State Historical Society of Iowa
Courtesy of DocsTeach, Ida B. Wells Letter to President Wilson 1918
Nearly 370,000 African Americans had contributed in some way to the war effort by the end of World War I. The branches of the military and services available to enrolled African Americans were impacted by discriminatory tactics including segregation. African Americans were still denied rights and protections following the war, despite their heroic acts both domestically and overseas that helped the United States win the war. Despite the 14th and 15th Amendments, "Jim Crow" restrictions and election procedures were put in place to prevent Black communities from exercising their right to vote. Nonetheless, the experiences of African American troops during World War I prepared the ground for the ongoing struggle for civil rights, which is now being led by Black leaders, activists, and African American veterans.
Wells acquired a stake in The Memphis Free Speech, a Black-owned newspaper, in 1892. In addition, Ida B. Wells utilized her writing to urge the highest authorities to redress racial injustice. Wells wrote to President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 on behalf of the Negro Fellowship League, protesting a Kansas general's order that limited soldiers' freedom of movement on the basis of race. She requested that Wilson cancel Bulletin Number 35 issued to General Ballou for the 92nd Division at Camp Funston, Kansas. Officers and troops were advised by the order to avoid entering public areas where their presence was disliked due to their race. "Destroys all civil rights, causes fresh discriminations, fosters race prejudice, humiliates our race, and degrades our race," she argued.
Letter from Ida B. Wells-Barnett to President Woodrow Wilson Protesting General Ballou's Bulletin Number 35 for the 92nd Division, Camp Funston, Kansas; 4/26/1918; 322.9 92nd Division; Records of Divisions, 1917 - 1920; Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I), Record Group 120; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. Courtesy of Library of Congress
