AFR 275 African-American Military History and Social Justice
3 hours
This course examines the experience of African-Americans in U.S. military history and the social justice issues that shaped their lives from the American revolutionary period through current conflicts. Discussions will examine social justice issues that influence the actions of non-citizen black soldiers during the revolutionary period as fugitives and insurrectionists and as citizen soldiers in the Civil War, up to more recent military operations including Iraq. Critical social justice issues such as biased comeback assignments, segregated units, conflicts with civilians, sexual exploitation, combat post-traumatic stress syndrome, inequities associated with the GI Bill, etc., will be discussed in their relationship to larger societal issues, such as, institutional racism and poverty. In this regard, the emergence of the Double V social philosophy for African-American military personnel during World War II will be analyzed for its current relevancy.