Returning from the War

Despite fighting a common enemy, African Americans still faced racism and segregation during and after World War I. Unlike the 369th Regiment, most all black units in the military faced discrimination and racism throughout the United States' involvment in the war. Rumors of laziness, violence, and poor efforts commonly accompanied all black regiments to the point where some soldiers were court-martialed on the claims. Inadequate supplies and training were also common issues among all black regiments, in efforts to set them up for failure. Despite these systematic setbacks, African Americans fought bravely for their country.

Perhaps the best relationship created for African Americans during the war was when they fought alongside African soldiers serving in the French army. Their experiences and interactions helped African Americans form their own identities along with having cultural counterparts supporting them while their home country did not. As a result, French soldiers, officers, and civilians were more amicable towards African American soldiers than their own fellow Americans.

Upon returning home, African Americans saw a mostly unchanged United States from which they had left. Facilities were still segregated from their fellow white soldiers, they were prevented from attending victory celebrations in both France and the United States, and were denied many services entitled to veteran service. Even though they faced the same landscape when they returned home, their service pushed many African American men to protest the divisive and harmful practice of Jim Crow laws and segregation. W.E.B. DuBois pushed the United States government to provide proper services and opportunities for African American veteran, including efforts to influence the decisions being made at the Treaty of Versailles after the war.