The Black Press in Minnesota During World War I

April 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the United States entering World War I. Many enjoy learning about the battles, the military, and the Homefront. But there is a need for more scholarship to understand the role African Americans played in the war. From my research, many African Americans disagreed with US involvement. Why would a country agree to fight for democracy overseas when its citizens need freedom at home? Racism in the United States concerned African Americans deeply. At the same time, however, African Americans viewed World War I as a way to demonstrate their patriotism. Black citizens argued that despite President Wilson’s decision to ignore racial discrimination at home, the United States still required support from all citizens. Their hope was to convince the rest of the nation if African Americans are willing to sacrifice their lives for a country that treats them as second class citizens, it would put an end to discrimination and segregation. The black community searched for a way to voice their opinions and one way they accomplished this was through newspapers. The expansion of the black press toward the end of the nineteenth century led African Americans in Minnesota to become more involved in politics and in racial injustices. Based on research of St. Paul’s African American newspaper, The Appeal, black citizens remained loyal to their country during World War I while bringing attention to the injustice at the same time