<I>Of Black America: The Black Soldier</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1968
name: label: Published by
content: CBS Broadcasting, Inc., American, founded 1927
label: Produced by
content: Perry Wolff, American, 1921 - 2019
label: Narrated by
content: Bill Cosby, American, born 1937
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: The Black Soldier is the third-part of the seven episode series titled Of Black America, which premiered in the summer of 1968 on CBS. This short documentary tells a teleological history of Black soldiers serving in the Americas, beginning with the Revolutionary War. Narrated by Bill Cosby, this film premiered during the height of the Anti –Vietnam War movement and was purposed to prove that Black soldiers had been actively serving in the military prior to the Vietnam War.
label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: A documentary film with the title "The Black Soldier," from the television series Of Black America. It consists of a single reel of black-and-white 16mm acetate film with optical sound.
label: Description
content: The third segment of a seven-part docu-series on CBS, The Black Soldier aired during the summer of 1968. This short documentary is narrated by Bill Cosby and tells the history of Black soldiers serving in the military. Beginning with the Revolutionary War, the film explains the critical role that Black soldiers played in fighting the British despite enslavement, discrimination, and segregation.
label: Description
content: The documentary goes on to discuss the participation of Black Soldiers in the Spanish American War, WWI, and WWII and the fight to end segregation within the military. At the end of the film, the narration states that the purpose of the documentary is to dispute the claim that Black soldiers in the US military did not exist prior to the Vietnam War.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Buffalo Soldiers
label: Topic
content: Documentary films
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Public television
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Segregation
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Spanish-American War, 1898
label: Topic
content: Tuskegee Airmen
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, Revolution, 1775-1783
label: Topic
content: United States Colored Troops
label: Topic
content: United States History
label: Topic
content: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
label: Topic
content: World War I
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Of Black America
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.70.1a
objectType: label: Type
content: documentaries
label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: short subjects
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration: 27 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 950 Feet