Petals of Blood

This Blog-post is a response to the thinking activity task on the novel 'Petals of Blood' given by our professor Yesha Bhatt ma'am. To know more, CLICK HERE.

About the Author: 

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, currently Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, was born in Kenya, in 1938 into a large peasant family. He was educated at Kamandura, Manguu and Kinyogori primary schools; Alliance High School, all in Kenya; Makerere University College (then a campus of London University), Kampala, Uganda; and the University of Leeds, Britain. (from Official Website of the Author)

His popular Weep Not, Child (1964) was the first major novel in English by an East African. As he became sensitized to the effects of colonialism in Africa, Ngugi adopted his traditional name and wrote in the Bantu language of Kenya’s Kikuyu people.(from britannica.com)

About the Novel: 

Petals of Blood reflects the many internal journeys Ngugi had made over the years, up to writing the book. It is a different book from his earlier work, with more complex characters, a sharper political, mental and cultural landscape, harder rhythms, deeper themes, It is tighter. more intense, driven like a racing car over a well-beaten track that leaves no doubt as to his skill, his determination, his destination or destiny It reflects the endless wars he had fought and survived, and the endless wars he saw ahead of him He had sloughed, leaving behind, a part of him that was too worn out for the new skirmishes, and armed himself with a new vision imbued with urgency and an uncompromising stand, as if he was declaring his own state of emer gency because time had not healed the wounds inflicted on Kenya's masses who had fought so heroically but had been so bitterly betrayed The Kenya Ngugi writes about, the Kenya that nobody can take away from him, is the 'Kenya of the working people of all nationalities and their heroic struggle against domination by nature and other humans over the centuries' It is a huge Kenya, trampled by earlier colonial raconteurs like Robert Ruark and Karen Blixen, who celebrated the settler culture of 'legalized brutality, fear, silence, oppression' (It is a Kenya whose face we see reflected in Ilmorog, the centre of action for Petals of Blood Ngugi chooses a barren, drought-stricken part of Kenya) where farmers and herders, like their ancestors before them, are battling the elements on the one hand, and politicians who have abandoned them to their fate on the other The journey of Ilmorog is the journey of Kenya after independence when it donned neocolonial clothes and put the interests of foreigners and traitors first and aban doned the people who had suffered and died for the land. The question of landys very important in the book, as in Ngugi's earlier books.(Land is presented as salvation, as a soul, as a woman, as God, the subject of prophecy, the basis of cultural and political identity) There was nothing people would not do to grab or regain land. Ngugi revists the issue in Devil on the Cross where in Ilmorog a clique of thieves and robbers, former businessmen, are celebrating theft and robbery on a grand scale and are working towards a more efficient system of taking people's land and other goods and resources. Both books breathe the same burning, zealous spirit of concern for a country where the political élite gorge themselves to surfeit as the peasants and workers continue to languish in misery, in prison, on the periphery and where 'women's thighs are the tables on which contracts are signed'

In a world where money has been elevated to the status of world religion and where globalization, meaning the sanctified domination of the world by rich corporations, is seen as a panacea for all problems economic, Ngugi is a writer to cherish for warning, witnessing and pounding on the locked doors of the psyche, especially as for a chilling while it was thought that the end of the Third World War, cynically called the Cold War, would be the end of writers who do not glorify the rich - that they would be cremated along with the remains of the communist empire. Ngugi is sitting pretty because for him history is not some dead skunk reeking to high heaven of centuries of despair, but a mammoth beast, a terrible growler that makes hearts tremble when it bellows for change, change, change, struggle, struggle, struggle. Ngügi has spent most of his life wrestling with the essential issues of life in general and Kenya in particular and has come out of the ring with the definitive African book of the twentieth century. Karibu Ilmorog, Karibu Kenya, Karibu Afrika. - Moses Isegawa, June 2001

A note on the first chapter of the novel (Interrogation of all characters)

There are four parts in the novel, 

Part One: Walking 

Part Two: Towards Bethlehem 

Part Three: To Be Born 

Part Four: Again...La Luta Continua!

Before the start of the first part, there are about four horsemen of the apocalypse:

And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that 

sat thereon had a bow and there was given unto him a crown 

and he came forth conquering, and to conquer ...

And another horse came forth, a red horse and to him that s

at thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, that they should

slay one another and was there given unto him a great

sword... And I saw, and behold/ a black horse, and he that sat thereon

had a balance in his hand And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat

upon him, his name was Death And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of 

earth, to kill with sword and with famine, and with death.

Revelation, Chapter 6 To know the meaning CLICK HERE.

Another is by Walt Whitman:(to know about the poet, CLICK HERE)

The people scorn'd the ferocity of kings... 

But the sweetness of mercy brew'd destruction,

          and the frighten'd monarchs come back; 

Each comes in state, with his train - hangman, 

         priest, tax-gatherer,

Soldier, lawyer, lord, jailer, and sycophant.

Interrogation of all characters: 

The first part starts with police cops and the character Munira. Ngugi Wa pointed to every character in five numbers and in every conversation, we learn about their role or passion in the novel. Here is their introductory part: 

1.Munira: 

Are you Mr Munira? the short one asked. He had a star-shaped scar above the left brow.

'Yes.'

'You teach at the New Ilmorog Primary School?' "And where do you think you are now standing?'

Ah, yes. We try to be very sure Murder, after all, is not irio or ugali 'What are you talking about?"

'You are wanted at the New Ilmorog Police Station 'About?'

'Murder, of course - murder in Ilmorog.'

The tall one who so far had not spoken hastened to add 'It is nothing much, Mr Munira Just routine questioning 'Don't explain You are only doing your duty in this world. But let me put on my coat'

They looked at one another, surprised at his cool reception of the news. He came back carrying the Holy Book in one hand 'You never leave the Book behind, Mr Munira,' said the short one, impressed, and a little fearful of the Book's power.

'We must always be ready to plant the seed in these last days before His second coming. All the signs - strife, killing, wars, blood prophesied here. 

2.Abdulla: 

Abdulla sat on a chair outside his hovel in the section of Ilmorog called the New Jerusalem. He looked at his bandaged left hand. He had not been kept long at the hospital. He felt strangely calm after the night's ordeal. But he still could not understand what had really happened. Maybe in time, he thought - but would he ever be able to explain this fulfilment of what had only been a wish, an intention? How far had he willed it? He raised his head and saw a police constable looking at him.

3. Wanja: 

A police officer went to the hospital where Wanja had been admitted I am afraid you cannot see her, said the doctor 'She is not in a position to answer questions She is still in a delirium and keeps on shouting Fire Fire My mother's sister my dear aunt put out the fire, put out the fire!" and such things. 

4. Karega:

Karega is asleep when the police come and bring him to the station. People gather outside, thinking he is in trouble for last night’s decision to strike, but the police say it is about murder (www.gradesaver.com)

5. News

The headline reads that Mzigo, Chui, and Kimeria, African directors of the Theng’eta Breweries and Enterprises Ltd., were burnt to death last night, and murder is suspected. (www.gradesaver.com)

Joy of Motherhood

This Blog-post is a response to the thinking activity task on the novel 'Joy of Motherhood'  given by our professor Yesh Bhatt ma'am.

About the Author: 

Buchi Emecheta, in full Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta, (born July 21, 1944, Lagos, Nigeria—died January 25, 2017, London, England), Igbo writer whose novels deal largely with the difficult and unequal role of women in both immigrant and African societies and explore the tension between tradition and modernity. (britannica.com)

Buchi Emecheta, who has died aged 72, was a pioneer among female African writers, championing the rights of girls and women in novels that often drew on her own extraordinary life, its trajectory spanning her struggle for an education to having her books set on school curriculums. Whether in her early vivid documentary novels, In the Ditch (1972) and Second-Class Citizen (1974) – about a young black single mother living in the slums of north London – or in the ironically titled The Joys of Motherhood (1979), set in a traditionally male-oriented society in colonial Nigeria, or in her autobiography Head Above Water (1984), or Gwendolen (1989), Emecheta’s writings epitomised female independence, the necessity to grow stronger in the face of any setback.(theguardian.com)

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL-TEXT SUMMARY.

The basis of the novel is the "necessity for a woman to be fertile, and above all to give birth to sons" The central character of the story is, I would like to say 'MOTHER' then become a human. Because as the story depicted the culture and its notion of  African society promoted motherhood rather than seeing Women as human beings. While Nnu Ego was able to give birth to a child and after her very painful mental health she was able to receive such respect from society which was possible because of her children. 

As Teresa Derrickson noted in the article, 

The title of Emecheta's novel is patently ironic, for it would seem that there are few joys associated with motherhood after all. 

Derrickson explained the argument that,

Yet while that reality is certainly one message the novel imparts, there is far more to the text than a critique of motherhood. The fact that Emecheta's novel moves beyond this critique to explore the costs of colonialism for women in urban Nigeria is summarized in a crucial passage midway through the novel in which Nnu Ego pauses to assess the injustices of her life in Lagos:

"It was not fair, she felt, the way men cleverly used a woman's sense of responsibility to actually enslave her.... [H]ere in Lagos, where she was faced with the harsh reality of making ends meet on a pittance, was it right for her husband to refer to her responsibility? It seemed that all she had inherited from her agrarian background was the responsibility and none of the booty."

This excerpt is key in locating the source of Nnu Ego's anguish not in her position as a mother per se but in her position as a woman who is asked to assume the same obligations of her "agrarian background" within a new cultural setting that confers "none of the booty" normally associated with such labor. Nnu Ego is able to interpret the inequity of this exchange as something that "enslaves" and "imprisons" her. She is also able to identify, at least on some level, the political economy of colonial Lagos as the Western construct of "the new" that proves to be unaccommodating of her traditional role as wife and mother: she notes, for example, that it is the "harsh reality of making ends meet on a pittance" that secures her thralldom.

In the novel, there is a contract reading between two words which are in the title, 'Joy' and 'Motherhood'. Being a mother, Nnu Ego also forgot her womanhood in exchange for her motherhood. There is a loophole in womanhood we can read from the protagonist that she was able to respect her own womanhood while she has gone through social, political, or even mental trauma. 

Even one can argue why she did not choose her Womanhood instead of believing in Motherhood. Perhaps that time when she lived or the setting of the story is around the colonial and post-colonial eras. This gap helps us to study the decolonizing process of the character from the certain notion of the colonial rules and regulations and their privileged idea of Motherhood. Women called themselves Women if they are capable to give a child. This gap gives further fundamental findings on the subject of  Womanhood. 

Poem: To The Negro-American Soldiers By Leopold Sedar Senghor

This Blog-post is a response to the thinking activity task on a poem - analysis of African Literature given by our professor Yesh Bhatt ma'am. 

• About the Poet:

Léopold Sedar Senghor (born Oct. 9, 1906, Joal, Senegal, French West Africa—died Dec. 20, 2001, Verson, France), Poet, president of Senegal (1960–80), and cofounder of the Negritude movement in African art and literature. 

Senegalese poet, writer, and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor(Poetry Foundation) was born near Dakar in the town of Joal to a Fulbe mother and a Serer trader father. He was educated at the École Nationale de la France d’Outre-Mer in Paris, where he became friends with Aimé Césaire and future French president George Pompidou. After earning his French citizenship, Senghor taught in Tours and Paris. He joined the French army during World War II and spent 18 months in a German prison camp. After serving successive terms representing Senegal in the French National Assembly, Senghor returned to his native land, where he led his nation’s independence movement in 1960. He eventually became Senegal’s first democratically elected president, a post which he held for the next twenty years.

Poem: To The Negro-American Soldiers 

For Mercer Cook

I did not recognize you in prison under your

………..sad-colored uniform

I did not recognize you under the calabash helmet

………..without style

I did not recognize the whining sound of your

………..iron horses, who drink but do not eat.

And it is no longer the nobility of elephants, it is the

………..the barbaric weight of the prehistoric

………..monsters of the world.

Under your closed face, I did not recognize you.

I only touched the warmth of your brown hand,

………..I called myself “Afrika! ”

And I found once again the lost laughter, I hailed the ancient voices

………..and the roar of Congo waterfalls.

Brothers, I do not know whether you bombed the

………..cathedrals, the pride of Europe,

If you are the lightning of God’s hand that burned

………..Sodom and Gomorrah.

No, you are the messengers of his mercy, the

………..Spring after Winter.

To those who had forgotten how to laugh-only

………..smile obliquely

Who knew nothing but the savory flavor of

………..tears and the vexing stench of blood

You bring the Season of Peace and hope to

………..end of the delay.

And their night is filled with milky sweetness, the blue

………..fields of the sky are covered with flowers, silence sings

………..soothingly.

You bring them the sun. The air beats with whispers

………..liquids and crystalline chirping and beating

………..silky wings

The aerial cities are tepid with nests.

Through the streets joy streamed, the boys play with

………..their dreams

Men dance before of their machines and

………..surprised themselves singing.

Schoolgirls’s eyelids are rose petals, and

………..fruits ripen in the virgins’ breasts

And the women’s hips—Oh, sweetness—

………..grow generously heavy.

Black brothers, warriors whose mouths are flowers that

………..sing

—Oh! the delight to live after Winter—I salute you

………..like messengers of peace.

 

• Glossary:

1. Mercer Cook: 

Will Mercer Cook (March 30, 1903 – October 4, 1987), popularly known as Mercer Cook, was a diplomat and professor. He was the first American ambassador to the Gambia after it became independent, appointed in 1965 while also still serving as ambassador to Senegal. He was also the second American ambassador to Niger. He also translated works of African and West Indian writers from French to English. Most notably, in 1959, Cook translated the works of Leopold Senghor, who was a former president of Senegal and an established French author. (wikipedia.org)

2. Calabash helmet: 

Fashioned out of a gourd native to the Philippines, the Tabungaw is well suited to a climate with extremes of monsoons and droughts, shielding the wearer from rain and strong sun. Lightweight and durable, gourd hats are common throughout the Philippines—but especially in Ilocano, a northern province—where the gourds are hollowed out, dried, and then transformed into hats. (youraudiotour.com)

The helmet referred to in the context of American soldiers also looks like this :

3. Iron horses: 

Iron horse is an iconic literary term (considered by the early 21st century to be transitioning into an archaic reference) for a steam locomotive, originating in the early 1800s, when horses still powered most machinery. The term was common and popular in both British and North American literary articles.(wikipedia.org)

⇾Merriam Webster: a steam locomotive (Merriam-webster.com)

⇾Collins dictionary: a steam-driven railway locomotive(collins dictionary.com)

⇾English Slang: A railroad locomotive; the engine of a railroad train.(english-slang.com)

⇾Voocabulary.com: an early term for a locomotive 

type of: engine, locomotive, locomotive engine, railway locomotive

a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks(vocabulary.com)

3. The nobility of elephants: 

Ivory Coast coat of arms,  (ca 1964–2000)	Flag of Siam (Thailand), (1855–1916)
Flag of the Kingdom of Laos, (1952–1975)	Flag of the Kingdom of Dahomey, (ca 1888)

Many African cultures refered the African Elephant as a symbol of strength and power. It is also praised for its size, longevity, stamina, mental faculties, cooperative spirit, and loyalty. South Africa, uses elephant tusks in their coat of arms to represent wisdom, strength, moderation and eternity The elephant is symbolically important to the nation of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire); the Coat of arms of Ivory Coast features an elephant head escutcheon as its focal point.

In the western African Kingdom of Dahomey (now part of Benin) the elephant was associated with the 19th century rulers of the Fon people, Guezo and his son Glele. The animal is believed to evoke strength, royal legacy, and enduring memory as related by the proverbs: "There where the elephant passes in the forest, one knows" and "The animal steps on the ground, but the elephant steps down with strength." Their flag depicted an elephant wearing a royal crown.

4. Afrika: 

One of the most popular suggestions for the origins of the term 'Africa' is that it is derived from the Roman name for a tribe living in the northern reaches of Tunisia, believed to possibly be the Berber people. The Romans variously named these people ‘Afri’, ‘Afer’ and ‘Ifir’. Some believe that ‘Africa’ is a contraction of ‘Africa terra’, meaning ‘the land of the Afri’. There is, however, no evidence in the primary sources that the term ‘Africa terra’ was used to describe the region, nor is there direct evidence that it is from the name ‘Afri’ that the Romans derived the term ‘Africa’. (sahistory.org)

5. Congo: 

The Congo River (Kongo: Nzâdi Kôngo, French: Fleuve Congo, Portuguese: Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. (wikipedia.org)

7. Cathedral

A cathedral is a church that contains the cathedra (Latin for 'seat') of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches.

8. Sodom and Gomorrah:

 (/ˈsɒdəm ... ɡəˈmɒrə/) were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). (wikipedia.org)

This poem was originally written in french language including Senghor's poems collection Hosties noires (1948). (Smithsonian-edu) The poem is about the Negro-Americal soldiers. It is also about the experience of Sengho while he was imprisoned.

Analysis:

There is not much content available on the internet, though I have tried to analyze it as per the class discussion. 

Senghor writes by mentioning 'For Mercer Cook' who was the first American ambassador to the Gambia after it became independent, appointed in 1965 while also still serving as ambassador to Senegal and also well known for his translation of Senghor's poem and others also. Iron Horse is ironically mentioned here which presents that the material thing which was expanded during that time and due to that overpowering over the humans, the speaker is not able to hear their tears. The Speaker express his feeling towards the soldiers and he said that he did not recognize him(soldier) properly because of that sad-colored uniform which represents the dull and uninformed living life of soldiers who are not taken care of by the government and their living life information is not reached to their family or other people in the country. Further, the speaker also mentioned the culture of Africa and compares it that the modern world becoming barbaric. Many African cultures revere the African Elephant as a symbol of strength and power. It is also praised for its size, longevity, stamina, mental faculties, cooperative spirit, and loyalty. Comparing the lines given here, it elaborates that the culture of Africa and its dignity is not as static as were at that time because the soldiers are now working for their countries also. The mythical connection of Western mythology - Sodom and Gomorrah that two cities were destroyed by God. The speaker addresses the attack on the Catholic church and the word, 'Brother' may be used for American soldiers. Then he denies that they come as Spring comes after Winter (England) with new hope, a new environment around the people for their safety or for their future also. For those who forgot how to laugh. Later but very important lines suggest the mechanical life of men and post-colonial conditions but apart from this, the speaker pointed out that all things happened and people now lied happily, girls are going to school, men are not tired to work, they enjoy their works with industry. Black brothers, warriors whose mouths are flowers that………..sing —Oh! the delight to live after Winter—I salute you ………..like messengers of peace. By the ending line, the speaker expresses his feeling of gratitude to the soldiers. 

• Themes: 

1. Partrotism:

Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and vigorous support for the country. It is more about devotion and sacrifice rather than fighting and or extra care about your race, culture, language, religion, etc. Patriotism speaks more about the nation and its love without focusing on any particular notion that represents unpatriotic senses. 

The timeline of this poetry is around the second world war. As is mentioned in the article - army.mil article For more than 200 years, African Americans have served courageously in every conflict in U.S. history. They endured individual and institutional racism while fighting for social equality and opportunity. During WWII, more than 2.5 million African American men registered for the draft, and African American women volunteered in large numbers. When combined with black women enlisted into the Women's Army Corps, more than one million African Americans served the Army during the War. At home, African Americans proactively fought for their right to work in positions in the Defense industry, facing discrimination and segregation. As we remember their contributions to WWII, we are reminded of the Nation's struggle for equality.

African soldiers who served themselves during the second world war, poet appreciated their sacrifice for not only their country or they think beyond their colonialism and gave first priority to the country without thinking that who is ruling over them but for the people. 

2. Culture:

And it is no longer the nobility of elephants, it is the

………..the barbaric weight of the prehistoric

………..monsters of the world.

Here I tried to read these lines through the lines of world war. The culture of Africa or even of America and the countries who suffered from the huge disaster of their culture because of the continuity of ruling over the country which perhaps makes the culture weak and there might be less existence of the culture itself.

As it is mentioned above that it suggests that elephants are symbolized their power but here because of the world war effect, there is no courage or honor but the because of the past effect. The major causes of World War II were numerous. They include the impact of the Treaty of Versailles following WWI, the worldwide economic depression, the failure of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and Japan, and the failure of the League of Nations. (drishtiias.com) Perhaps that can be one reason and that's why the poet mentioned 'the barbaric weight' and for the dictators, he mentioned monsters of the world. 

Biblical Connection:

Brothers, I do not know whether you bombed the

………..cathedrals, the pride of Europe,

If you are the lightning of God’s hand that burned

………..Sodom and Gomorrah.

There is a historical event that damaged the Church during WWII. It is about the massive St. Stephen's Cathedral is the Gothic needle around which Vienna spins. While heavily damaged in WWII, the church survived. Today it symbolizes the city's freedom and proud spirit.(classroom.ricksteves.com) 

Another article on this event: (British Library.com)

The biblical reference is about two cities mentioned in Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible. It is all about how God's anger is provoked by man's sin. (wikipedia.org) By connecting with this poem, it is about a dictator who ruled over the world, and their main focus point to gaining the region is to kill people by the name of religion and good deeds or bad deeds. As they destroyed the church which was the pride of entire Europe and they suddenly throw a huge light to destroy the city like it was done by God in this biblical story.

3. Freedom: 

The aerial cities are tepid with nests.

Through the streets joy streamed, the boys play with

………..their dreams

Men dance before of their machines and

………..surprised themselves singing.

Schoolgirls’ eyelids are rose petals, and

………..fruits ripen in the virgins’ breasts

And the women’s hips—Oh, sweetness—

………..grow generously heavy.

Black brothers, warriors whose mouths are flowers that

………..sing

—Oh! the delight to live after Winter—I salute you

………..like messengers of peace.

The last part of the poem describes that now in the country or in the world, people are living after the world war, Men are working with machines with enlightenment and enthusiasm, and other description about women and girl, here schoolgirls is mentioned that suggests that they growing with new hope with generous nature. 

No, you are the messengers of his mercy, the

………..Spring after Winter. 

and 

—Oh! the delight to live after Winter—I salute you

………..like messengers of peace.

This line perhaps connected with 'The Hunger Winter'. During the harsh winter of 1944-1945 a large part of the German-occupied Netherlands suffered from severe shortages of food and fuel. This would result in the death of some 20.000 civilians. The famine, known as the ‘Hunger Winter’, would last until the surrender of German forces in May 1945. The ensuing famine, known as the ‘Hunger Winter’, would last until the final surrender of German forces in the Netherlands in early May 1945 (liberationroute.com)

4. Glory of a Warrior: 

Under your closed face, I did not recognize you.

I only touched the warmth of your brown hand,

………..I called myself “Afrika! ”

Poet did not recognize the soldier properly because his face was closed up by his uniform or perhaps his dead body. But he felt the warmth only by recognizing his brown-skinned hand. And later he called himself Afrika proudly because their sacrifices for the country or for the world are unparalleled. Here poet celebrated the Glory and the victory of the soldiers and their endless love for the country. 

Senghor also considered a part of Négritude Movement. This movement is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African diaspora during the 1930s, aimed at raising and cultivating "Black consciousness" across Africa and its diaspora. Négritude gathers writers such as sisters Paulette and Jeanne Nardal (known for having laid the theoretical basis of the movement) Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, Abdoulaye Sadji, Léopold Sédar Senghor (the first President of Senegal), and Léon Damas of French Guiana. (wikipedia.org)

So, this is how the poem ends with celebrating the victory of the Soldiers and independence. Here I tried to explain briefly. As I mentioned earlier that there is no such content is available on the internet so if you find any relatable notes or historical events around this poem, or even around the poet- Leopold Sedar Senghor then it is my request that please share through your blog or even you can write in comment section also it can be very helpful to the future students for their exam. 

Here are some informative websites you can explore and write more in detail: 

⇾PICTURES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN DURING WORLD WAR II

⇾AMERICAN TROOPS, INCLUDING AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS FROM THE 183RD ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION

⇾WORLD WAR II AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

⇾ABOUT THE POET-POETRY FOUNDATION

⇾A CONCEALED REALITY: LEIPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR'S YEAR IN CAPTIVITY

⇾Honoring Black History World War II Service to the Nation

⇾The Hunger Winter

⇾The Hunger Winter: the Dutch famine of 1944-45

⇾ Art term- Négritude - in more detail