people to Garvey’s ambitious plans for black solidar-
ity and a back-to-Africa initiative. The convention
formalized the UNIA, elected officers, and estab-
lished salaries for organization members.
Bibliography
Cronon, Edmund. Black Moses: The Story of Marcus Gar-
vey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1955.
Hill, Robert, ed. The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro
Improvement Association Papers.Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1983.
First World War
The conflict that began in 1914 and ended in 1918
was won with heroism, sacrifice, and patriotic con-
tributions from some 350,000 African-Americans
soldiers. One hundred and seventy-one soldiers in
units that fought alongside the French and against
German troops received the prestigious French Le-
gion of Honor medal. African Americans faced per-
vasive racism within the segregated American
military. By the war’s midpoint, much public and
community protest had resulted in black access to
officer’s training. More than 600 African-American
captains and first and second lieutenants were com-
missioned to serve during the war. Veterans in the
Harlem Renaissance community included CHARLES
S. JOHNSON, the founder of OPPORTUNITYand an
officer in the NATIONALURBANLEAGUE.
In February 1919, the all-black 369th Infantry,
a regiment that began as the FIFTEENTHREGIMENT
OFNEWYORKNATIONALGUARD, returned to New
York City. The first regiment of African-American
soldiers to see action in France during the war and
the most decorated of all American military units
was a magnificent and impressive sight to behold.
The march took the 1,300-strong regiment and its
18 officers north along FIFTHAVENUE and into
Harlem. The return of black veterans, many of
whom had experienced less racism in Europe, con-
tributed to heightened resistance to American seg-
regation and JIMCROWlaws. Tensions throughout
the nation escalated and in the summer of 1919,
culminated in the “REDSUMMER,” three months of
uprisings and riots in urban cities.
A number of Harlem Renaissance writers fo-
cused on the war, black veterans, and issues of pa-
triotism and citizenship. The 1918 one-act play
Mine Eyes Have Seenby ALICEDUNBAR-NELSON
was published in THECRISIS and performed at
Howard High School in WASHINGTON, D.C., that
same year. Set in 1918, the short play illuminated
the debates about the use and validity of black par-
ticipation in the war. MARYBURRILL’s 1919 drama
AFTERMATH,published in the LIBERATOR,focused
on a young veteran who returns to his South Car-
olina home only to find that his father has been
lynched. Burrill’s play highlighted the uneasy and
often invalidating white national response to black
soldiers and African-American contributions to
the war effort.
Poet CLAUDE MCKAY penned the rousing
poem “If We Must Die” in 1919 as soldiers re-
turned en masse to American and to Harlem. His
poem, reprinted in the 1922 poetry collection
HARLEMSHADOWS,was used as an anthem for
black courage. The sonnet articulated the mili-
tancy, self-assertion, and pride with which many
African Americans, buoyed by the inspiring
record of black troops, were determined to over-
come oppression in America. In 1928 McKay
published HOME TOHARLEM,a best-selling novel
that focused on the adventures and assimilation
of a young veteran into a vibrant, unpredictable
Harlem world.Bibliography
Barbeau, Arthur. The Unknown Soldiers: Black American
Troops in World War I.Philadelphia: Temple Univer-
sity Press, 1974.
Little, Arthur. From Harlem to the Rhine: The Story of
New York’s Colored Volunteers.New York: Haskell
House, 1974.
Scott, Emmett. Scott’s Official History of the American
Negro in the World War.1919; reprint, New York:
Arno Press, 1969.
Shack, William. Harlem in Montmartre: A Paris Jazz Story
between the Great Wars.Berkeley: University of Cal-
ifornia Press, 2001.Fisher, Rudolph John Chauncey
(1897–1934)
A prolific writer, talented musician, and accom-
plished physician, Fisher enjoyed one of the most
multifaceted professional careers of any writer inFisher, Rudolph John Chauncey 163