{"id":3992,"date":"2026-06-25T11:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=3992"},"modified":"2026-06-25T12:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T11:03:10","slug":"violence-at-home-violence-abroad-creative-and-lived-african-american-reactions-to-the-my-lai-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=3992","title":{"rendered":"Violence at home, violence abroad \u2013 creative and lived African-American reactions to the My Lai Massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the first of two blogs by UoP second-year history student Gabriel Lawless, reflecting \u00a0on the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam. \u00a0This blog, drawing on oral histories, poetry, and political writing, explores how African-American voices interpreted and responded to the My Lai Massacre and the Fall of Saigon not as isolated incidents, but as part of a wider, politically entrenched pattern of violence. The exposure of the My Lai Massacre in 1969 to the civilian masses marked a decisive turning point in public perception of the Vietnam War. Reports that American soldiers had supposedly killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians came as a shock to those in the United States. Now, with hindsight, we can understand that for African-American communities, their reaction was shaped by a more extensive history of racial injustice. Gabriel wrote this blog for the second-year Working with the Past Module, run by Dr Mike Esbester.\u00a0 Gabriel’s tutor for this module was Professor Dave Andress.\u00a0 Note that this post includes graphic description of war-time atrocities.<\/em><\/p>\n

By now, it is established that Black soldiers often questioned their role in a war fought in the name of freedom whilst they continued to face discrimination at home. African-American responses to My Lai were deeply influenced by the broader context of racial inequality of the period, which had intensified for many African-American soldiers fighting in Vietnam. Vietnam was labelled the \u201cfirst integrated war.\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a> But due to the heightened racism experienced in Vietnam, African-Americans soldiers were often victim to discriminatory language and sights of the confederate flag blowing in the wind.\u00a0 Black soldiers were disproportionately assigned to front-line combat roles, a factor correlated to social inequalities back home. With this context, news of the massacre did not simply produce shock, but rather reinforced existing doubts about the ethical and moral foundations of the war and the United States government.<\/p>\n

\"Wallace<\/a>

Wallace Terry interviewing a G.I. in Vietnam, 1969. Source: Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallace Terry\u2019s Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em> provides some of the most direct primary sources of these perspectives. Whilst also an African-American himself, Terry served as a reporter for Time<\/em> magazine and first arrived in Vietnam in the spring of 1967. Whilst this is the same year Terry\u2019s infamous Time<\/em> cover story The Negro in Vietnam <\/em>was written, Bloods: An Oral History <\/em>wouldn\u2019t be published until much later, in 1984. In Bloods<\/em> the reader is presented with a series of transcribed oral interviews; these 20 veterans recount their experiences in Vietnam with indescribable intimacy and personality and can only be aptly described as a treasure trove and gift of insight.<\/p>\n

In the early days of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, African-Americans often were largely apathetic or apathetic to their situation, such as Captain Norman Alexander McDaniel who spoke on their deployment. \u201cIt was [July 1966] just seven days short of my 29th birthday. I had come a half world away from Fayetteville, North Carolina […] to die in North Vietnam at the hands of peasants.\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a> As it will become evident, these emotions are a recurring theme within the testimonies of Bloods. <\/em>In addition to McDaniel\u2019s testimony, if we wish to examine one with from a non-commissioned soldier, we have the musings of Private First Class Reginald \u201cMalik\u201d Edwards who describes the horrific scenes he witnessed, and participated in, at Cam Ne, Danang. Edwards implies the US army has a complete disregard for international law,<\/p>\n

\n

When you\u2019re in combat you can basically do what you want as long as you don\u2019t get caught. You can get away with murder. [\u2026] there’s always somebody who can serve up as a scapegoat. Like Calley. I wondered why they didn\u2019t get Delta Company 1-9 because of Cam Ne. We were real scared. […] But like that was before My Lai. When they did My Lai, I got nervous again, I said my God, and they have us on film.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The Calley that Edwards is referring to here is William Calley, a US Officer who, whilst originally charged alongside 25 other soldiers for what transpired at My Lai, was the sole individual prosecuted for war crimes, in this case the murder of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians. Due to the common prejudice faced by African-American within the armed forces of the 1960s, many were surprised when a white officer was found guilty and sentenced at all. Edwards\u2019s recollection of Cam Ne reads largely with a sense of apathy, describing his unit’s morbid curiosity in desiring to see the mutilated bodies of civilians in an attack gone wrong.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This photo shows American soldiers in Vietnam, probaly taken on March 16, 1968, by official Army photographer Ron Haeberle during the events at My Lai, part of photographic evidence documenting the My Lai massacre, where between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians were killed. Haeberle was an official Army photographer traveling with Charlie Company into the My Lai region. Source: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

I used to think that I wasn\u2019t affected by Vietnam, but I been livin\u2019 with Vietnam ever since I left. You just can\u2019t get rid of it. It\u2019s like that painting of what Dali did of melting clocks. It\u2019s a persistent memory. I remember most how hard it was to just shoot people.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"American<\/a>

American soldiers interrogate an old man and two children, one an infant at the time of the My Lai massacre. Two African-American soldiers are present in the background. Photograph by Ronald L. Haeberle, 1968, source: Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Edwards\u2019s testimony, the widespread nature of the pattern of violence in Vietnam becomes evident. African-American soldiers who felt persecuted at home were now present at the heart of the atrocities being committed far from home. Perhaps this is why Edwards regards his time in Vietnam as so stripping of his individuality,<\/p>\n

\n

I had left one war and came back to another [in reference to joining the Black Panthers]. We had already fought for the white man in Vietnam. It was clearly his war.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Ultimately, large portions of the seminal events typical of the 1960s cycle of violence, such as the King Assassination Riots, the Cam Ne Massacre, and My Lai Massacre, would all happen in the latter half of the decade.<\/p>\n

\"Photograph<\/a>

Haki R. Madhubuti (born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942) is an African-American author, educator, and poet, publisher and lecturer. Source: Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

The 1960s was categorised by a rapidly evolving arts scene, and the emergence of the Black Arts Movement in the mid-1960s, being comprised of many notable figures such as Haki R. Madhubuti. By choosing to reflect on various events, rather than just one, Madhubuti situates the Vietnam War within the 1960s global framework of racial oppression and resistance. His poem \u201cDon\u2019t Cry, Scream<\/a>\u201d reflects the broader political response within the Black Arts Movement, and by extension, represented many African-Americans. His urgent tone and direct address convey a sense of anger and disillusionment, linking the violence in Vietnam to struggles for racial justice in the United States, whilst the turbulent swaying structure of the poem reflects the uncertainty of the period. Several lines are snappy and direct; \u201cit hurts, grown babies dying.\u201d, \u201cbrother, they were too busy getting into debt, expressing humanity & taking off color.\u201d, all whilst the recurring presence of all capitalised \u2018screams\u2019 throughout the poem exasperate the sense of repeated tragedy.[7]<\/sup><\/a> Combined with the fact this poem was published just one year after the My Lai Massacre, the perspectives and styles present reinforce the idea that My Lai was understood not in isolation, but as part of a wider system of inequality and domination.<\/p>\n

\"Photograph<\/a>

Yusef Komunyakaa is an American poet who teaches at New York University[5] and won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He writes on the Black experience, rural Southern life before the civil rights movement, and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War.<\/p><\/div>In addition to Madhubuti, if we wish to examine other equally cultured representations of African-American suffering, Yusef Komunyakaa\u2019s book Dien Cai Dau<\/em> offers a more reflective and psychological perspective. Whilst this poetry collection does not name My Lai directly, it is still able to vividly evoke imagery of violence, civilian suffering, and moral uncertainty. Poems such as \u201cRe-creating the Scene\u201d and \u201cYou and I Are Disappearing\u201d capture fragmented memories in which the distinction between perpetrator and witness becomes blurred, and motives and morals become uncertain. These ideas of perpetrator and witness becoming ambiguous are also recurring themes in stories shared by many Vietnam War veterans.[8]<\/sup><\/a> In \u201cYou and I Are Disappearing<\/a>\u201d, Komunyakaa forces the reader to be confronted by the war crimes that occurred in Vietnam, such as the burning of civilian houses. The poem achieves this by alluding to cries belonging to a \u201cgirl still burning inside my head\u201d, which is complimented by the following, equally metaphor heavy line, \u201cshe burns like a piece of paper.\u201d[9]<\/sup><\/a> As readers, we can only glimpse the horrific memories many African-American veterans carried with them from Vietnam as they continued to struggle with civil rights issues at home. The violent wordplay of Komunyakaa\u2019s poetry, as displayed in \u201cRe-creating the Scene\u201d, where we are informed of the savagery of Vietnam\u2019s war crimes, in this case sexual crimes, by lines such as \u201cThey hold her down with their eyes, taking turns, piling stones on her father\u2019s grave.\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a> Perhaps the stones that are being laid here are again representative of generational trauma. Furthermore, \u201cRe-creating the Scene\u201d, exposes the nonchalant racism that infiltrated the ranks of the American soldiers with its casual mentions of a \u201cConfederate flag [that] flaps from a radio antenna\u201d.[11]<\/sup><\/a> This line is then starkly contrasted with the suffering of Vietnamese civilians, the next line initiating the core premise of the poem, a woman’s clothing that had \u201ccome apart in their hands.\u201d. Here we see again, this poem being representative of a sexual attack.[12]<\/sup><\/a> These artistic testimonies also align with oral testimonies present in Bloods.[13]<\/sup><\/a> Complementary to these observations, the abrupt tonal shift in the ending of \u201cRe-creating the Scene\u201d could reflect how Vietnam ended unceremoniously yet can persist in human memory. \u201cBut for now the baby makes a fist & grabs at the air, searching for a breast.\u201d, we are warned of a future of generationally-inherited trauma.[14]<\/sup><\/a> What we are shown here is that Komunyakaa\u2019s work demonstrates the impact of traumatic events, like My Lai, persist in the mind and world long after time has passed.<\/p>\n

Whilst so far this blog post has concerned itself with oral testimonies and artistic articulations of African-American political and cultural opinions, Andrew Hunt\u2019s The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War<\/em> provides important historical context for the reactions of African-American veterans. The organisation Vietnam Veterans Against the War played a key role in shaping public understanding of the conflict, and through understanding this organisation we can understand the changing opinions of the American public throughout the Vietnam War. Through events such as the Winter Soldier Investigation, veterans testified about atrocities committed in Vietnam, often presenting them as systemic rather than exceptional. Furthermore, African-American veterans were prominent within this movement, drawing attention to both racial discrimination and the ethical contradictions of the war. We are told that when news of the My Lai Massacre broke to the public on November 13, 1968, many chose to simply not believe what they were hearing.[15]<\/sup><\/a> However, for African-American’s, the news of the massacre may have been less surprising given their history of discriminatory and violent treatment. Crucially, I think it is important to distinguish that not all African-Americans should be seen as victims of a violent, imperial war machine, forced to sacrifice themselves for an unjust cause. The Turning <\/em>also provides for us the perspectives of notable figures with authority too, such as Californian House of Representatives member Ron Dellums, an African-American Korean War veteran who was voluntarily arrested alongside hundreds of other peaceful war protestors present at Capitol Hill.[16]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

When examined, these sources suggest that African-American responses to My Lai were shaped by lived experience along with a broader critique of American society. Rather than treating the tragedy as a singular event, many interpreted it as evidence of deeper structural problems. Ultimately, African-American reactions to the My Lai Massacre reveal a perspective that extends beyond immediate outrage to a wider critique of systemic violence. Through these examples of oral testimony, poetry, and political activism, we observe writers and veterans alike framing the massacre as part of a broader pattern of violence shaped by racism and inequality. I believe these unique interpretations helped challenge contemporary narratives that presented My Lai as an isolated event, instead placing it within the larger context of the Vietnam War and American society.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> PBS Frontline, \u201cPBS Frontline: The Bloods of ‘Nam (1986),\u201d hosted by Judy Woodruff, news segment, May 20, 1986, posted April 10, 2021, by FRONTLINE PBS I Non-Official Archive [CC], YouTube, 1:15:31, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RxSiLCIT0Ww.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Wallace Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em> (Ballantine Books Inc., 1985), 131.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 14.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 2.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 14.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 11-12.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> \u201cDon\u2019t Cry, Scream,\u201d Haki R. Madhubuti, Poetry Foundation, accessed March 13, https:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poems\/162192\/dont-cry-scream.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 8.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Yusef Komunyakaa, \u201cYou and I Are Disappearing\u201d in Dien Cai Dau<\/em> (Wesleyan University Press, 1988), 24.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Yusef Komunyakaa, \u201cRe-creating the Scene\u201d in Dien Cai Dau<\/em> (Wesleyan University Press, 1988), 26-27.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Komunyakaa, \u201cRe-creating the Scene,\u201d 26-27.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Komunyakaa, \u201cRe-creating the Scene,\u201d 26-27.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History<\/em>, 8.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Komunyakaa, \u201cRe-creating the Scene,\u201d 26-27.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Andrew Hunt, The Turning: a history of Vietnam Veterans Against the War<\/em> (New York University Press, 1999), 35-36.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> Hunt, The turning: a history of Vietnam Veterans Against the War<\/em>, 105-106.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first of two blogs by UoP second-year history student Gabriel Lawless, reflecting \u00a0on the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam. \u00a0This blog, drawing on oral histories, poetry, and political writing, explores how African-American voices interpreted and responded to the My Lai Massacre and the Fall of Saigon not as isolated incidents, but as part of a wider, politically entrenched pattern of violence. The exposure of the My Lai Massacre in 1969 to the civilian masses marked a decisive turning point in public perception of the Vietnam War. Reports that American soldiers had supposedly killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians came as a shock to those in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,4,1],"tags":[547,409,20,378,932,596,98,707,931],"class_list":["post-3992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learning_in_focus","category-research-in-focus","category-uncategorized","tag-black-history","tag-memoirs","tag-memory","tag-military-history","tag-my-lai-massacre","tag-poetry","tag-twentieth-century","tag-united-states","tag-vietnam-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p91PlX-12o","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3992"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4008,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3992\/revisions\/4008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}