# “THE NEGRO SOLDIER “ 1944 AFRICAN AMERICAN WWII CAPRA PROPAGANDA FILM 30544

This 1944 documentary directed by Stuart Heisler and produced by Frank Capra as part of the United States Army’s First Motion Picture Unit for The Department of War uses techniques of Hollywood filmmaking and propaganda to stir enthusiasm for the World War II Allied effort, making a case for African Americans enlistment at a time when the armed forces were still officially segregated. Opening titles. “The War Department Presents, The Negro Soldier, with the cooperatioon of the Signal Corps” (0:08). Montage: Cathedrals, churches. Inside, a black choir sings, led by a man in a Sergeant’s uniform (0:58). A preacher played by the film’s writer, Carlton Moss, recognizes enlisted men, women in the congregation. A sermon on African American achievements. Boxer Joe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling (2:05). Schmeling training as a Nazi paratrooper. Louis in uniform, training in a U.S. obstacle course (3:45). A U.S. flag, the Declaration of Independence. A Nazi flag with a swastika. The preacher reads a racist passage from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” (4:27). Closeups (5:55). A plaque from Granary Burial Ground, commemorating victims of the Boston Massacre. An illustration: Crispus Attucks (6:40). Battle reenactments. Freedman turned soldier Peter Salem, hero of Bunker Hill. Prince Whipple crossing the Delaware (7:15). A bell rings. An early U.S. flag. An axe. Black hands lay bricks. Naval combat. A black soldier. Shipbuilding. The Lincoln Monument (8:18). A wagon train. A black couple…

- Kind: Film
- By: PeriscopeFilm
- Genres: War, Industrial and advertising, Propaganda
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/30544negrosoldier)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/30544negrosoldier?play=1)