Porter, Steward, Citizen

An African American's Memoir of World War I

Royal A. Christian
Edited by Pellom McDaniels III

The first public edition of Royal Christian's remarkable memoir, this book expands the historiography related to WWI in general and the experiences of African American men specifically
Provides access to the inner workings of the American military, while illuminating some of the ways in which black men and white men interacted under the banner of service to their country
Offers an opportunity to recognize how some black men managed to take full advantage of their outside-within status and gain access to power
Christian presents an unusual glimpse of London towards the end of the war and France after the Armistice was signed

Porter, Steward, Citizen

An African American's Memoir of World War I

Royal A. Christian
Edited by Pellom McDaniels III

Description

In 1919, Royal Christian privately published a memoir based on his experiences in World War I. However, the book has been lost to public knowledge for almost a century. Unlike traditional accounts of wartime experiences of African American soldiers serving on the western front in combat regiments or in the various labor battalions in France, Christian served as a professional valet for Colonel Moorhead C. Kennedy, the Deputy Director General of Transportation for the American Expeditionary Forces in Paris and London during the First World War. This narrative is a remarkable contribution to the history of African American men participating in WWI and the unintended consequences of the war in Europe to the development of the African American community. Pellom McDaniels III provides a lightly edited and annotated version of Christian's memoir, supplemented by an extensive introduction and numerous previously unpublished archival photos and documents.

Trip to the Battlefields of Europe accounts both directly and indirectly for the challenges African Americans encountered in their efforts to serve the cause of freedom and democracy. Christian chronicles some of the inner workings of the American military and how race served as a barrier to opportunity. In addition, Christian's perspective as an African American man in Europe both during and after the war provides a window to the reader of what tens of thousands of black soldiers witnessed and experienced in their time overseas. Roy's Trip to the Battlefields of Europe offers a unique perspective on African American manhood, masculinity, and citizenship, advancing our understanding of how men like Christian negotiated their obligations to family, community, and themselves, within a society that maintained a deep and abiding attachment to the myth of white supremacy.

Porter, Steward, Citizen

An African American's Memoir of World War I

Royal A. Christian
Edited by Pellom McDaniels III

Porter, Steward, Citizen

An African American's Memoir of World War I

Royal A. Christian
Edited by Pellom McDaniels III

Author Information

Royal A. Christian, (1875-1964)

Edited by Pellom McDaniels III, Curator of African American Collections, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University

Pellom McDaniels III is the Curator of African American collections in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Library at Emory University. He is the author of The Prince of Jockeys: The Life of Isaac Burns Murphy and has contributed essays to anthologies such as Baseball and Philosophy, All Stars and Movie Stars: Sports in Film History, and The Olympics and Philosophy. His articles and reviews appear in the Journal of Sports History, Black Ball: A Negro Leagues Journal, and Ohio Valley History.

Porter, Steward, Citizen

An African American's Memoir of World War I

Royal A. Christian
Edited by Pellom McDaniels III

Reviews and Awards

"Christian's perspective on this turning point in world history is... an invaluable and unique one... Highly recommended." - CHOICE

"Pellom McDaniels ... has put together a small but very important book. Porter, Steward, Citizen by Royal A. Christian was drawn from Christian's self-published memoir Roy's Trip to the Battle Fields of Europe (1919). McDaniels addresses a subject about which there has been little published: the role(s) of African Americans in the First World War." - Christopher Timmers, Times Literary Supplement