January 1918
During WWI and extending into WWII, the American Red Cross maintained segregated blood banks, refusing to use blood donated by Black Americans to treat white soldiers. This policy was maintained despite the scientific consensus that blood type, not race, determined transfusion compatibility. Dr. Charles Drew, a Black scientist who developed the blood bank and plasma storage system that saved hundreds of thousands of allied lives in WWII, resigned his position in protest of the policy. The Red Cross maintained racial segregation of blood supplies until 1950.
The 369th Infantry Regiment — composed almost entirely of Black New Yorkers and Harlem residents — spent 191 consecutive days under fire in France, the longest of any American unit. They fought under French command after the US Army refused to integrate them with white units. They never retreated, never had a prisoner taken, and were collectively awarded the Croix de Guerre by France. Henry Johnson of the 369th became an American war hero celebrated in France, receiving the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015. Their return parade up Fifth Avenue drew enormous crowds.
Events
- 1918369th Infantry Regiment 'Harlem Hellfighters' Serve 191 Days in Combat, Never Retreating
The 369th Infantry Regiment — composed almost entirely of Black New Yorkers and Harlem residents — spent 191 consecutive days under fire in France, the longest of any American unit. They fought under French command after the US Army refused to integrate them with white units. They never retreated, never had a prisoner taken, and were collectively awarded the Croix de Guerre by France. Henry Johnson of the 369th became an American war hero celebrated in France, receiving the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015. Their return parade up Fifth Avenue drew enormous crowds.
- 1918Red Cross Segregates Blood Banks During WWI, Refusing Black Donations for White Soldiers
During WWI and extending into WWII, the American Red Cross maintained segregated blood banks, refusing to use blood donated by Black Americans to treat white soldiers. This policy was maintained despite the scientific consensus that blood type, not race, determined transfusion compatibility. Dr. Charles Drew, a Black scientist who developed the blood bank and plasma storage system that saved hundreds of thousands of allied lives in WWII, resigned his position in protest of the policy. The Red Cross maintained racial segregation of blood supplies until 1950.
- 1918Wounded Black Veterans Segregated in Inferior Hospital Wards, Denied Equivalent Care
Black WWI veterans who were wounded or disabled received care in segregated wards of military hospitals that were documented as receiving less equipment, fewer skilled staff, and worse food than white wards. When veterans returned home, VA facilities in the South were either entirely white or provided inferior segregated care. The Veterans Bureau (predecessor to the VA) applied Jim Crow throughout its Southern operations. A separate Black veterans' hospital was eventually established at Tuskegee, Alabama in 1923 — as a segregated institution, not as a remedy for inequality.
- 1918Oscar Micheaux Founds Black Film Company to Counter Racist Hollywood Portrayals
Oscar Micheaux, a Black novelist and filmmaker, founded the Micheaux Book and Film Company in 1918, becoming the first major Black film producer and director in the United States. His films — including 'The Homesteader' (1919) and 'Within Our Gates' (1920), the latter directly responding to 'The Birth of a Nation' by depicting lynching from the Black perspective — provided alternative representations of Black life and history to counter the racist caricatures dominant in white Hollywood. Micheaux produced approximately 44 films between 1919 and 1948.
- 1918Red Cross Segregates Blood Banks During WWI, Refusing Black Donations for White Soldiers
During WWI and extending into WWII, the American Red Cross maintained segregated blood banks, refusing to use blood donated by Black Americans to treat white soldiers, despite the scientific consensus that blood type determines compatibility. Dr. Charles Drew, a Black scientist who developed the blood bank system that saved hundreds of thousands of allied lives in WWII, resigned his position in protest. The Red Cross maintained racial segregation of blood supplies until 1950.
- 1918Oscar Micheaux Founds Black Film Company to Counter Racist Hollywood Portrayals
Oscar Micheaux founded the Micheaux Book and Film Company in 1918, becoming the first major Black film producer and director in the United States. His film 'Within Our Gates' (1920) directly responded to 'The Birth of a Nation' by depicting lynching from the Black perspective. Micheaux produced approximately 44 films between 1919 and 1948.