The Institute for African Studies, together with History, English, EURUS, Sociology/Anthropology, Law, and Migration and Diaspora Studies present the film Hero, which details the extraordinary life of Ulric Cross. Born in Trinidad, he leaves his home to become the RAFs most decorated West Indian. His life then a number of twists and turns, as he is swept up with the course of 20th century history. The film is the hitherto untold story of those Caribbean professionals who helped to liberate Africa from colonialism.


Following the film, at 7pm Dr. Michelle Moyd of Indiana University will present a talk on “Moving Men: Labour Mobilizations to and from Africa during World War I." 
During World War I, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and labourers from Africa traveled across great distances to join the war effort. These included men recruited to fight in various European colonial armies, and labour contingents that worked at European ports and other sites. This presentation offers a bird’s eye view of these vast oceanic and pedestrian labour migrations and their consequences. It also reflects on individual experiences of wartime travel, which could be harrowing, disorienting, and deadly. Both of these perspectives are necessary for understanding the massive scale and effects of this unprecedented mobilization for war, and its heavy reliance on various forms of African labour.



Dr. Moyd is a historian of eastern Africa, with special interests in the region’s history of soldiering and warfare.  Her last book was entitled Violent Intermediaries: African Soldiers, Conquest, and Everyday Colonialism in German East Africa.  It explores the social and cultural history of African soldiers (askari) in the colonial army of German East Africa, today’s Tanzania.