I'm Jonathan K. Parton, welcome to K-PART.

In a 1942 letter to the editor of the nation's largest black newspaper,

a black man named James G. Thompson asked,

should I sacrifice my life to live half American?

That intriguing question guided Matthew Delmont's research

for his latest book, Half American,

the epic story of African Americans fighting World War II at home and abroad.

So since inspiring about the stories of Black

service during World War II is the military did almost everything they could to try to

denigrate Black patriotism and Black service,

but despite all of that, Black Americans serve their country proudly and

employed really important roles in helping American the allies win the war.

In this conversation, first recorded for Washington Post live on November 3rd,

Delmont talks about the service of African Americans in all branches of the military

during World War II and the disrespect and violence

GIs like Nedger Everest faced when they came home.

So let's start with that question from James G. Thompson,

where he asked, should I sacrifice my life to live half American?

Explain what being, quote, half American means in this context.

And how that question guided your research for this book.

So James Thompson was a 26 year old from Wichita, Kansas,

and he writes that letter to the Pittsburgh Courier in December 1941,

...