[Scmusenet] "They Never Flinched: African-Americans in WWI" Program

[Cassidy Shaiman, Jai]

COLUMBIA, SC - The museum is holding an African-American history program
highlighting the forgotten story of the 371st Infantry Regiment.  "They
Never Flinched: African Americans in World War I" will examine
African-Americans fighting overseas and on the homefront during the war,
with particular emphasis on the untold history of the 371st Regiment.
It will also include the contributions of African-American soldiers in
other wars throughout history.  

 

The program, which includes a gallery tour, will take place on Sunday,
February 3, 2008 at 2:00.  Speakers include Dr. W. Scott Poole,
Associate Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Studies at
College of Charleston, and Steven D. Smith, Associate Director for
Applied Research at the SC Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Other experts on the subject will be speaking and 371st artifacts will
be on display.  Admission to the program and museum is $1.00 for age 21
and over, under 21 is free. 

 

The story of the 371st regiment is part of the museum's "Forgotten
Stories: South Carolina Fights the Great War" exhibit, which features a
life-like sculpted mannequin representing a 371st soldier, uniforms, and
other items from the regiment.  

 

Founded in 1896, the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is
the oldest museum in the Columbia area. The museum focuses on South
Carolina's military history from the Revolutionary War to the present
War on Terror.  

 

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About the 371st Regiment

The 371st Infantry Regiment formed in August 1917 and consisted of
African-American draftees mostly from South Carolina and white officers.
After training at Camp Jackson, the unit arrived on the Western Front in
April 1918.  It was placed under the command of the French Army because
of their desperate need for new troops, and out of fear that racial
tension might erupt between African-American  and white American
soldiers.  The unit was reorganized to fit the French army structure and
spent the spring of 1918 training in French tactics.  The regiment was
put into battle to relieve the exhausted French and allied Italian units
and fought until the end of the war.  

 

A community reception was held in February, 1919 at Allen University in
honor of the return of the 371st.  The two flags of the regiment that
were carried in France were presented to the community at that time.
Those flags are now part of the collection of the SC Confederate Relic
Room and Military Museum.  Included in the exhibit, one of these flags
is on display for the first time in the museum's history.

 
Jai Cassidy Shaiman
Marketing and Graphic Design
SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
301 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201
P: 803-737-8287
F: 803-737-8099
jcassidy at crr.sc.gov
www.crr.sc.gov <http://www.crr.sc.gov/> 
www.wftf.sc.gov <http://www.wftf.sc.gov/> 
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