Soul Soldiers : African Americans and the Vietnam Era

Even as African American men and women headed to Vietnam to fight for their country and to show their patriotism, they faced racism in the ranks as did their families on the home front. This stunning book, which accompanies a travelling exhibit, looks at Black life through the eyes of vets during the Civil Rights era by bringing together artefacts, poetry, fiction, oral histories, art, and riveting recollections that recall the horrors of war, the complexes of race, and the duality of African American life in America. With a foreword by Albert French, this book captures the spirit of the African American Vietnam experience and highlight the literary expression of Vietnam Vets.

Foreword; Introduction; Combat and the Interracial Male Friendship; "Going to Mess Up Some Beasts Tonight": The Outbreak of Racial Violence in the Armed Forces; "And Sing No More of War": Black Women Write, Sing, and Speak About the Vietnam War; In Service and in Protest: Black Women and the Impact of the Vietnam War on American Society; The Long Shadow of War; "As I Recall.. . ": From the Hill and Homewood to War in Vietnam.