Radio and the black soldier during World War II

The figure of the black soldier was central,to U.S. radio's racialized representations during World War II. Emerging in response to the particular social, political, and institutional pressures of the time, it served, to varying degrees, the immediate interests of the black press, the federal government, the military, and U.S. broadcasters. The figure of the black soldier that appeared on network radio excluded any reference to segregation in the armed forces or the subordinated status of black civilians in the United States. After tracing the influences behind its production, this paper considers the figure's material, discursive effects during wartime and in the modified environment of the postwar context.