Hello Meltingpot Readers,
Happy Veteran’s Day! Today is the day we’ve designated to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces to protect this country. As is often the case, the face of the “American veteran” is depicted as a white man (but hats off to Google for the diverse veteran Google doodle today), so of course I want to share a veteran story with some color.
While I was at the Facing Race conference this past weekend, I purchased a book called Enemies in Love: A German POW, a Black Nurse and an Unlikely Romance by Alexis Clark. As the subtitle suggests, the book is about an interracial romance and subsequent marriage between a Black woman who was a nurse in the United States Army during WWI and a German POW. Besides the fact that a romance between a Black woman and a solider who fought in Hitler’s army sounds inconceivable, the fact that the two married twenty-five years before the Loving decision makes the story even more remarkable.
Clearly this story isn’t focused on Elinor Powell’s service in the military, and yet her work as a nurse and her reasons for joining the army is an important part of the narrative. True confession, I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’m already completely engrossed. Alexis Clark is a very good storyteller. The book reads like immersive creative non-fiction and not a dry historical text.
When I finish the book, I’ll write a complete review, but in the meantime, I urge you all to find and share colorful meltingpot stories on this Veteran’s Day. The more we remind ourselves and others who has sacrificed for this country, the harder it is to maintain a status quo that marginalizes the contributions of women and people of color.
Happy Veterans Day, America. Let’s keep it colorful!
Peace!
