Empire and Equality: The Struggles of African American Soldiers Fighting for American Imperialism

Shortly after the start of the Philippine War, fighting switched from traditional to asymmetrical when Filipino forces changed from fighting as an army to fighting as an insurgency. This poster will examine how soldiers of six African American regiments in the U. S. Army dealt with the Filipino insurrection. While the war evolved around them, African American views of the war and its purpose split. Some soldiers viewed the war as an example of how poorly white America felt about minorities: such as David Fagen, a member of the Twenty-Fourth Infantry who deserted and fought with the Filipino resistance. Other soldiers felt that more than ever, service was needed to earn equal rights. All of these soldiers struggled with the idea of "race loyalty," the belief among some white Americans that all non-whites sympathized with each other. Some African American soldiers, like Fagen, viewed “race loyalty” as proof they would not get equal rights through service. Others felt it was their duty to disprove “race loyalty”’ by remaining utterly loyal to America. Details to be discussed in this poster will include, the types of fighting conducted, soldiers’ views of the insurgents, insurgents’ views of the soldiers, and army treatment of the soldiers. Visually, the poster will include three elements. First, a timeline of events in which these soldiers took part. Second, information about specific actions such as the surrender of insurgent leaders to African American soldiers or examples of mistreatment of these soldiers by the Army. Third, biographies of some of the key individuals involved such as Captain Charles Young, Colonel Andrew Burt, and David Fagen. The ultimate argument of this poster will be that African American soldiers saw military service as a pathway to equality, particularly service in a conflict where there were concerns that “race loyalty” would prevent African American soldiers from being loyal to the United States’ efforts to subdue another non-white population in the Philippines.