May 25, 2026

I discovered today's quote of the day while reading W.E.B. Du Bois's Dusk of Dawn. In this book, he shared a small part of a poem dedicated to the Black soldiers of WWI. This poem was composed by Roscoe C. Jamison in 1917 and the entire poem is found below.

These soldiers, who volunteered to fight for a country that turned it back as they were oppressed, "truly are the Brave" as they "move away, to suffer and to die for Freedom, when their own is yet denied". These soldiers, "Who march to War, with visions in their eyes of Peace through Brotherhood" held out hope that their country would soon treat them as full citizens. They were willing to shed "their blood, like Him now held divine, that those who mock might find a better way!"

I can think of no better way to honor these soldiers than by sharing Roscoe's words with as many people as I can. Over a hundred years have gone by since these words were written and yet we are watching the rights of the descendants of these soldiers losing their rights to the courts and the legislature and we are seeing the president of the United States continue to mock one of our former Presidents just because of his race.

Click here for a pdf of Roscoe Jamison's collection of poems