World War I brought about tremendous change for African Americans and their place in American society.
The Great Migration transformed the demographics of black communities in the North and the South.
The war effort allowed black men and women to assert their citizenship, hold the government accountable, and protest racial injustice. Military service brought thousands of black men into the army, exposed them to new lands and new people, and allowed them to fight for their country. Black people staked claim to democracy as a highly personal yet deeply political ideal and demanded that the nation live up to its potential.
World War I represents a turning point in African American history, one that shaped the course of the black experience in the twentieth century.