Gehnrich Discusses World War I in Brown Bag Lunch Series

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Stephen Gehnrich, professor of biology at Salisbury University, presents “African-Americans in World War I” discussing the role and reception of African-American soldiers during the First World War at the Fulton School of Liberal Arts’ second Brown Bag Lunch Discussion of the semester Tuesday, October 19, at noon in the University Gallery at Fulton Hall. In his presentation, Gehnrich illuminates the lives of 200,000 African-American men who signed up to serve their country in the hopes of attaining more civil rights at home. His talk traces their service from the inferior tasks they were given and the condescending officers who viewed their charges as underlings, to the treatment of their failings as monumental, and their accomplishments as trivial. Gehnrich points out the resulting disillusionment of the soldiers regarding their advancement in American society during that era, while at the same time showing a renewed sense of pride they gained in themselves. The Fulton School Brown Bag Lunch Discussion Series is an ongoing activity, during which Fulton School faculty are encouraged to share their research, publications and interests with their colleagues, the SU campus and the greater community. The presentation is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.