- Published by
- CBS Broadcasting, Inc., American, founded 1927
- Produced by
- Wolff, Perry, American, 1921 - 2019
- Narrated by
- Cosby, Bill, American, born 1937
- Owned by
- D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Date
- 1968
- Medium
- acetate film
- Dimensions
- Duration: 27 Minutes
- Length (Film): 950 Feet
- Caption
- 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.
- 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.
- Description
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 used
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- DC Public Library Film Collection
- Portfolio/Series
- Of Black America
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Type
- documentaries
- sound films
- black-and-white films (visual works)
- short subjects
- 16mm (photographic film size)
- Topic
- Actors
- Buffalo Soldiers
- Documentary films
- Film
- Military
- Public television
- Race relations
- Segregation
- Slavery
- Spanish-American War, 1898
- Tuskegee Airmen
- U.S. History, Revolution, 1775-1783
- United States Colored Troops
- United States History
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- World War I
- World War II
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2017.55.70.1a
- Restrictions & Rights
- Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




