Because they also fought
The French title of Black Liberators WWII, first shown on History Channel Canada on the last day of Remembrance, alone reveals the fate of Afro-descendant soldiers who fought in the Canadian army in the collective memory. In his documentary film, Adrian Callender tries to correct this injustice a little by telling the story of half a dozen black Canadians who fought in the Second World War, and by extension that of their comrades, who all had to come to terms with the racism of their society and of the organization in which they have joined.
The direct testimonies reported by the children of these six veterans who, in several cases, were pioneer figures, shed light on the racism that prevailed in the army. The latter will have refused to admit into the ranks of its navy and air force candidates who were completely qualified on the sole criterion of the color of their skin until 1942. The stories of these veterans, interspersed with anecdotes on the outstanding battles in which they participated, on the unexpected friendships and solidarities they developed and the struggles they had to wage to carve out a place for themselves in the army, are supported by the not always necessary explanations of experts.
Their most interesting contribution comes at the end of the film, when it comes to returning to civilian life, which was, in many cases, more difficult than expected for many of them.
The Forgotten Legion
Historia, Saturday, 9 p.m., rebroadcast Sunday, 7 p.m.
A great emancipator?
This is the central question posed by the documentary miniseries Lincoln’s Dilemma. And it would be wrong to say that this very good production manages to definitively answer this vast question about the American president who abolished slavery, in the middle of a civil war which was tearing his country apart.
This portrait of Uncle Abe” and his political action and thought during his stormy presidency reveals a character much more complex and torn than the almost angelic image that we tend to attach to him. We understand through numerous extracts from speeches, correspondence and other archival documents, and the comments and explanations of historians and other specialists, that Abraham Lincoln did not have the ambition to become the liberator of the Blacks. at the time of his election. He basically wanted to save the union, by all means, but his speech (and his ideas) ended up evolving and making him change the course of things.
This documentary project, which one could easily have imagined on the airwaves of PBS, both for its tone and for its form, has the great merit of putting this exceptional character and his legacy into context. It gives an important place to the stories of slaves and anonymous black soldiers and to the important actors of the time, including the essential Frederick Douglass, who will have had an influence on Lincoln, while drawing obvious links with the unstable political situation which prevails among our neighbors to the south.
Lincoln’s Dilemma
AppleTV+, from February 18
Giving a voice to Douglass
The most famous black militant of the XIXand American century, Frederick Douglass, was a great writer and orator. For lack of sound archives of the voice of this champion of equality for all, born a slave and self-taught, this documentary which is dedicated to him gives him not only one, but five.
As its title suggests (Frederick Douglass in Five Speeches), this film inspired by the “pulitzerized” biography Frederick Douglas: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight paints a portrait of this exceptional political figure through five speeches marking the important stages of his life and his struggles, delivered with conviction by actors (and an actress). Explanations from a host of specialists, including Blight and Henry Gates Jr. (the “star” historian of PBS…), put these texts rooted in their time into context.
Frederick Douglass in Five Speeches
HBO and Crave, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.