Segregation In A Soldier's Play By Charles Fuller

James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” Ralph Ellison are two stories by young african american men in the 50’s. Racial abuse was in abundance during this era. In both stories race has an important role however, in “Battle Royal” Ellison used race as the driving force of the story. In “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin uses race as an important theme but is subtle as opposed to Ellison who directly addresses race as the issue. “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” depicted the suffering of young black men in harlem, and illustrated the struggle of generation past and present; and the vicious cycle of the stereotype of african americans. African americans during this time endured in environment of hatred, but not only by whites but also by themselves, they hated who they were because they weren't white, in order for a person to be accepted in society or seen as valuable african americans believed they had to be white.

The story of African American soldiers in the American Civil War is often a forgotten one. The history of the war is usually presented as white Northerners versus white Southerners as blacks waited on the sidelines as their fate was determined. This portrayal is highly inaccurate considering over 180,000 African American troops fought in the war and eventually obtained their own regiments under the United States Colored Troops as a part of the Union Army. Composed on May, 22, 1863, the USCT strengthened the Union Army’s numbers and contributed significantly to battles such as the Skirmish at Island Mound and Fort Wagner. Even with their contributions, African American soldiers are often overlooked in favor of other narratives. However, black historian George Washington Williams was one of the first to write the history of black troops today. His belief was that the history of black troops and their valor were a major contribution to American Civil War history. While controversial at the time, this view is not uncommon today and historians have continued to study the significance of black troops. Gregory J. W. Urwin and other historians recently wrote a critique on the treatment of black soldiers, acknowledging atrocities against them were committed often. Urwin tries to provide a honest history to the brutality of the black solider.

In the 1940‘s racial segregation gripped southern American life. The notion of separating blacks from whites created immense tension. Separate water fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. were variables that helped keep races apart. “Jim Crow” laws in the south were intended to prevent blacks from voting. These laws, combined with the segregated educational system, instilled the sense that blacks were “separate” but not equal (174). Many people of color weren‘t able to survive through this time period because of the actions of whites. One individual who overcame the relentless struggles was Ralph Ellison. Ellison, a famous author, depicted racial segregation in the 1940’s through a fictional short story entitled “Battle Royal.” Battle

During World War I, black troops faced poor training and lack of supplies has well has segregation, they where separated from white barracks and where not allow in the same clubs has white soldiers. White Officers didn’t like the idea of harming them or even training them how to use a weapon. They believed that by nature black where inferior to them making argument has “Negro brain is smaller than white; his brain weighs 35 ounces contrasted with 45 for the white” (Gropman).

In Black Like Me, John Griffin Howard aims to reveal to white american readers that black people living in southern America face injustices that are incomprehensible to white people and are often caused by them. He does this through striking diction, appealing to Pathos, and a disheartened tone. In Black Like Me, one way that Griffin communicates that black people face injustices that are incomprehensible to white people is through his clear diction. He recalls looking at a white woman and describes the way that she talked to him as that “she spat out”, asking him, “what are you looking at me like that for” (25).

It was known that blacks were gathering in anger in the Black Belt, and the athletic clubs went on a preemptive offensive attack that night. “Black people in Chicago had ample reason to fear the athletic clubs, and they had also come to anticipate law enforcement that was biased in favor of white hoodlums.”

“It was people and commercials trying to make him feel like he didn’t even matter, trying to make him feel like there was something wrong with being black”. Chapter 1 page 8

While the emancipation proclamation was created to mainly announce the solidarity of the Union against slavery, it also became a symbol of hope for black people, who for many years were subjected to the maltreatment and prejudices by their fellow man. This was evident in the inequalities of black soldiers within the Union army, in which it was still commonly complacent during the Civil War. The Union’s practices of denying black soldiers the opportunity of a commission as an officer, paying them less than their fellow white counterparts, allowing them to face harsher treatment as prisoners of war and most profoundly was the segregation of black soldiers from the rest of the Army; were just a few incidents that gave proof that African Americans were still not considered an equal.

In the short story “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin describes how racism limits African American’s possibilities, causing them to be physically and emotionally entrapped. This containment creates suffering, and Baldwin argues that the only way to cope with it is through music. James Baldwin argues that the lack of possibilities caused by racism traps African Americans in Harlem. The narrator is explaining how he grew up in Harlem and how it hasn’t changed. The narrator talks about Sonny’s struggles and that he sees the struggles Sonny went though in the same kids that he currently teaches.

Black soldiers played a significant role during the Civil War, and their contributions, on and off the battlefield, eventually facilitated a Union victory over the Confederate troops.

Society, as we know it today, consists of people who have evolved and developed mentally, culturally, geographically, and physiologically. Because people come from different walks of life, segregation has played a significant role in America. It is seemingly inescapable. The term segregation is known for its infamous history and the negative impact it has had on society. Due to its reputation, it is very uncommon that one studies the word in a positive way contrary to its negative connotation, to find that it has two sides, both pros and cons. Due to this fact, in this paper I will discuss the pros and cons that can be associated with segregation.

These soldiers of the 54th regiment of Massachusetts were treated differently based on how they looked and worked. During the film, there was a lot of mistreatment, like in the woods, the white soldiers had called the African Americans “Monkey Children”, this was very discriminating because it was disrespectful and had referred to them as animals, trying to downgrade them. Not only were the African American soldiers mistreated, but there was no equality. First, their pay was $10/month instead of $13, they had protested for a year. Second, they had to wait for their supplies, whether it was shoes, uniforms or rifles, these were necessary and crucial yet they still had to

While the Civil War was taking place, the Massachusetts Infantry Regiment sends Confederate forces to engage in the Battle of Antietam. Captain Robert Shaw (Matthew Broderick) visits his family after recovering from battle and attends a party where he is introduced to Frederick Douglass. Then, Shaw is offered a promotion to the rank of Colonel, commanding the first all-black regiment of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He takes on the challenge, and invites his childhood friend, Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes) to serve as second in command. The first black man to volunteer soldier is another one of Shaw's friends: Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher). But when the Confederacy issues an order that all black soldiers wearing the Union uniform

Therefore, the United States recruited black men to enter into the war. Black men thought that since they went to go fight in the war that they will be free and done with segregation but that was not the case. As a matter of fact a card advertising for a civil rights march on Washington to demand an end to federal segregation was published in 1943. Negroes were questioning their assistance. They wanted to know why were they fighting if there wasn't any good outcome at the end. They wanted an end to it. They wanted to be free from want, free from fear, and free from Jim Crow. Furthermore, negroes were also treated badly inside the workforce. Inside the workforce negroes were treated like unwanted animals. In 1987 Fanny Hill said “all the Negroes went to Department 17 because there was nothing but shooting and bucking rivets.” This quotes interpret that nobody cares about Negroes they just needed work to be done so they placed them in the most dangerous areas. This also lets the readers know that segregation was still going on because all the white folks was placed in safe environments but the blacks were placed in unsafe

The protagonist of A Soldier’s play is Captain Davidson who is a black officer. After a black Sergeant is murdered Vernon Waters, Captain Davidson is assigned to solve this murder. His superobjective is to interview other officers and soldiers, learn about Sergeant Waters, and find out who and why Waters was murdered. In Act One his superobjective begins with Corporal Ellis who is assigned with Davidson to bring the officers or soldiers into questioning and get answers. Davidson asks Ellis of any informal theories of Sergeant Waters’s death and all Ellis has come up with is the Klu Klux Klan is responsible but there are rumors of two white officers. The investigation stalled but they continue to investigate and bring soldiers in for questioning.