Attention!!! I take NO credit for the writing of this information! It was a Facebook post that my mother found and shared. After I researched and read more, I added pictures and stuff. This information is accurate and I’ve included links to help anyone looking to research the story further.
Yoooo!!! My MOMMA shared this. I researched it and…
More history you were never taught in school.
Battle of Bamber Bridge
Jun 24, 1943 – Jun 25, 1943
On this day in 1943, black American soldiers faced off with white American Military police during World War II on British soil. Yes, you read correctly. Black American soldiers had to fight their own white American soldiers, while in England, where they were fighting for the world.
Why? Because the English town of Bamber Bridge, in Lancashire, was NOT segregated. They treated the black soldiers like all other races so blacks were free to eat, drink anywhere. BUT back in America, segregation of blacks and whites still existed. Essentially the American army went to someone else’s country and demanded they adopt America’s racist practices and force them to mistreat Black Americans. (Crazy AF huh?)
When the American Military police found out that their own Black American soldiers were drinking at the same pubs as white people; they went in to arrest them. (Allow me to type that again. White Americans, in Britain, tried to arrest Black Americans, in Britain, for sitting together!) The people in the town got mad about the treatment of the Black soldiers and decided to then turn their pubs into “BLACKS ONLY DRINKING PUBS”. This is the very opposite of what was taking place in America with their WHITES ONLY businesses.
Of course, this pissed off the American military. White Americans grabbed guns, went blazing and word quickly spread that Black soldiers were fighting back. Scores of men formed a crowd, some carrying rifles, and by midnight more American military police arrived with a machine gun-equipped vehicle. The Black soldiers had no choice but to get rifles from British stores while others barricaded themselves back on base. During WWII, in Britain, facing amazing odds, it was American white soldiers versus American Black soldiers. This lead to the death of one solider, injury of 7, and 32 convictions. ALL convictions were Black soldiers.
Back in America, the battle was hushed up because they didn’t want the country to find out that white American soldiers were fighting Black American soldiers for fear it would anger the black population and weaken the morale in the country.
You may read about the ill treatment of black American soldiers by their own army in the book FORGOTTEN.
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