TY - JOUR
T1 - Jim Crow Downunder? African American encounters with White Australia, 1942-1945
AU - Brawley, Sean
AU - Dixon, Chris
N1 - Published as Pacific Historical Review, Vo. 71, No. 4, p. 607-632. © 2002 by the Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Sponsoring Society for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on [Caliber (http://caliber.ucpress.net/)] or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com.
PY - 2002/11
Y1 - 2002/11
N2 - Between 1941 and 1945, as the U.S. military machine sent millions of Americans-and American culture-around the world, several thousand African Americans spent time in Australia. Armed with little knowledge of Australian racial values and practices, black Americans encountered a nation whose long-standing commitment to the principle of "White Australia" appeared to rest comfortably with the segregative policies commonly associated with the American South. Nonetheless, while African Americans did encounter racism and discrimination-practices often encouraged by the white Americans who were also stationed in Australia during the war-there is compelling evidence that their experiences were not always negative. Indeed, for many black Americans, Australians' apparent open-mindedness and racial tolerance were a revelation-as were the racial views of white Britons and others with whom African Americans came into contact during the war. Making use of U.S. Army censors' reports and paying attention to black Americans' views of their experiences in Australia, this article not only casts light on an aspect of American-Australian relations that has hitherto received scant scholarly attention and reveals something about the African American experience, but also offers insights into race relations within the U.S. armed forces.
AB - Between 1941 and 1945, as the U.S. military machine sent millions of Americans-and American culture-around the world, several thousand African Americans spent time in Australia. Armed with little knowledge of Australian racial values and practices, black Americans encountered a nation whose long-standing commitment to the principle of "White Australia" appeared to rest comfortably with the segregative policies commonly associated with the American South. Nonetheless, while African Americans did encounter racism and discrimination-practices often encouraged by the white Americans who were also stationed in Australia during the war-there is compelling evidence that their experiences were not always negative. Indeed, for many black Americans, Australians' apparent open-mindedness and racial tolerance were a revelation-as were the racial views of white Britons and others with whom African Americans came into contact during the war. Making use of U.S. Army censors' reports and paying attention to black Americans' views of their experiences in Australia, this article not only casts light on an aspect of American-Australian relations that has hitherto received scant scholarly attention and reveals something about the African American experience, but also offers insights into race relations within the U.S. armed forces.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036856971&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036856971
SN - 0030-8684
VL - 71
SP - 607
EP - 632
JO - Pacific Historical Review
JF - Pacific Historical Review
IS - 4
ER -