CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - In continuation of recognizing and celebrating Black History Month, WBBM shines a spotlight on the Fighting 8th.
Known for his social media takes on local history along with his Mahogany Tours, Shermann “Dilla” Thomas recently joined WBBM on a tour of the DuSable Black History Museum in Bronzeville.
There, he stopped at an exhibit that shares the history of Chicago's very own Fighting 8th.
“During World War I, the armed services were segregated. It was illegal for Blacks and whites to fight in the same regimes,” Thomas told WBBM.
“If they were placed next to the white units, they [African Americans] were basically trench diggers, dig the trenches, get rid of the waste…The French said, ‘Hey, we’ll take those Black soldiers, send them here.’”
Overlooked, by their own military, Black regiments like the Fighting 8th and the Harlem Hellfighters become heroes in France during the Great War.
“They don’t just go over there and kick holy butt, but then they leave their culture…If you ever wonder why people in France love jazz, if you ever wonder how we got Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] and Tony Parker and all these basketball people from Paris and France, it’s because the brothers from Chicago and Harlem took basketball over there,” added Thomas.
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