Mustafa Hess ‘26

Mustafa Hess is working with Professor Charles Leavitt on his research project: "The War Between Black and White: Racialized Conflict in U.S.-Occupied Italy." The project examines the history and memory of the African American soldiers who helped liberate Italy in World War II and occupied the country during its post-war transition to democracy. Drawing on primary and secondary sources in Italian, English, French, and German, the project traces an untold history across media and across the world, examining newspapers, magazines, and tabloids; films, television, and the internet; theatre, radio, and popular music; and novels, poems, and short stories to restore a necessary cultural memory.