James L. Smith papers and audio recordings

Scope and Content

Interviews and correspondence of James L. Smith by his daughter Pam Smith, regarding the Association of the 2,221 Negro Volunteers of WWII, Mr. Smith 's military career, and Affirmative Action. Mr. Smith served in the U.S. Army, 1942 to 1953, and was a member of the first group of African American soldiers chosen to serve in a racially integrated unit of the military. The unit served in heavy combat in Germany in 1945 but received little popular recognition until the Association of the 2,221 Negro Volunteers of WWII began to hold reunions in the 1990s and lobby for recognition by the federal government. J. Cameron Wade was founder and chairman of the association. Also present in the collection is a small amount of material about Mr. Smith's daughter, Pam Smith, when she resided in Burundi in 1994.

Folder 1 contains local and national news articles regarding the Association. Folder 2 contains Smith's personal documents and correspondence. Folder 3 contains original military documentation, including Honorable Discharge paperwork and certification of his Bronze Star Medal and other service awards. Folder 4 includes "Special Studies: The Employment of Negro Troops" by Ulysses Lee, the U.S. policy on employing black servicemen. Folder 5 consists of letters of congratulations from the federal government, including President Bill Clinton, Gen. Colin Powell (Joint Chiefs of Staff), and various senators. It also includes the history of the Association, certificates, records of donations, correspondence, etc. Included in this collection is also a 1941 Englewood High School (Chicago, Ill.) senior yearbook.