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The Negro Soldier

 

 
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The Negro Soldier
 
 
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The Negro Soldier was a 1944 propaganda film
Propaganda film

A propaganda film is a film, either a documentary film-style production or a fictional screenplay, that is produced to convince the viewer of a certain political point or influence the opinions or behavior of people, often by providing deliberately misleading, propaganda content....
 produced by the United States War Department encouraging African-Americans to join the armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 and otherwise help the war effort.

The film begins with a scene of people arriving at a black church on Sunday, a man in uniform singing in the choir. The pastor
Pastor

The term pastor usually refers to an ordained person within a Christian church. In some countries the term is more usually used in traditional Protestant churches but is also used in reference to priests and bishops within the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity churches....
 decides to devote his sermon
Sermon

A sermon is an public speaking by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Bible, Theology, Religion, or Morality topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or Human behavior within both past and present contexts....
 on the Negro
Negro

Negro is a term referring to people of Black people ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in the late 1960s, the appellation was accepted as a normal neutral formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as non-African blacks....
 and the war. He begins with a historical introduction, talking about African-American contributions to American military endeavors from Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks

Crispus Attucks was one of five people killed in the Boston Massacre in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been frequently named as the first martyr of the American Revolution and is the only Boston Massacre victim whose name is commonly remembered....
 on.

At the point were he comes to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
  the preacher talks about the racism
Racism

Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that Race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race....
 of the Nazi movement and quotes an anti-black passage from Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf, in English language: My Struggle, is a book dictated by Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Adolf Hitler's political beliefs....
.

After he finished this discussion he is "interrupted" by a woman in the audience who reads the congregation a letter from her son in the infantry.






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The Negro Soldier was a 1944 propaganda film
Propaganda film

A propaganda film is a film, either a documentary film-style production or a fictional screenplay, that is produced to convince the viewer of a certain political point or influence the opinions or behavior of people, often by providing deliberately misleading, propaganda content....
 produced by the United States War Department encouraging African-Americans to join the armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 and otherwise help the war effort.

The film begins with a scene of people arriving at a black church on Sunday, a man in uniform singing in the choir. The pastor
Pastor

The term pastor usually refers to an ordained person within a Christian church. In some countries the term is more usually used in traditional Protestant churches but is also used in reference to priests and bishops within the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity churches....
 decides to devote his sermon
Sermon

A sermon is an public speaking by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Bible, Theology, Religion, or Morality topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or Human behavior within both past and present contexts....
 on the Negro
Negro

Negro is a term referring to people of Black people ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in the late 1960s, the appellation was accepted as a normal neutral formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as non-African blacks....
 and the war. He begins with a historical introduction, talking about African-American contributions to American military endeavors from Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks

Crispus Attucks was one of five people killed in the Boston Massacre in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been frequently named as the first martyr of the American Revolution and is the only Boston Massacre victim whose name is commonly remembered....
 on.

At the point were he comes to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
  the preacher talks about the racism
Racism

Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that Race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race....
 of the Nazi movement and quotes an anti-black passage from Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf, in English language: My Struggle, is a book dictated by Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Adolf Hitler's political beliefs....
.

After he finished this discussion he is "interrupted" by a woman in the audience who reads the congregation a letter from her son in the infantry. Her narrative is accompanied by footage of African-American servicemen in orientation and training camps.

See also

  • List of Allied Propaganda Films of World War 2


External links

  • at Internet Archive
    Internet Archive

    The Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free and openly accessible online digital library, including an archive site of the World Wide Web....