Remembering Victims of WWI & WWII
World War I (The Great War) was the first truly global war. Mechanized industrial weapons, such as the machine gun, combined with modern railways became the enabling factors that led to a war of siege and slaughter on a continental scale. In most of the nations who engaged in the conflict, the role played by the four million non-white non-Europeans who fought, labored and died on the western front – and in other theatres of the war in Africa, the Middle East and Asia –has been airbrushed from popular memory.
The British deployed the men of their Indian army on the European battlefield. They later called upon men from Africa and the West Indies and fielded armies of laborers from across the empire and from technically neutral China. The French filled their trenches with troops from their own colonies, the famous Senegalese Tirailleurs (infantry) from French West Africa, Spahi cavalry men from North Africa and units from Vietnam and Madagascar. The French recruited their armies in Africa in the belief that some African ethnic groups were more naturally warlike than others. So dedicated were the French to these theories that they convinced them selves that West Africans, being supposedly more primitive than Europeans, could better with stand the shock of battle and experienced physical pain less acutely. This justified deploying them as shock troops in the first line of battle. As a result, West African soldiers on the western front between 1917 and 1918 were two-and-a-half times more likely to be killed in action than white French infantry men. The British held similar views of the people of India.
In the US, the same racial neurosis inspired Lothrop Stoddard’s fellow Klansmen to embark upon a wave of murder and intimidation designed to ensure that any hopes of racial justice nursed by the thousands of African American soldiers then returning from the western front were snuffed out. In 1919 at least 19 African American soldiers were lynched in the US, some for wearing their army uniforms in public, as they were perfectly entitled to do. In 26 American cities, Black communities were attacked and people murdered in the streets, during the so-called and now forgotten “red summer”.
Similar events took place in Britain, and are just as lost to popular memory. There were nineso-called race riots across Britain in 1919. Black men who had worked on ships and in the factories, along with those who had fought for Britain at the front,were attacked by white mobs, and they and their families driven from their homes. In Liverpool, Charles Wooten, a sailor who had served Britain in the war, was killed by a mob in the Liverpool docks. His murder can only be described as a lynching.
How ever World War I was regretted, and whatever frantic efforts were made to avert another major war, World War II broke out still. It witnessed fighting and devastation on a scale unknown before. World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70–85 million people perished. Many score years on, if the international community is serious about remembrance, then the process of remembering must be equal value for every life lost. UNCM tribute of remembrance will honor the millions of victims of the First and Second World War.
UNCM MUSEUM
The World's First Colonization Museum
From the brutal Age of Exploration and its impact across the globe, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and its impact in Africa, Europe, the United States, and the Caribbean, and the various genocidal wars of decolonization (not exclusively), the museum will provide detailed interactive content, compelling narratives and colonization will be examined in depth and brought to life through film, images, and first-person narratives.
Situated on a site where indigenous tribal Indian men, women, and children were slaughtered and enslaved Black people were forced to labor in bondage, UNCM Museum will offer an immersive experience with cutting-edge technology, world-class art, and critically important scholarship about world history.
Along with the world’s first and only international memorial dedicated to victims of colonization around the world, the museum will present a unique opportunity for visitors to reckon with challenging aspects of our past. Colonization in Americas, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe - the five separate but interlinked wings of the Museum will include hundreds of sculptures and original animated short films narrated by award-winning artists from around the world.
An entire wing of the museum will explore the economics of colonization, the role of the League of Nations, and subsequently the United Nations Trusteeship Council in the violent enslavement of indigenous peoples of the Trust Territories, sexual violence against women and children in the colonies, the commodification of people, and the desperate efforts colonized people made to gain independence.
An expansive exhibit on the brutal assassination, of prominent pro-independence leaders around the world will document in detail timeline, short films, and first-person narrative accounts.
The museum's expansive content on the various wars of independence will be housed in a wing that examines the role of media during the era of racial terror by means of colonization. The last words of dying war victims will dramatize the suffering colonization imposed on entire communities. Facts about the starving to death of children will also help visitors understand the scale of terror and violence many families endured.
Visitors will hear first-person accounts from descendants of murdered pro-independence leaders and descendants of victims of some of the worst wars of independence, and learn about the heroic effort to challenge colonization that was led by legendary decolonization activists, including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, Dr William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (W.E.B. Du Bois), and Kwame Nkrumah the father of modern Pan-Africanism.
The museum will bring to light various courageous decolonization movements that confronted colonization and eventually made new superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, to finally take positions against colonization.
Instrumental campaigns that confronted colonization, including Apartheid and Racial Segregation will be presented with an extensive exploration of the boycott campaigns and the Anti-Apartheid Movements. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the work of legendary civil rights activists will be showcased.
The iconography of colonization as the global face of racism will be dramatically presented in a collection of actual signs and notices collected from around the world. RHI will compile colonial laws and statutes that codified racism worldwide for visitors to read and experience.
A wing on the disenfranchisement of Black Soldiers will feature the Forgotten Colonial Forces of World War II for example that the Allied powers relied on to defeat the Axis but were never recognized. This wing will feature in the museum as a central component of how equal rights were undermined throughout the colonization era.
Colonial forces fought in every theater of World War II - from North Africa to Europe, and as far east as Hong Kong. They died and went missing in the tens of thousands, but despite their sacrifices, they were never treated as equals. These colored forces were largely under the command of White officers, although they were skilled fighters and even helped patrol the streets of London, Paris, Brussels etc. It was difficult for them to move up the ranks and become officers. Their compensation was far less than that of their White peers, and it worsened the darker their skin was.
Visitors will learn about some of the worst civil wars/conflicts around the world and how their origin is embedded in the way colonial powers drew national boundaries, forcefully merging peoples of different religions and ethnic groups together.
The Reflection Space will honor hundreds of people who worked throughout their lives to challenge colonization (racial injustice). In a grand space that will feature world music and powerful images, the history of struggle will inspire all to reflect on what we can do to make a difference.
The Museum will include a world-class art gallery with major works from some of the most celebrated artists from around the world. The gallery will include pieces created specifically for the UNCM Museum, and its entire collection will be curated in dialogue with the museum's historical narrative.
Collaborations with Western and non-Western world music - quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music will explore the role of music and dance in understanding our world's history and the role of the arts.
As a physical site and an outreach program, the Museum will be an engine for education about the legacy of colonization and racial inequality and for the truth and reconciliation that will lead to real solutions to contemporary problems.
Lets Unveil Our Dark History
Something happened around the world under UN TrusteeshipCouncil watch that was wrong and unjust, and too few people have talked aboutit. We recognize that the world can still be a better place even though therewas colonization, but if we don't speak the truth, acknowledge the dark partsof our history, and commit to reconciliation and healing, we're not going to get there.
Knowing the facts #1
Do you or anyone you know speak English, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Portuguese language? Are you aware that these languages which carry culture, and embody the beliefs, values, and identity of European nations were imposed on conquered populations around the world that were disproportionately of color?
Are you conversant with the fact that across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East, colonization was not solely economic and linguistic imperialism but the global face of racism - a brutal and nefarious public crime witnessed, even celebrated by millions of White folks?
Do you realize that the United Nations Trusteeship Council which was assigned under the UN Charter to supervise and promote the advancement of Trust Territories towards self-independence was grossly undermined by colonial powers, and under its watchful eyes Trust Territories across the world were drenched in the blood of their revolutionary heroes, who were killed in the worst of circumstances - from targeted assassinations to extrajudicial executions, massacres, and genocide?
Are you aware that under colonization folks of color were reminded that if they try to resist enslavement, if they try to prevent the partition of their kingdoms, deny their master’s language, or insist on gaining independence - in other words, if they do anything that upsets or complicates White supremacy, White dominance, and political power they will be killed?
Are you conscious that colonization was not just an uncomfortable footnote in history but reflected the belief in racial differences that reinforced Apartheid, Jim Crow Segregation, and systemic racism that has done real psychic damage not just to Black people, but to White people too?
Regardless of Direct Impact #2
Do you believe that the killing of men, women, and children under the banner of colonization was wrong, unjust, and though most people would rather forget, this dark period of racial terrorism in our past casts a shadow across the world and compromise our commitment to reconciliation and healing
Regardless of direct impact, if you could, would you do something to commemorate victims of colonization and help the world recover from centuries of racial injustice? If you answer yes to one of the above, you are exactly who we are looking for to join us and to get involved
You can become a volunteer, or an intern by sending us an email: info@uncm.org
You can also connect with us on social media and join the global conversation on colonization (racial injustice) and much more
Partner with us #3
Business:
The international business community is embracing corporate responsibility and can work side by side with us to heal racism and make the world a better place. Partnering with the international community to help tackle racial injustice is good global citizenship, and good business. Please contact us: info@uncm.org
Civil Society:
UNCM recognizes the importance of partnering with civil society/non-profits and will are inviting you to join us in building a better, safer, equitable and more sustainable world. Please contact us: info@uncm.org
Donate:
Do you want to contribute towards the world's first and only colonization memorial? You can support us by donating to Racial Healing International, the 501(c)(3) IRS public charity EIN 86-3844927 that initiated UNCM.
Connect With Us
Social Media: For the social-media inclined, please share on any of our platforms - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, or just say hello!
