In this book, Phillips deepens our understanding of the dynamic between African Americans' experiences with and in the military and their struggles for freedom in the larger society. Before and during World War II African Americans worked hard for "the right to fight" as an expression of full citizenship and civil rights. After Truman's 1948 executive order mandating equality of opportunity in the armed forces, blacks became disproportionate participants in the military and on the battlefield at the same time the protracted and elusive struggle for racial justice intensified and reached its ze.

Description based upon print version of record.

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations and Acronyms; Introduction: "War!" and "Machine Gun" Blues; 1 WHERE ARE THE NEGRO SOLDIERS? The Double V Campaign and the Segregated Military; 2 JIM CROW SHOCK AND THE SECOND FRONT, 1945-1950; 3 GLORY ON THE BATTLEFIELD: The Korean War, Cold War Civil Rights, and the Paradox of Black Military Service; 4 DID THE BATTLEFIELD KILL JIM CROW? Black Freedom Struggles, the Korean War, and the Cold War Military; 5 MACHINE GUN BLUES: Black America and the Vietnam War; 6 SING NO MORE OF WAR: Black Freedom Struggles and Antiwar Activism, 1960-1973. An Epilogue about the United States and Wars in Medias Res: LIVE FROM THE FRONT LINES: Military Policy and Soldiers' Rap from IraqNotes; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y;