The later part of the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century has many monikers in U.S. history textbooks, such as the "Gilded Age," the "Progressive Era," and the "Second Industrial Age." What it is rarely called, but should be known as, is the "Nadir of Race Relations." One topic in this time period that is underexplored in middle-school social studies classrooms is the Harlem Hellfighters--African Americans that, despite their treatment on the home front, volunteered to fight in Europe during World War I. In the project discussed in this article, sixth-grade students in an urban middle school located in a medium-size Southern city used visual primary sources and the trade book "The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage" by Walter Dean Myers and Bill Miles to explore the history of this fighting unit. This article starts by providing a historical overview of the Harlem Hellfighters, followed by an overview of best teaching practices with analyzing visual primary sources. Next, the authors provide demographic information about the participating students and teacher, the steps of the project, and data analysis techniques. The authors then discuss the themes that emerged from analyzing student paintings and written work. Finally, a discussion of the findings and future research is provided.