1918 Colored Man is No Slacker
By: Edward George Renesch
Date: 1918 (dated) Chicago
Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.5 cm)
A vivid recruitment poster aimed at convincing black men to act upon their patriotic duty and enlist in the United States Army to fight in World War I. The print offers a scene of a young black couple embracing and saying their goodbyes as a regiment of enlisted black soldier march in unison behind them. The title of this print "The Colored Man is No Slacker," suggests that no enlisting or "draft dodging," would deem you a slacker.
The term "Slacker," as it is meant in this propaganda poster is the subject of a poem written by a 17 year old African American girl named Ada Peters during the war. Her poem reads as follows...
God forbid ere man was born, To crush honor beneath his feet
That the light of day should dawn, Upon one, who from duty flees
While on Freedom’s Bleeding Alter, His Noble Comrades have bled
But he stands idle a slacker, Disgraced before living and dead.
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, some darkening along the lower right and top left edges and a few minor tears that have been reinforced on the verso.
Inventory #90103
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622