Although I did not foresee the frenetic fears and scuttlebutt regarding how the Trump ordered drone attack that ended the life of Iranian military General Qasem Soleiman could affect Black America, I am not surprised by the robust discussion.

From what I have been able to glean, there appear to be two strands of discussion occurring within Black America.

• Will the draft be reinstated?
• Should Black Americans support this nation in its conflicts abroad?

It is the latter of these two matters that delivers an unmistakable feeling of having been here before.

This question regarding “should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” is a familiar one that invariably arises during every military conflict.

Consider for a moment after Germany sunk the Lusitania, an act that guaranteed the U.S. would enter WWI, non-Whites (a populace that included new immigrant populations from Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, etc.) were called on to prove their loyalty to “the land of the free and home of the brave.” W.E.B. Du Bois, the foremost leader of Blacks during this period, felt that we must serve and “prove ourselves brave” as this would be the war to “make Americans.” He later realized that his analysis was severely flawed as it failed to recognize how deep racial hatred ran through the veins of non-Black Americans even during times of war.

To the chagrin of many Blacks and the surprise of no one, the plight of Blacks after their heroic service during WWI remained the same. In fact, their subordinate status was emphasized via racially segregated victory parades and the Red Summer of 1919. A historical period that facilitated a steep rise in the lynching of Blacks, particularly servicemen who had just returned from advancing this nation’s interest abroad.

It is this situation that inspired Claude McKay’s poetic call to arms If We Must Die.

If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursèd lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

Similar events surround Black participation in WWII.

Having learned lessons regarding the evil that appears to be etched into the spirits of so many of their countrymen, Black soldiers entered WWII fighting under the banner of “The Double-V Campaign” — Victory Abroad and Victory at Home. Yet, their final reward was a continuation of their subjugated second-class citizenship.

Participation in neither war appreciably altered the status of Blacks in this nation. Hence, it should be expected that the question of “Should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” remains pertinent.

In many ways, the consistent pressure from “Whites” regarding Black patriotism is not only offensive but also reveals our opponent’s well-worn tendency to gloss over historical realities. Within the historically unsupportable assertion that Blacks are less patriotic than their fairer-skinned countrymen is a hidden revelation from Whites that if they were treated as poorly as Blacks have been by this nation, they would not support it in any way shape or form. Even the issuing of this question by a mongrelized “White populace” conveys a historically unsupportable perspective that they are the sole owners of this nation.

Even a cursory reading of American history definitively proves that there has not been a single military conflict where Blacks have not displayed their patriotism. How quickly do people forget that the first to give his life for the establishment of this nation during the Boston Massacre was Crispus Attucks, a Black man.

In actuality, the patriotism question should be placed at the feet of the descendants of Confederates who warred against this nation, not Blacks who have always served this nation with no guarantee that their service would appreciably improve their condition. When viewed through this lens, a credible argument could be made that Blacks are the most American of all.

In regards to the question of should they serve this nation during military conflicts that have historically delivered little tangible improvement to their lives, I am indifferent. My indifference flows from the fact that my countrymen have repeatedly proven to be hypocrites who have yet to display a consistent determination to provide access to much-needed resources on a fair basis regardless of race, creed, or sex.

If the current situation with Iran leads to WWIII, I already realize that Blacks will do what they have always done and defended this nation without either demand or expectation of any tangible improvement in their lives. It is what we have always done and I don’t see any reason that it will change at this point.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.