Black WWI Veterans Attacked in Uniform Returning from Overseas

As Black veterans returned from WWI — where over 380,000 Black Americans had served — many were attacked while still in uniform. At least ten Black veterans were lynched in 1919, several still in their military uniforms. Sergeant Wilbur Little was beaten to death in Blakely, Georgia after appearing in public in his uniform. Daniel Mack was lynched in Sylvester, Georgia. The attacks reflected white anxiety about Black men asserting equal citizenship through military service. France had treated Black American soldiers as equals; white Southerners were determined to reimpose subordination.