Each November 11th the United States celebrates Veteran’s Day. The day was originally designed in honor of the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 that signaled the end of World War I, known as Armistice Day. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. The holiday is often confused with Memorial Day, and doesn’t appear to get the outpouring that Memorial Day does. Memorial Day is designed to honor soldiers who died in war. Veteran’s Day recognizes all veterans, living and deceased.
An all too often forgotten fact is the role of Black soldiers in all wars since the country’s beginning. History books tell about Crispus Attucks who was considered a martyr, but they don’t tell about the Black soldiers who fought both on the side of the patriots and the British. There was even a Black spy, whose information made a difference in the outcome of a battle. Initially George Washington did not want to allow Black enslaved people to enlist, on November 12, 1775, instructing recruiters “not to enlist blacks, boys unable to bear arms, or old men unable to endure the fatigues ofcampaign.” He had to change this order when thousands of enslaved joined the British forces. By 1777, as much as 10 to 15 percent of the Continental Army was made up of Black soldiers. All accounts tell of their bravery. After the war, reality returned, and many suffered poor outcomes. Note that Black soldiers served with valor in all of the wars that America has been involved in, only to fight the war on discrimination when they returned home. This gave way to the concept of fighting a war on two fronts. The fight of the Black soldier is a social justice saga.
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