Documentary “For Love of Liberty,” new on DVD, pays tribute to black patriots

For Love of Liberty’ traces black U.S. soldier’s stories

Frank Martin spent a decade trying to illuminate a long-overlooked aspect of American history: the contributions of black servicemen and women to every major U.S. military conflict.

It was the power of those soldiers’ stories that kept the documentary filmmaker laboring on “For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots.” The four-hour film was released last week on DVD, with a special edition due out March 1 at www.forloveofliberty.org.

“What’s compelling about this are the stories. When you read the stories, you are prompted to ask a very basic question, which is at the heart of the documentary, and that is why would a group of people shed their blood in defense of a nation that treated them worse than second-class citizens?” said Martin, who directed, produced and co-wrote the film, in a phone interview.

“That profound question is asked and answered time and time again in the documentary. The basic answer to that question is … black Americans fought for the love liberty, and that’s a powerful thing.”

Hosted by Oscar winner Halle Berry (pictured below) with an introduction from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, the film opens with Crispus Attucks, the black man known as the first martyr of the American Revolution, and travels through U.S. military history to the current war on terror.

“Yes, it’s kind of fitting that this starts rolling out during Black History Month. But this is really American history. This is a story that’s relevant to each and every one of us because it’s something that we’re not really taught. Pop culture doesn’t really deal with it,” he said, adding many war movies don’t even show much less spotlight black troops.

“It’s more than Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman. There are many, many, many, many, many great stories of ordinary African-American men and women who’ve done extraordinary things.”

http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/2010/02/17/documentary-for-love-of-liberty-new-on-dvd-pays-tribute-to-black-patriots/

together. Thanks for this part of history, Blue Tires.