‘Race War’: Black American GIs in Bristol and Gloucestershire During World War II

By Neil A. Wynn

Issue 14, Autumn/Winter, 2005 pp. 23-30.

During World War II, American armed forces were stationed at Bristol and throughout the South-West. A considerable number of these soldiers were African American. During this period, the Jim Crow Laws were still being enforced in the southern states of America, and a strict policy of racial segregation was observed within the American military. The experience of African American soldiers was very different in the South-West of England to what it had been in the United States. This article offers a brief insight into contemporary race-relations and the differences between the policies of each nation regarding civil rights and military participation.


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