Episode 33: From Harlem to Tuskegee - Like Father, Like Son, Part I

After the 369th Infantry Regiment returned home from World War I, a terrible summer of racial violence spread across the South and into the Midwest. Several lynchings and riots broke out before something resembling peace - or at least a reduction in violence - was reestablished. At the same time, a cultural movement of African American literature, music, art, and entertainment took the United States by storm. Centered in Harlem, the movement - known as the Harlem Renaissance - was the first taste of African American culture for many everyday Americans

Langston Hughes was one of the big authors and political figures to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance that produced twenty six novels, ten books of poetry, and hundreds of short stories.

In addition to the literature boom, Bill "Bojangels" Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers (above), and others put on five black written, produced, directed, and starring Broadway plays and dozens, if not hundreds, of off-Broadway plays. For the first time, African Americans began appearing on stage and on the silver screen without black face makeup and ridiculous accents.

Arguably the most famous artists to come out of the Harlem Renaissance were musicians like Dizzy Gillespie (above), Harlem Hellfighter Nobel Sissle, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, Louie Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday, just to name a few, who were emblematic of the mixture of high class society, popular art, and virtuosity of jazz. The invention of the radio brought these performers into the homes of millions of Americans on a daily basis.

In addition to the fame and recognition that came with the Harlem Renaissance, the Roaring Twenties brought an era of prosperity and an increased standard of living to many Americans across many racial and ethnic groups. Unfortunately, the movement was unable to survive the Great Depression and many scholars mark the 1935 Harlem Riot as its demise.

It took several years but eventually the Harlem Hellfighters first commander, Colonel William Hayward's vision for the segregated unit was finally achieved when, on the eve of World War II, it became the first National Guard unit with an all-African American officer corps. The man who was the first black regimental commander in the 369th's storied history was Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.

Though his parents wanted him to attend Howard University in Washington, DC after high school, Davis instead enlisted in the army in 1898 at the outbreak of the Spanish American War and may have lied about his age to do so. He was made a temporary Lieutenant in the 9th Cavalry - the historic Buffalo Soldiers - but would not make it to Cuba before the war ended. 

After the war he was mustered out of service and applied to West Point, hoping to become just the fourth officer in the Military Academy's history. He was not admitted. Instead, he enlisted as a private in the army and within a year had risen to the rank of sergeant major... promotions worked a little different then than they do now! While a sergeant major, Davis served under Charles Young, the third black graduate of West Point. Young tutored Davis on everything he needed to know to become an officer and in 1901, just two years after enlisting as a private, Davis was commissioned a second lieutenant and sent to the Philippines during the Philippines insurrection.

Racial politics of the day not only kept Davis out of combat in World War I, but out of Europe all together. Despite this, and other policies that saw him and other minority officers treated differently, Davis continued to serve proudly. After his promotion to colonel, Davis was made the first African American commander of the Harlem Hellfighters regiment, and it was while serving in that capacity that he was promoted to brigadier general, becoming not only the first African American general officer in the history of the US Army, but the first African American flag officer in the history of the US military.

During World War II, Davis served as a special advisor for African American solders affairs and toured many segregated units in the US and in Europe, doing everything he could to ensure fair treatment of black soldiers. It was during this time that he also became a vocal proponent of full integration in the US military. This policy change wouldn't come until 1948 - six days after he retired.

Though he was out of uniform when the military was integrated, his advocacy and example helped a great many African American service members, including his own son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr (right), who would be the fourth black graduate in West Point's history and the first general officer in the US Air Force, but that is a story for another day (next week to be exact).

Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. died on November 26, 1970 in the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 2, Grave 478-B.