The centennial of the U.S. involvement in World War I, “War To End All Wars,” is approaching on April 6.
The United States World War One Centennial Commission and the National World War I Museum & Memorial are partnering along with other national organizations such as the Department of Education, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives to bring together education resources about World War I into an education eNewsletter and online collection.
The Resource Center can be searched by grade level and subject area.
Remembering World War I’s African American Soldiers
Recently, 91.7 WVXU’s Howard Wilkinson reported on local efforts to remember World War I’s African-American Soldiers. Paul LaRue, now retired but formerly a social sciences teacher at Washington Court House High School, inspired his students to take part in an extensive search for the final resting places of African-American soldiers who served in the Civil War and World War I. Their work brought them to Cincinnati’s Beech Grove cemetery, where at least a dozen African-American veterans of World War I are buried.
Carl Westmoreland, the senior historian at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, invited LaRue and his students to Beech Grove on Fleming Road in 2012 and 2013.
LaRue and his students were able to identify and tell the story of Ludlow Luther, who was killed in France during the war and buried in an unmarked grave. Luther, born and raised in Glendale, drove a wagon and served with the 369th Regiment, the famed and highly-decorated “Harlem Hellfighters,” made up of African-American soldiers from many states.
Learn more about the students and their work.
Educational Resources on the Role of African Americans in World War I
LaRue is now a member of Ohio’s centennial commission. He has created lesson plans on the role of African-Americans in World War I based on his research and the work of his former students.
One of the lesson plans is about Homer Lawson, a “Harlem Hellfighter” from Washington Court House, who died in combat in France. In his home town, the American Legion Post is named in his honor.
A second lesson plan looks at the role African-Americans played in the war, both in and out of combat.
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