Military service has long been seen as one of the few routes available to African American men to demonstrate their rights to full citizenship. In 1942, the Women’s Army Corps (wac) opened this path for black women. More than 6,500 black Wacs served during the Second World War, yet, marginalized while in uniform and later overshadowed in narratives of black servicemen and white servicewomen, they and their unique experiences remain largely unknown outside of academia. This article examines the multiple subordinate positions to which the United States Army confined black Wacs, as black female soldiers, during the first years of the corps; investigates the army’s gender and racial policies and their civilian and military roots; and forefronts the actions of black Wacs who, by challenging their subordination, laid claim to their full rights as soldiers and as citizens.

长期以来，服兵役一直是非裔美国人展示其充分公民权的少数途径之一。1942年，妇女军团（WAC）为黑人妇女打开了这条道路。在第二次世界大战期间，有超过6,500名黑人Wacs服役，但由于身穿制服而被边缘化，后来在黑人军人和白人女服务员的叙述中黯然失色，在学术界之外，他们和他们的独特经历在很大程度上仍然未知。本文考察了在军团成立的第一年中，美国陆军将多个黑人女战士作为黑人女兵而限制在多个从属职位；调查军队的性别和种族政策及其平民和军事根源；而黑人瓦克斯的行动则是最重要的，他们通过挑战自己的从属地位，宣称拥有士兵和公民的全部权利。