Today,
the 6th of June 2014, the 70th anniversary of that day
when the evil of Adolf Hitler paid the price of messing with the wrong folks. Before I continue with my article, I must
interject that I do enjoy the fact that I am a foreign born Hispanic Black
woman, albeit I do not speak Española but my Dad is Cuban so my perception of American history is not based on American ancestry. Okay, on with my analysis which of course
some will read it as a diatribe; so be it, it is my article after all. Also, note that I do realize that not every
White male treated Blacks and Native Americans with disdain but one cannot run
away from the reality that far too many of us have allowed to happen by staying silent on the
truth of World War II. In staying
silent, we deny the many children of these two races to have something to be
proud of; relegating the contributions to an ethnic or racial history month
when, indeed, if not for the actions of those who were ignored, many White
families would not be in existence due to the many more deaths that could have
occurred if not for those who are invisible in the history books and movies
about this war.
I do not
take away the celebration of those called the “Greatest Generation” and while I
do not take that away from them; I take this time to rebuke those who delight
in reminding us of that history in forgetting those who were there to make
sure some of those in the “Greatest Generation” made it home and those are
the men who were emasculated in their country of the United States of America
yet stood up to fight for it. Black
males who were less than second class citizens, emasculated by the fears of
ignorant people who enjoyed keeping Black males “in their place”; Black men who
could not eat, drink or sit with White men, not even in the military but they
stood up and fought for this country.
Native American males did not have it any better. Yes, they had their tribes and their customs
but they were relegated to properties of land by the same ignorance that
treated Black men like nothing even though Native Americans were here first but what
was theirs was stolen from them. Both
groups of men were unable to protect their families from the abuse of those
ignorant folks who felt so superior; unable to take care of their families in
the manner they would have liked to [and even now that continues] but they
offered their services to help a country that was taken from them and where
they were taken by force.
Just as
the Pilgrims would not have survived that first winter without Native
Americans; the cost to the allies but more specifically to the United States in
the Pacific Theater would have been heavier if not for Native Americans via the
Navajo language, known as the Code Talkers.
The Japanese could not decode the language of the Native warriors and
this played a very heavy hand in the successes within the Pacific Theater; but
where did we hear of the heroics of these brave men who rose up beyond the
mis-treatment in the only country they knew; the country of their
ancestors? When did we hear from any of
the “Greatest Generation” their thanks to these Native Americans who enabled
them to win not only squirmishes but battles? I don’t know about you but the
only thing I heard was of the death of the last of the Code Talkers yet no
cable, national or local news [unless it was an ethnic media] networks gave
homage to this noble man and his brothers who did so much to return to a land
where they were not allowed to share what they did. Why? Was there shame that dictated that only
White males be honored for their deeds on the field and upon their return to
the States? Was the honor and dignity of
these Native Americans who rose up to fight for a country that has dis-honored
their tribes and other tribes too much for those who would deny them the same national
recognition given to White men?
Whether
they were sold to White slavers by other Africans or abducted, Black men were
denied any form of self-identification even before they set foot in a New
World still struggling to unify. They
watched as their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters were felt upon like
animals; exposed to the eyes of men who had no right to see the African female
bodies. They were humiliated in the same
way, patted down like a thoroughbred for the verification of their sturdiness;
also exposed as a newborn. Yet even
knowing how their ancestors were treated, indeed, themselves being treated worse than
animals; these men wanted to prove their merit, to show that they had something
to offer but even in wartime, racism and the racists knew no bounds. Not giving in
to the stereotype that the Negro brain was small and they did not have the
intelligence of White men; these noble men taught themselves to fly despite the
shoddy planes they were given; they made a decision to fight for the country that
showed them nothing but scorn and hate.
Many have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen of the Air Force, one way or another
but is anyone aware of the first Black men to become Marines known as the Montford
Point Marines? Or has anyone heard of
Dorie Miller, a Black cook on the West
Virginia, a USS Battleship on the day that lives on in infamy; the bombing
of Pearl Harbor? Many of these men were
from the South and despite the inhumane treatment by the fears of ignorant,
small-minded people; they stood up to be counted in defending freedom from the
same form of hate they endured daily; to bring justice to those being treated unjustly. They defended each other and the very same
White men who did not want them around in the Pacific Theater against the
Japanese; they fought in Italy, France and other European nation/states against
the horde of Nazis. Coming back to a
country that hated them, that did not see it right to honor them for their contribution;
many of them dying in the South from racism.
After being honorably discharged,
Sergeant Isaac Woodward was pulled off a bus still wearing his uniform by a mob
and blinded and there were others treated similarly, if not worse. Historian Stephen Ambrose stated that “Soldiers
were fighting the world's worst racist, Adolph Hitler, in the world's most
segregated army” and that “the irony did not go unnoticed.”[1]. These men knew all of this and yet they
volunteered to fight and die for those who despised them. Interestingly enough,
one of those men is the former pastor to then Senator Barack Obama, Jeremiah
Wright and while many may not have understood his ranting about the United
States; he lived the experience, he has the unseen scars of watching and
experiencing that racism.
How many
more lives would have been lost if not for these men of color? Where are the
voices of the people who call themselves patriots yet were too chicken to fight
during Viet Nam, instead running for cover of the privilege of being a White man? Again, I do not take away from those dubbed
the “Greatest Generation” but the honor and the accolades should also be bestowed
upon those men who fought for the rights of others that they were not being
given and it was not just men alone; women of color contributed much to WWII
but that is for another time. It takes a
hell of a lot more honor to be hated yet do what is right. Who will remember them? When will their
stories be told in the history books for all children to learn? When will all
of American stand up and give these men and their families the same honor and
recognition given to White men? This is
the truth of this nation, whether one wants to acknowledge it or not; it is
written in the stones of history and just because there are those racists who
continue to deny the contributions of these men; for those of us who are open
to the truth, let us not forget. Let us
learn more to share with others, to let children of color know that they have
nothing to be ashamed of, for they are of noble races.
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