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.
