Kelly Miller's "Authentic History of the Negro in the World War", Howard University Scholar Advocates for Civil Rights in the Wake of World War I, First Edition 1919

Kelly Miller

First Edition

Kelly Miller’s Authentic History of the Negro in the World War, a first edition extended account of African American military service in the First World War, covering Black officers, combat troops, sailors, and wartime labor in reflection after veterans returned to segregation, disfranchisement, and racial violence in the United States. Miller's account begins with a comprehensive history and context for the causes of World War I before coming to an extended chapter on the Black servicemen in the conflict. The book traces the service of some 300,000 African Americans and poses the question: “When...the Negro asks for his rights as an American citizen, where can the American be found with the heart or the hardihood to say him, Nay?” Miller's book directly connects African American wartime service to the demand for equal rights and full citizenship at home.
Miller, Kelly. Kelly Miller’s Authentic History of the Negro in the World War (Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights: An Intensely Human and Brilliant Account of the World War; Why America Entered the Conflict; What the Allies Fought For; and a Thrilling Account of the Important Part Taken by the Negro in the Tragic Defeat of Germany; the Downfall of Autocracy, and Complete Victory for the Cause of Righteousness and Freedom). Washington, D.C. and Chicago: Austin Jenkins Co., 1919. First edition. Octavo, 6½ x 8½ inches. 712 pages with additional indexes and numerous plates and illustrations. Pictorial blue cloth stamped in red, white, and black, with the cover title Kelly Miller’s Authentic History of the Negro in the World War and the statement “It Is Fair to the Negro.” The title page identifies Miller as dean of Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences and credits contributions by John J. Pershing, Frederick Drinker, and E. A. Allen. Illustrated plates of Black military service includes scenes captioned “A Colored Ace Bringing Down a German Aeroplane,” “This Colored Hero Died to Save His Comrades,” and “One Less Slinking Cowardly Submarine. A Center Shot by Colored Gunners on Board an American Destroyer.” Another plate shows an artillery crew at work beneath the claim that “The Gun Manned by Negro Gunners Did Wonderful Work.”

Miller wrote after the armistice, when Black veterans returned from France to disfranchisement, segregation, and the racial violence of 1919. His section “The Negro in the World War,” beginning at page 507, records African American participation after thirty chapters devoted to military operations, weapons, political leaders, and the Allied victory. The publishers’ preface describes Black officers commanding troops “of their own color” and argues that their wartime record justified a new national policy, while Miller’s text connects military duty to the unresolved status of Black citizenship. The book was also issued with textual and bibliographical variations under the title Our War for Human Rights, and surviving copies differ in pagination and the number of inserted plates. Spotting to the front board and mold staining to the rear board; rubbing and fraying at the spine ends and corners; moderate toning and occasional marginal wear; binding tight. Overall good condition. An illustrated postwar argument that African American military service had earned rights the United States continued to deny.

Item #23697

Price: $385.00