Title Glory in their spirit : how four black women took on the Army during World War II / Sandra M. Bolzenius

Published Urbana, IL : University of Illinois Press, [2018]

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Description 1 online resource Series Women, gender, and sexuality in american history Women, gender, and sexuality in American history. Contents Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Historical Figures; Abbreviations and Definitions; Timeline; Introduction; Chapter 1. The Army Diversifies: Fort Des Moines; Chapter 2. Fort Devens; Chapter 3. The Strike; Chapter 4. Trial and Verdict; Chapter 5. The Civilian Reaction; Chapter 6. Military Protocol; Conclusion: A Sociological Laboratory; Notes; Bibliography; Index Summary "In 1945, four African American female privates who were members of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) participated in a strike at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and opted to take a court martial rather than accept discriminatory work assignments. As the army prepared for the court-martial and civil rights activists investigated the circumstances, competing commentaries in African American and mainstream newspapers ignited a passionate public response across the country. Indeed, the insurrection, now little remembered, became the most publicized and recorded protest of Black WACs during World War II as story of how four African American women pushed the army's segregation system to its breaking point. Drawing on relevant scholarship, archival work, newspaper responses to the strike, and interviews with the strikers or their families, Sandra Bolzenius shows how the strike at Ft. Devens demonstrates that army regulations prioritized white men, segregated African Americans, highlighted white women's femininity, and overlooked the presence of African American women. In drawing attention to these issues, this book is able to shed light on the experiences and agency of World War II Black WACs who resisted racial discrimination and asserted their entitlements as female military personnel, analyze military policies and their effects on Army personnel, particularly Black WACs, and investigate the Army's determination to maintain the existing social order through the strict segmentation of its troops based on race, gender, and rank."--Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Subject United States. Army. Women's Army Corps -- History SUBJECT United States. Army. Women's Army Corps fast Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, African-American Trials (Military offenses) -- United States -- History -- 20th century Strikes and lockouts -- United States -- History -- 20th century African American soldiers -- History -- 20th century Women soldiers -- United States -- History -- 20th century Race discrimination -- United States -- History -- 20th century Sex discrimination against women -- United States -- History -- 20th century World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- United States SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Discrimination & Race Relations. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Minority Studies. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- General. African American soldiers Military participation -- African American Race discrimination Sex discrimination against women Strikes and lockouts Trials (Military offenses) Women Women soldiers SUBJECT Fort Devens (Mass.) -- History -- 20th century Subject Massachusetts -- Fort Devens United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2019718172 ISBN 9780252050381 025205038X

Other Titles How four black women took on the Army during World War II

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