African Americans returned from the war with a range of new experiences.
Many had found their contacts with the French people free from the
racism of their own country. They returned with military training that made
it possible to resist white violence, as in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, race riot of
1921 . Perhaps most important of all, many African Americans now expected
better treatment in the United States as a result of their service for their
country. They found little if any tangible change around them, but their
strengthened hopes and expectations were expressed by W.E.B. Du Bois:
"Make way for Democracy ! We saved it in France, and by the Great Jehovah,
we will save it in the United States of America or know the reason why."
World History
