Tea at Trianon: The All-black American Female Battalion of World War II

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, November 26, 2018

The All-black American Female Battalion of World War II

From Face2FaceAfrica:

The success of the formation of the all black female battalion was thanks to Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American civil rights activist who at the time, appealed to the then-first lady of America, Eleanor Roosevelt, to create more meaningful roles for black women in the army to help balance out the shortage of soldiers. Mary’s appeal gained the attention of the first lady who then helped the military create a space for an all-black female group to work in the war in Europe.

Women were recruited and trained until May 1942 when the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed, and women of all races were allowed to serve in the war officially. Soon after, in July 1942, through their hard work and dedication, women were given full benefits in the military, and the word “auxiliary” was removed from their name. The Corps became known as the Women’s Army Corps. The military trained women of all races in all divisions and sections of the army in preparation for war.

In 1945, history was made when the first all-black female battalion in the world was sent from the U.S. to serve in parts of Europe during the Second World War. Known as the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, the all black female battalion of the Women’s Army Corps were sent to parts of France and England to contribute to solving problems that the Second World War brought with it. (Read more.)