1919 True Blue
By: Edward George Renesch
Date: 1919 (dated) Chicago
Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.5 cm)
This is a rare war propaganda poster titled "True Blue," concerning African American soldiers of WWI currently serving overseas. This thought provoking and emotional work by E.G. Renesch is a follow-up from his earlier work "Colored Man is No Slacker!" published one year earlier as a recruitment poster asking young black men to lay their life on the line in service to America.
In this scene, a young African American family consisting of a young wife, and her three children remembering their father who is currently overseas, fighting for their country. His portrait displays proudly adorned with crossed American flags above their fireplace, sharing a wall with George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, and Abraham Lincoln. The middle child, a daughter holding her dolly appears to be talking about her father as the youngest child reaches for his portrait and the eldest, a son, sits on a chair, dressed in clothes resembling that of what an Army officer, gazing upon the portrait with a sense of pride and amazement in his father. A one star flag representing a loved on actively serving in the military hangs in the window. A cat rests by a warm fire.
African American Service in WWI
Upon the declaration of WWI in 1917, approximately 20,000 black Americans enlisted in the United States Military. After the Selective Service Act was enacted in May 1917 over 700,000 had registered for military service within a span of just two months. Despite their readiness to take up arms on behalf of the United States, they were barred from joining the Marines and very few served in the Navy. Nearly half of all African American soldiers were assigned to segregated battalions that supported European allied troops.
During this time African Americans served in a wide variety of ways, including cavalry, infantry, medics, engineers, surveyors, truck drivers and chemists to name a few. As a result, many of the returning veterans (predominantly from the southern states) moved north and west to cities in search of higher wages, in jobs that matched their skill sets attained in service as well as better areas that offered more racially accepting social and political opportunities.
Condition: This print is in B+ condition, with bumped corners and a few minor edge tears, the longest being 0.75 inches, reinforced on the verso with archival materials.
Inventory #90104
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622