During WWI, Black soldiers were drafted at a rate that was proportionally much higher than White soldiers. For those Black soldiers who never got to return home, their memory has almost been wholly erased. Black families were able to remember the ultimate sacrifice their soldiers committed; however, especially in the rural, deep South, only white soldiers who died were commemorated. Using letters written by a mother to her son during WWI, the life of James Bennett comes to fruition in a way that is not possible for most African American Soldiers who died during WWI. However, due to conflicting primary resources, the status of James Bennett has been uncertain concerning race, birthplace, and the circumstances of his death. This poster aims to understand how historical resources provide contexts to modern-day archival mysteries by utilizing the Bennett Family Papers housed in Special Collections at the Zach S. Henderson Library.
