Race in the Crucible of War
Gerald F Goodwin
(Author)
Description
When African American servicemen went to fight in the Vietnam War, discrimination and prejudice followed them. Even in a faraway country, their military experiences were shaped by the racial environment of the home front. War is often viewed as a crucible that can transform society, but American race relations proved remarkably durable.
In Race in the Crucible of War, Gerald F. Goodwin examines how Black servicemen experienced and interpreted racial issues during their time in Vietnam. Drawing on more than fifty new oral interviews and significant archival research, as well as newspapers, periodicals, memoirs, and documentaries, Goodwin reveals that for many African Americans the front line and the home front were two sides of the same coin. Serving during the same period as the civil rights movement and the race riots in Chicago, Detroit, and dozens of other American cities, these men increasingly connected the racism that they encountered in the barracks and on the battlefields with the tensions and violence that were simmering back home.
Product Details
| Publisher | University of Massachusetts Press |
| Publish Date | January 27, 2023 |
| Pages | 304 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781625346834 |
| Dimensions | 9.0 X 6.1 X 0.9 inches | 0.8 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"Race in the Crucible of War provides a valuable look into the perceptions of white and Black soldiers serving in Vietnam and highlights the impact domestic issues have on the battlefield. It contradicts long-held ideas that the US military avoided the racial violence simultaneously occurring throughout the United States during the Vietnam War. Instead, Goodwin connects the racial issues in Vietnam to the US civil rights movement and illustrates the role race played on the battlefield and in military service."--Benjamin Heidenreich, H-War
"Although numerous individual memoirs and collective accounts exist on African Americans in Vietnam, Goodwin draws on archival records, interviews, publications, and news programs to offer the most comprehensive portrait of their experiences. An outstanding contribution to civil rights history and a good read."--J. P. Dunn, CHOICE
"Goodwin utilizes a wealth of previously unexamined sources to paint a complex and nuanced picture of the experiences of African American servicemen in Vietnam. That alone will ensure this book a spot on many shelves, specialist and non-specialist alike."--Geoffrey W. Jensen, coeditor of Beyond the Quagmire: New Interpretations of the Vietnam War
"Race in the Crucible of War expands, refines, and complicates our understanding of the African American military experience in Vietnam and how race and racism structured the U.S. military during a pivotal moment in the nation's history. It is a towering achievement."--Robert F. Jefferson, author of Fighting for Hope: African American Troops of the 93rd Infantry Division in World War II and Postwar America
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