A Soldier's Play

“You go near that sheriff’s office in Tynin in your uniform—carrying a briefcase, looking and sounding white, and charging local people—and you’ll be found just as dead as Sergeant Waters! People around here don’t respect the colored!”

Taylor is referring to the local townspeople as not respecting Black people, but that attitude extends onto the base as well, reflecting The Endemic Nature of Racism. Notably, Taylor describes Davenport as “looking and sounding white,” yet his “colored” skin is enough to provoke his murder. This contradicts Waters’s entire crusade about Black men and respectability, as he would certainly see Davenport as a model for Black men.

“I don’t want to offend you, but I just cannot get used to it—the bars, the uniform—being in charge just doesn’t look right on Negroes!”

Taylor considers himself a champion for the Black men who serve under him, even claiming that his insistence on justice for Waters is stifling his career. However, he quickly demonstrates after meeting Davenport that he is only accepting of Black men if they are of inferior rank. He can’t support Black men in power, and he’s particularly bothered by a Black man at his same rank, no matter how qualified and educated Davenport may be.

“It sure is good to see one of us wearin’ them Captain’s bars, sir.”

Ellis’s statement to Davenport about his “Captain’s bars” is a stark contrast from Taylor’s comments, with these opposite sentiments stemming from seeing the same symbolism in Davenport’s bars (See: Symbols & Motifs). If Davenport can be a captain, that means that other Black men can be captains or other ranks of commissioned officers, which inspires Ellis. Ellis and Taylor have opposing feelings about this recognition, as Ellis wishes to see some hope for Black men while Taylor wants them to remain in subservient positions.

“Colored folks always runnin’ off at the mouth ’bout what y’all gonna do if the white man gives you a chance—and you get it, and what do you do with it? You wind up drunk on guard duty—I don’t blame the white man—why the hell should he put colored and white together in this war? You can’t even be trusted to guard your own quarters—no wonder they treat us like dogs—Get outta’ my sight, Private!”

Waters operates under the illusion that the road to equality requires Black men to prove their worth and capabilities to white men. As the Civil Rights movement will soon demonstrate, racism can’t be countered by the excellence of Black Americans. Wilkie’s transgression of being drunk on guard duty is the kind of misbehavior that a soldier of any race might commit, but the tragedy of internalized racism means that Waters has absorbed the racist ideals about white supremacy in his society. Furthermore, what Waters considers “getting a chance” is segregated companies of enlisted Black men who aren’t allowed to do anything significant for the war effort that they enlisted to join.

“WATERS: I hope this kid never has to be a soldier.

WILKIE: It was good enough for you.

WATERS: I couldn’t do any better—and this army was the closest I figured the white man would let me get to any kind of authority. No, the army ain’t for this boy. When this war’s over, things are going to change, Wilkie—and I want him to be ready for it—my daughter too! I’m sendin’ bot’ of ’em to some big white college—let ’em rub elbows with the whites, learn the white man’s language—how he does things.”

The most humanizing moments for Waters are when he talks about his children, as they give insight into the tragedy of internalized racism that he experiences. Waters wants his children to do better than he did in life, with more opportunities. Unfortunately, he believes the only way they will succeed is if they “rub elbows with the whites” and learn “how [a white person] does things.” Waters’s desire to send his children to white institutions to learn how to speak and act like they are white is in direct contrast to the idea of Black Power and celebrating Blackness without interest in white approval. Waters is a tragic figure for his inability to love himself for his own Blackness and to believe that Blackness is beautiful and worthy.

“You just like the rest of ’em, Wilkie—I thought bustin’ you would teach you something—we got to challenge this man in his arena—use his weapons, don’t you know that? We need lawyers, doctors—generals—senators! Stop thinking like a [N-word]!”

Waters’s berating of Wilkie once more reflects the tragedy of internalized racism, as Waters is entirely enthralled by the idea that Black men can become powerful and respected in society if only they succeed on white terms in professions often associated with success in white society. Nevertheless, Davenport—a perfect example of someone who challenges white men “in [their] arena” as a lawyer himself—still isn’t respected by white men or afforded the full power of his rank, showing that Waters is misguided in believing that it is the Black men, and not the racist system, that are to blame.

“CJ: That young thing talkin’ to me ain’ look so clean.

HENSON: Dirty or clean, she had them white boys lookin’.”

The speculation about whether a woman is “dirty or clean” is certainly misogynistic, but it’s also notable that a Black woman who was flirting with CJ was also attracting the attention of “white boys.” This demonstrate a truism that has been the case since the first Africans were forced to come to the United States as enslaved people, which is that white people would see Black people as not “clean” enough to use the same water fountains or bathrooms, but that some white men could see Black women as clean enough for sex, consensual or otherwise. These double standards speak to the endemic nature of racism.

“I think I’m in love with the sepia Winston Churchill—what kinda’ letter do you write a nut like this?”

Henson is joking about the letter he just read aloud from his girlfriend back home, which is entirely made up of patriotic declarations of praise for Henson and the others for fighting the Nazis and Japanese. Her praise is ironic, as Henson and the other Black soldiers are still being denied the opportunity to fight the Axis powers, and are relegated instead to menial jobs.

“Hell no, Smalls! Let the great-colored-clean-up company do it! Our motto is: ‘Anything you don’t want to do, the colored troops will do it for you!’”

Cobb’s sardonic pronouncement arises from Waters’s insistence that the men in the Black company must follow the orders given to paint the white Officer’s Club right after they have just played and won an entire baseball game, as if their exhaustion is insignificant. Black soldiers are never entrusted with anything significant—only tedious and labor-intensive tasks that no one else wants to do.

“We can’t go in the place, why the hell should we paint it?”

Smalls’s observation about their orders to paint the white-officers-only Officer’s Club highlights the endemic nature of racism, as the Black soldiers are being ordered to paint a club they will never be allowed into afterward as guests. The passage is a reminder of the Jim Crow segregation laws throughout the South at this time.

“PETERSON: What kinda colored man are you?

WATERS: I’m a soldier, Peterson! First, last, always! I’m the kinda colored man that don’t like lazy, shiftless Negroes!

PETERSON: You ain’t got to come in here and call us names!

WATERS: The Nazis call you schvatza! You gonna tell them they hurt your little feelings?

CJ: Don’t look like to me we could do too much to them Nazis wit’ paint brushes, Sarge.”

Peterson is calling Waters out as a traitor to the race after Waters goes on a tirade about how their job is to obey their superiors. Waters tries to use Peterson’s complaint about his belittling of his men to say that he’d better get used to it or the Nazis would really hurt his feelings, but CJ’s joke highlights the inequity of their positions as Black soldiers. As much as they are fed propaganda about all of their work being a part of the war effort, CJ is correct that they aren’t really doing anything to fight the Nazis by painting the Officer’s Club. The other men laugh at CJ’s joke, which defuses the tension. However, the confrontation sets Waters off, and Peterson ends up challenged by Waters to a fight when he stands up for CJ.

“CJ: ’Long as his han’s ain’t on me—he ain’t done me no harm, Pete. Callin’ names ain’t nothin’, I know what I is. (Softens) Sarge ain’t so bad—been good to me.

PETERSON: The man despises you!

CJ: Sarge? You wrong, Pete—plus I feel kinda sorry for him myself. Any man ain’t sure where he belongs must be in a whole lotta pain.”

Unlike Waters, CJ is comfortable being Black, and he is the only one of Waters’s men who feels compassion for him and sees that Waters’s malice stems from the pain of the tragedy of internalized racism. As CJ remarks, “Any man ain’t sure where he belongs must be in a whole lotta pain,” which emphasizes the way Waters feels caught between alienation toward his own race and rejection by the whites.

“Whites here won’t see their duty—or justice. They’ll see you! And once they do, the law—due process—it all goes! And what is the point of continuing an investigation that can’t possibly get at the truth?”

Although Taylor’s agitation at seeing a Black captain at all is certainly racist, the concerns he expresses about Davenport’s investigation reflect the endemic nature of racism. Taylor admits here that “[w]hites here won’t see their duty—or justice” because they care more about upholding the racial hierarchy (“They’ll see you!”) than ensuring that justice is done. Davenport must thus contend not only with the difficulties of the investigation, but with the racist obstacles that hinder him.

“Followin’ behind y’all? Look what it’s done to me!—I hate myself!”

Waters is at his most truthful and vulnerable when he is drunk, exposing the tragedy of internalized racism. Byrd told him to shut up and Waters refused, exclaiming that following white men has destroyed him and made him “hate [him]self.” This revelation occurs in a flashback that takes place shortly before Waters was murdered, and it happens near the end of the Act. In trying to gain the acceptance of white men by accepting and reinforcing their racist ideology, Waters has succeeded only in losing the respect of his Black soldiers as well.

“Don’t blame us, boy! God made you black, not me!”

Byrd is demonstrably racist every time he appears onstage, belittling and insulting both Waters and Davenport. Underneath this statement is the underlying assumption that Waters’s Blackness is the reason that he is suffering, but Waters’s suffering arises from the way racists treat Blackness through the endemic nature of racism in society.

“We hadn’t seen a lot of action except in North Africa—or Sicily. But the rumor in orderly rooms that spring was, pretty soon most of us would be in combat—somebody said Ike wanted to find out if colored boys could fight—shiiit, we’d been fighting all along—right here, in these small Southern towns— (Intense) I don’t have the authority to arrest a white private without a white officer present!”

As Davenport illustrates, Black soldiers have been waiting and hoping that the president will give the order to let them fight in the war. In the meantime, surviving in the United States while Black, especially in the South, has required a level of tact and strength that those who fight to keep them down refuse to see. As Davenport remarks, “We’d been fighting all along—right here, in these small Southern towns,” invoking the endemic nature of racism.

“CJ was sleepin’ when I came in! It’s Waters—can’t y’all see that? I’ve seen him before—we had ’em in Alabama! White man gives them a little ass job as a servant—close to the big house, and when the boss ain’t lookin’, old copycat [N words] act like they the new owner! They take to soundin’ like the boss—shoutin’, orderin’ people around—and when it comes to you and me—they sell us to continue favor […] They let him in the army ’cause they know he'll do anything they tell him to—I’ve seen his kind of fool before. Someone’s going to kill him.”

Peterson easily sees through Waters’s scheme to frame CJ, and he is the boldest in calling Waters out for exposing the tragedy of internalized racism, although he makes this statement after Waters exits. Waters believes that he is furthering the Black race by getting rid of those he deems the weakest and unacceptable to white society, but as Peterson describes, he is only reinforcing white supremacy by serving it. Peterson’s prediction at the end of his monologue seems prescient, but since Peterson is the killer, perhaps he is just already thinking about shooting Waters.

“Them Nazis ain’t all crazy—a whole lot of people just can’t fit into where things seem to be goin’—like you, CJ. The black race can’t afford you no more. There used ta be a time when we’d see somebody like you, singin’, clownin’—yas-sah-bossin’—and we wouldn’t do anything. (Smiles) […] Not no more. The day of the geechy is gone, boy—the only thing that can move the race is power.”

Waters’s accusations that CJ is something “[t]he black race can’t afford” and his assertion that “[t]hem Nazis ain’t all crazy” invokes The Specter of Ethnic Cleansing. While the Nazis are, during the time period of the play, committing ethnic genocide in Europe through the Holocaust, Waters’s rant reflects the same ethnic hatred and propensity for violence, emphasizing the dangers of racial hierarchies and racist ideologies in whatever place they appear.

“DAVENPORT: What exactly did he say?

WILCOX: Some pretty stupid things about us—I mean white people, sir.”

Wilcox endeavors to show proper respect to Davenport, and he tries to distinguish himself from Byrd, who is blatantly disrespectful. However, Wilcox inadvertently sets up an “us versus them” dichotomy. He attempts to correct himself, but it is simply an expression of what he has internalized as a white man in the army and the South, reflecting the endemic nature of racism.

“I expected more from a white man, Captain.”

Byrd challenges Taylor for allowing Davenport to interrogate two white men, insinuating that he expected Taylor, as a white captain, to disobey orders and do whatever is necessary to cheat the system and protect Byrd and Wilcox, even as Taylor has come to the conclusion that they are almost certainly the murderers. Byrd cannot believe that Taylor is more interested in justice than in reinforcing the racial hierarchy, once more reflecting the endemic nature of racism.

“Do you know the damage one ignorant Negro can do?”

Waters’s obsession with creating some kind of Black master race by removing anyone whom he deems “ignorant” or not good enough reflects the specter of ethnic cleansing once again. Waters refuses to accept that white supremacy is at the root of the ills and disadvantages of Black men, and his internalization of racist genocidal rhetoric also invokes exposing the tragedy of internalized racism.

“You got to be like them! And I was! I was—but the rules are fixed. (Whispers) Shhh! Listen. It’s CJ—(Laughs) I made him do it, but it doesn’t make any difference! They still hate you!”

Drunkenly, Waters comes to the conclusion that the others have known all along: that the endemic nature of racism means that no Black man can get the respect his merits truly deserve, even if he adapts himself to white-supremacist ideas (“the rules are fixed […] They still hate you”). It seems that CJ’s death caused a reversal in Waters, and he is filled with remorse that he uses alcohol to cope with.

“For me? Two colored soldiers are dead—two on their way to prison. Four less men to fight with—and none of their reasons—nothing anyone said or did, would have been worth a life to men with larger hearts—men less split by the madness of race in America.”

As an outsider on the base, Davenport sees the murder from a wider perspective than the fierce interpersonal battles that led to the crime. All the deaths involved were unnecessary, and they largely served to reinforce the army’s prejudice against Black men. In reflecting that such tragedies could be avoided by “men less split by the madness of race in America,” Davenport once more emphasizes that the endemic nature of racism has had a poisonous effect on them all.