288 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: fought in the war, colliding with what's known as the 289 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: Great Migration. So in the Great Migration, which peaked between 290 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen and nineteen twenty, huge numbers of African Americans 291 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: living in the South moved north. Many of them were 292 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: fleeing poverty and social and political oppression. People who had 293 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: been living as sharecroppers in the South moved north to 294 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: get industrial jobs, many of which were tied to the 295 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: war effort in the hope of getting better incomes and 296 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: more freedom. So this dramatically shifted the racial landscape and 297 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 1: many northern cities. This also meant that many white veterans 298 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 1: in the North returned home to find that their industrial 299 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: jobs had been filled by black workers who had moved 300 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,959 Speaker 1: up from the South. Returning soldiers of all races and 301 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,920 Speaker 1: ethnicities wound up in competition for a shrinking supply of jobs. 302 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:28,919 Speaker 1: As a result of these and many other factors, the 303 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: summer of nineteen nineteen was so violent and so deadly 304 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: that it came to be known as Red Summer. Eighty 305 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: three people are known to have been lynched in nineteen nineteen, 306 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: up from sixty four in nineteen eighteen who Klex Klan 307 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:47,640 Speaker 1: activity also spread, especially in the South, and then there 308 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: were what is often described as race riots, which broke 309 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,400 Speaker 1: out in Washington, d c. Chicago, Omaha, Knoxville, and many 310 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: other cities. However, as we discussed in our episode on 311 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: the Tulsa race it and Black Wall Street, the term 312 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: race riot is often a misnomer because it suggests racial 313 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: violence in which the races involved are equal aggressors. It 314 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: was a misnomer during the destruction of Black Wall Street 315 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: in Tulsa, and it was a misnomer. During Red Summer, 316 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: overwhelmingly the instigators in Red Summer were white citizens, and 317 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: overwhelmingly Black people, along with their homes, businesses, and entire neighborhoods, 318 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: were the victims. One of the most dramatic moments in 319 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: Red Summer took place that July when a riot broke 320 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: out in Chicago after a black teenager drowned. He had 321 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: been using a customarily whites only beach and people did 322 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 1: not like that and they stoned him, so he drowned 323 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: after being stoned. As a result of this particular riot, 324 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: almost forty people were killed, five hundred were injured, and 325 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: about a thousand Black families were left homeless after a 326 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 1: white mob burned their homes down. The last major event 327 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: in Red Summer actually took place in October and he 328 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: lay in Arkansas, black sharecroppers, attempting to organize themselves to 329 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: advocate for better treatment were massacred by a white mob. 330 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: Somewhere between one hundred and two hundred Black sharecroppers were killed. 331 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: In the aftermath, many more black share croppers were arrested 332 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,120 Speaker 1: and jailed. Many were put on trial, and some were 333 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: sentenced to death by all white juries even though they 334 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: had actually been the victims and not the instigators. So 335 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: that's why, even though World War One inspired a ground 336 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: swell of organized advocacy for equal rights for black citizens, 337 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: it doesn't come to the forefront very often. And it's 338 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: also not a particularly good place to end this episode, 339 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: So we are going to turn back to the story 340 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: of Henry Johnson for a moment. So there's widespread belief 341 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: that Johnson received no disability compensation from the government because 342 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: of the clerical error in his discharged papers, and that 343 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: he died in obscure poverty. So while the last part 344 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: of that is actually sadly mostly true, the first part 345 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: does not hold up a the examination of the records. 346 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: News articles and military records from the time indicate that 347 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: Johnson was a patient at Walter Reed Hospital, that he 348 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 1: received a disability statement stipend of about ninety dollars a month, 349 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: which would not have been a lot of money, but 350 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: was there. Most of this misinformation stems from the fact 351 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 1: that Herman Johnson, who served with a Tuskeye Airmen, seems 352 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,399 Speaker 1: to have mistakenly genuinely believed that Henry Johnson was his father. 353 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: He gave interviews about his father's life that were based 354 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: on his own knowledge, which was actually incomplete, and Johnson 355 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: did die at a sadly young age of myocarditis, after 356 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: having had a series of complications with the many injuries 357 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 1: he sustained in combat, along with tuberculosis. He was buried 358 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on July five. 359 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,400 Speaker 1: The sight of his grave was actually lost until two 360 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,919 Speaker 1: thousand two. In the intervening years, his family had believed 361 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: that he was actually buried in an anonymous grave in Albany, 362 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: in part because they had lost touch with him, and 363 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: in part because the Army made a clerical error in 364 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: the name of who was buried in the grave. Henry 365 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: Johnson was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, which is for 366 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: soldiers who were wounded or killed in action in it 367 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: didn't actually exist yet when he was wounded. In two 368 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,359 Speaker 1: thousand three, after the location of his grave was found, 369 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: he was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and he 370 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: was posthumously promoted to sergeant after finding a memo from 371 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: General John J. Pershing describing Johnson's velorous deeds in a database. 372 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,439 Speaker 1: Senator Charles Schumer of New York started a petition to 373 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: have imposthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Sergeant Henry Johnson 374 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: was awarded the Medal of Honor on June two. It 375 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: was accepted on his behalf by Command Sergeant Major Lewis 376 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: Wilson of the New York National Guarden. His official citation 377 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: ends quote Private Johnson's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and 378 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the 379 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: highest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, 380 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: his unit, and the United States Army. And there's also 381 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: a cool graphic novel about the whole thing. I think 382 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,679 Speaker 1: it is probably cool. It's by Max Brooks, who has 383 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: done a lot of other graphic novels, some of them 384 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: not historically related at all. I did check it out 385 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: from the library. I have not yet had time to 386 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: read it before recording this episode, but it looks really good. Ah, 387 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: so that is it is. Well, it's kind of a 388 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: meandering story through. I think I might have said this 389 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: in the show before. We have three categories of sad episodes, right, 390 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: we have the ones that we know we're going to 391 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: be sad, and then we get into it and we 392 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 1: realize it's a lot sadder than we thought. And then 393 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: we have the ones that we know we're gonna be 394 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: really sad, but we are doing them because we think 395 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: it's important or maybe a lot of people have asked 396 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: us to do it. And then we have the ones 397 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 1: that are like today, which is that I picked something 398 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: because it sounds cool, and then I get into it 399 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: and I go, oh, this is this is hurting me. 400 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: So I had picked the Harlem hell Fighters based on 401 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: probably a uh like a blog post or a tumbler 402 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: post or something somewhere that was about this really amazing 403 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: all black fighting regiment in World War One and how 404 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: great they were and how much valor and bravery they 405 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: exhibited and how awesome. And I was like, well, yeah, 406 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 1: I want to talk about those guys. And then I 407 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: was like, oh, dear, this sad, Oh sad things are happening. 408 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: YEA history is full of those surprise little pop up. 409 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today for this 410 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: Saturday classic. If you have heard any kind of email 411 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: address or maybe a Facebook you are l during the 412 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: course of the episode that might be obsolete. It might 413 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: be doubly obsolete because we have changed our email address again. 414 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,199 Speaker 1: You can now reach us at history podcast at i 415 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: heart radio dot com, and we're all over social media 416 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: at missed in History and you can subscribe to our 417 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: show on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the I heart Radio app, 418 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed 419 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 420 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 421 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to 422 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.