Black Soldier Blues
Clip 1: Racism abroad
2 min 27 sec
Taken from the documentary Black Soldier Blues (2004)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be PG
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
African American soldiers who were stationed in Queensland during the Second World War talk about how they were treated with prejudice by the white American military police and white American soldiers, and recall the contrasting friendliness of the Australians. Townsville resident Ray Smith recalls being shocked to witness African American servicemen stepping into the gutter to let white Americans pass. Professor Kay Saunders comments that the American military police were violent towards African Americans. This led to a violent confrontation in Brisbane.
