Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War

PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Monday, June 29, at 10 PM
Tuesday, June 30, at 3 AM

DECLARATIONS: BLACK AMERICANS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR explores the heroic stories of enslaved and freed Black Americans who fought to define democracy and ensure their liberty through the Revolutionary War.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, the Founders — many of whom were slaveholders — declared: “all men are created equal.” As their aspirational words and ideals of freedom were signed into existence and spread throughout the colonies, Black people recognized that these ideas included them. DECLARATIONS examines how they fought for these tenets of democracy for themselves, their families, and their communities. The film features insights from historians and scholars including Leslie Alexander, Danielle Allen, Edward Ayers, Christopher L. Brown, Woody Holton, and others.     

DECLARATIONSfollows the stories of four Black Americans as they navigate our country’s fight for independence and their individual pursuits of freedom. Discover the stories of James Lafayette, who served as a double agent for the Patriots and helped bring down the British at Yorktown; Harry Washington, who was enslaved by George Washington and escaped Mount Vernon to join the British troops; Elizabeth Freeman, previously known as Mum Bet, who sued one of the most prominent patriots in Massachusetts while living under his roof; and Abraham Peyton Skipwith, an enslaved man who used his proximity to power and his unusual literacy  to petition for his own freedom and become one of the first free Black landowners in Richmond, VA.

Stream DECLARATIONS: BLACK AMERICANS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.