At the time of the First World War, the United States was a greatly segregated society. Many African Americans saw participation in the war effort as an opportunity to show their patriotism and perhaps improve their social standing and legal rights in the country. In fact, African Americans enlisted in such great numbers as soon as the country entered the war that the military stopped accepting African American volunteers within a week as quotas had already been filled.

Despite an eagerness on the part of many African Americans to serve in the armed forces, widespread institutional discrimination continued. Many positions in the military were not open to African American servicemen, and they served almost exclusively in segregated units.

This period also coincided with a migration of many African Americans from southern states to cities in the North, especially Chicago, New York, and East St. Louis. They were fleeing Jim Crow laws and lynchings and hoping for better job prospects in the urban North. They often found themselves competing with recently arrived groups of European immigrants for jobs and housing. Most riots were intended to keep African Americans out of these jobs and neighborhoods. Ironically, the military service of many African Americans only added fuel to the hatred that sparked these riots as some whites saw their service as their attempt to disrupt their racial standing in society.

In the end, despite the initial eagerness of many African Americans to enlist in World War I, they were still met with discrimination at home. Many people discounted or ignored their contributions to the war effort. The migrations to the North only put them in further conflict, which led to brutal race riots during and after the war.