You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm & Mild

from Erin Manky.

The locals at Ye Old Hub pub were going to have none of this nonsense.

The night was winding down, last call was at hand, and the time was ripe for a scuffle.

There had been a series of race riots in Detroit, Michigan, and for days the white American

troops stationed in Bamber Bridge, England had been throwing a fit.

Many of them felt helpless and more felt angry.

To ease their fury'd hearts, they decided they wanted a color ban on all local pubs,

effectively making them white only establishments, no black soldiers would be allowed in.

The Brits were furious.

How dare these arrogant knitwits show up and try to enforce Jim Crow in their village?

In reaction, three pubs, including Ye Old Hub, hung black troops only signs.

The white servicemen found this unamusing.

A black private by the name of Eugene Nun was just about ready to head home from the

pub when two white soldiers came in.

They puffed up their chests and tried to detain him for what they claimed was a uniform

offense.

The soldiers and barflies began to argue, and Eugene was caught in the middle.

A staff sergeant on hand managed to defuse a situation and sent the offending troops

packing.

That is, until someone lobbed a beer at their backs like a grenade.

For the soggy troops, that was the last straw.

...