| Description |
xxii, 208 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Series |
Women, gender, and sexuality in American history.
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| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-201) and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction -- The Army diversifies: Fort Des Moines -- Fort Devens -- The strike -- Trial and verdict -- The civilian reaction -- Military protocol -- Conclusion: A sociological laboratory. |
| Summary |
"In 1945, four African American female privates who were members of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) participated in a strike at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and opted to take a court martial rather than accept discriminatory work assignments. As the army prepared for the court-martial and civil rights activists investigated the circumstances, competing commentaries in African American and mainstream newspapers ignited a passionate public response across the country. Indeed, the insurrection, now little remembered, became the most publicized and recorded protest of Black WACs during World War II as story of how four African American women pushed the army's segregation system to its breaking point. Drawing on relevant scholarship, archival work, newspaper responses to the strike, and interviews with the strikers or their families, Sandra Bolzenius shows how the strike at Ft. Devens demonstrates that army regulations prioritized white men, segregated African Americans, highlighted white women's femininity, and overlooked the presence of African American women. In drawing attention to these issues, this book is able to shed light on the experiences and agency of World War II Black WACs who resisted racial discrimination and asserted their entitlements as female military personnel, analyze military policies and their effects on Army personnel, particularly Black WACs, and investigate the Army's determination to maintain the existing social order through the strict segmentation of its troops based on race, gender, and rank."--Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
United States. Army. Women's Army Corps -- History.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, African American.
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Trials (Military offenses) -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Strikes and lockouts -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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African American soldiers -- History -- 20th century.
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Women soldiers -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Race discrimination -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Sex discrimination against women -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- United States.
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Fort Devens (Mass.) -- History -- 20th century.
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Massachusetts -- Fort Devens. |
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United States. |
| Added Title |
How four black women took on the Army during World War II |
| ISBN |
9780252041716 (hardcover alkaline paper) |
|
0252041712 (hardcover alkaline paper) |
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9780252083334 (paperback alkaline paper) |
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0252083334 (paperback alkaline paper) |
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9780252050381 |
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025205038X |
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