'Your patriotism is of the purest quality': African American women and World War I

This dissertation explores the ideologies, the deeds, and the expectations of African American women and World War I, as they pursued the advancement of their communities and stimulated progress toward racial equality in the United States. African American women vocalized their support for the war employing various venues, from editorials in black newspapers, to neighborhood meetings convened to address community service during the war. They also faced myriad fears about racial discrimination and civic inequality during the war. They worried the needs of their families and friends during the crisis, the lack of appropriate services for their husbands and sons who enlisted in the armed forces, and the general welfare of their communities through the periods of food conservation and wartime rationing. The abstract goals of the warring nations factored into their opinions occasionally, but, more often than not, African American women asked themselves if the war would change their lives for the better or worse, materially and culturally. Black women's club work cast a long shadow over black women's war work. With progress and development serving as key elements in the philosophy of racial uplift, organizing war work for the World War fit squarely into the discussion of racial equality. Yet, this dissertation also examines the failure of the World War to fulfill the expectations for racial and civic equality held by African Americans. In terms of the vote, equal pay and education, and access to all levels of employment, the war did not confirm the American-ness of African Americans. For African American women, the war consolidated African American women's community service, yet had left few organizations to represent both white and African American women. Ultimately, the World War galvanized African American women around a specific cause, and it boosted African American women's community service in the 1920s. The war became an instrument used by African American women in the greater battle for enfranchisement, equality, tolerance, and full citizenship.