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 Roots to Rap
Rahiel Tesfamariam
Columnist Page
Friday, January 7, 2005; Page 17
We Have a Lot at Stake in the Peace Effort
African Americans have contributed to the prosperity of this country in ways that are rarely recognized. Often, they have fought to protect America from foreign enemies despite the oppression they were enduring at home. Black soldiers have played a significant role on the frontline of American wars, especially in the Civil War in which approximately 180,000 Black men fought in the Union army.
These displays of patriotism sometimes coexisted with acts of rebellion. This is because different movements have impacted African Americans in different ways. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), for example, felt that the civil rights campaign and the antiwar movement against Vietnam were heavily tied.
While many Black leaders shared in this belief, the platform was not strong enough to draw large-scale activism from the Black community nor has it been with the war in Iraq. Despite the fact that we, as African Americans, have been greatly impacted by past wars and equally so with the current Middle East conflict, passivity has been maintained as it relates to the antiwar movement with resistance coming mainly from the faith community.
The Vietnam War had an immense impact on African Americans. More Blacks fought in the Vietnam War than any other American war. Although they were only 11 percent of the population, they made up 12.6 percent of the soldiers in Vietnam during 1965-1969, the height of the U.S. involvement. According to one Internet site, “they accounted for almost 20 percent of all combat-related deaths in Vietnam during that period. In 1965 alone African Americans represented almost one-fourth of the Army's killed in action. In 1968 African Americans, who made up roughly 12 percent of Army and Marine total strengths, frequently contributed half the men in front-line combat units, especially in rifle squads and fire teams”. The numbers of soldiers leaving to fight and dying in combat should have brought about a great deal of concern amongst the community.
African Americans have equally been affected by the war in Iraq. One of the primary reasons was that a growing number of Blacks joined the armed forces for economic reasons after the draft ended in 1973. They were enticed by the free room and board, medical care, pension and other benefits. A pay of $7,668 a year with an enlistment bonus of $8,000 was also very good money at that time.
As a result, African Americans currently make up 22 percent of armed forces enlisted but only 12 percent of the population. The Gulf War should have served as a warning for what was to come in Iraq, as over 23 percent of the troops sent there were Black. Current statistics on the enlistment of African Americans in the armed forces should be a signal that more and more of them will be sent to fight in Iraq.
Americans instinctively think of White males when picturing U.S. soldiers, but history and the current conflict in Iraq reveal that Black men and women deserve equal recognition for their heroic efforts. It is tragic that African Americans have maintained limited involvement in the peace effort despite proven opposition and the obvious toll that the war is having on our community.
For Rahiel Tesfamariam send email to rahielt@washingtoninformer.com. |
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