H95.18.1044

Photo of the parade in celebration of Armistice Day. Handwritten on the back of the photo, "Col. Chas. [Charles] Young Post 269, American Legion." Photo shows an all black marching band led by three young majorettes wearing short dresses and boots with their batons. The Oakland Tribune stated that is was probably the largest Armistice Day parade since the end of World War One. From the Oakland Tribune, November 11, 1941, article titled "Armed Might of Youth on March Here": "The symbol of American liberty marched Oakland's streets today in memorial to the men who gave their lives in the first World War and in warning that they shall not have died in vain. Thousands of soldiers, sailors and marines passed grimly down a solid line of cheering spectators, their cadenced footsteps echoing the roar of a country aroused and preparing. Under full pack, their bayonets bared as they strode shoulder to shoulder and curb to curb, the men of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps gave evidence that this was both an Armistice Day and a Preparedness Day." **The Col. Charles Young Post #269 was not an all African American group but almost all of the members were veterns of World War I and possibly some from the Spanish-American War. The drum core presented in this photo were well-known and admired at the time. This photo was not used in the Oakland Tribune.

Used: Oakland Tribune