The Colonel of the Eighth Regiment

Submitted by Amy Bunselmeyer on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 20:35

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=128895941...

I would like to discuss the cover of Volume 10, No. 5 of The Crisis. I found this to be a particularly interesting cover, and it presents a rather interesting and encouraging view of the war and the role of race in the war. The cover features an African American officer, "the Colonel of th Eighth Regiment," according to the table of contents for this edition. The photograph is a portrait, showing the Colonel from the waste up, as he looks directly out at the viewer. He is dressed in an elaborate uniform, complete with a decorated hat and very prominent medals. 

I believe that this cover image does what we discussed in class as the purpose of The Crisis. That is, it presents a positive view of African Americans. The Colonel is distinguished in appearance. The medals stand out, and he looks accomplished with them, as well as the dress uniform that he wears. I think this image could have had a powerful effect on viewers. It is representing an African American man in a place of power. It also seems to suggest that African Americans can play an important role in the war, as this Colonel clearly has. Within this issue, there is a section that includes multiple photos of various African American military officers. The article they are included in is an article about African Americans in Chicago, and it says very little about the war itself. However, featuring such a prominent, distinguished African American soldier on the cover, as well as including many others within the issue, would probably have been encouraging to the viewer, shedding a positive light on African Americans and the role they could play in this war. 

Comments

Elizabeth Hartney

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 23:20

I find this image interesting because The Crisis is an American periodical, so the man on the cover is presumably American, but in 1915 the US had not yet entered the war. After the sinking of the Lusitania, however, the American public was gaining momentum to enter to war, so is it possible that they included this cover in order to promote the idea of a strong, African American soldier before the fighting even started to remind the public that there were African American men available to fight too? I think they chose to include this to convey a strong message about the fortitude of African American soldiers, maybe in order to gain support for their involvement in the war once it eventually began.

Toby Decker

Thu, 02/21/2013 - 00:26

I think you made a really interesting find with this cover!  It made me think about minorities as military leaders, which is actually hard for me to imagine, even today.  I could be very off-based here, but it seems to me as if the military has something of a reputation for being a boys club, and especially for being a white boys club.  Of course, things are changing, as women's rolls are now expanding and homosexuals are no longer required to keep their sexuality a secret.  Nevertheless, I can see how this image might have been startling, or as you said, "encouraging."  I see it the same way all these years later!