PBS Premier showcasing black soldiers who fought in every war throughout this nations history. This four part series took 10 years to make.
Its premiere today on PBS is timed to coincide with Black History Month. It reveals a part of American history that went untold for too long, said Martin. Despite flagrant racism at home that often denied them basic rights, black soldiers fought for their country, even facing discrimination and disrespect in the units they served. And Martin felt they never received credit in history books for the role they played.
“Like all Americans in all wars, they fought for the love of liberty, so they could be free, that they could prove themselves worthy of liberty,” Martin said.
One of the interesting aspects of this series is the “that was then, this is now” aspect.
Morrison’s most recent tour of duty was in 2005 during the Iraq War where he manned a gun position on a fast boat that cruised the Tigris River, Gulf of Oman and the port of Fallujah escorting cargo ships.
He said the institutional racism is gone now.
“Generals, admirals, all kinds of black people are in positions of power. Barack Obama, our commander-in-chief, he’s African-American. It’s just a question of how far you want to go.”
