Apr 3, 2015
Dr. Jeffrey T. Sammons and Dr. John H. Morrow Jr. are the guests on
this week's installment of The Chauncey DeVega Show where
we discuss their new book "Harlem's Rattlers and the Great
War".
They are both starred scholars.
Jeffrey T. Sammons is Professor in the Department of History at New
York University and the author of Beyond
the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society.
John H. Morrow, Jr., Franklin Professor of History at the
University of Georgia, is the author of several books,
including The
Great War: An Imperial History.
It
has been more than 100 years since the beginning of World War One.
In many ways, much more so than is generally understood by the
American general public, World War One, "The Great War," has
profoundly shaped the present. This is also true of the global
colorline.
This conversation on The
Chauncey Devega Show about
World War One and one of the United States' most legendary and
accomplished military units--the "Harlem Hellfighters"--is a
wonderful lens into some "hidden" American history of which
(unfortunately) too few are aware.
In this new episode of The
Chauncey DeVega Show,
Chauncey and his conversation partners Jeffrey Sammons and John
Morrow talk about separating myth from fact regarding World War One
and African-American military service, why World War One is
understudied in America's schools, how the "Harlem Rattlers" came
to be known as the "Harlem Hellfighters", the struggles and unique
challenges faced by The Harlem Rattlers/Hellfighters as a unit,
their experiences in Europe as one of America's most distinguished
and accomplished military units, as well as how Jim and Jane Crow
impacted its heroes upon their return stateside.
Jeffrey and John also share their opinions about how the story of
the legendary Harlem Hellfighters is being adapted for a movie
starring Will Smith--one that is based on a graphic novel by Max Brooks.