Premieres Monday, June 12 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App + Encore Monday, June 19 at 5 p.m. on World Channel + Wednesday, June 14 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2
PBS and WORLD Channel present "Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts," an award-winning documentary feature that explores the complex history of Black soldiers in the United States military. Director and producer Dru Holley weaves together the testimony of historians, experts and descendants of Buffalo Soldiers with archival photographs, reenactments and animation to tell the story of how newly free Black Americans enlisted in the U.S. Army, a reliable path to income and greater respect, and in the process helped to both fulfill America’s Manifest Destiny and disrupted the lives of Indigenous peoples.
The film explores the often-contradictory role played by the Black soldiers throughout American history, with particular emphasis on the settling of the American West and colonialism abroad.
After the ratification of the 14th Amendment by Congress in 1868 granting full citizenship to Black men, many of them enlisted in the military. But they faced structural and social barriers to equal opportunity and fair treatment. Black soldiers helped lead the United States expansion westward; they helped build and guard transcontinental railroads and served as park rangers in places like Yosemite before the U.S. government established the National Park Service.
These Black soldiers fought bravely in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. However, the Buffalo Soldiers also participated in the subjugation of Indigenous peoples as the United States appropriated tribal land, the persecution of striking silver miners in Idaho, and against Filipinos fighting for independence during the Spanish-American War, resulting in a complicated legacy.
“The story of the Buffalo Soldiers involves historical complexities like race, class, power, colonialism and western expansion. It is particularly relevant today as our country is roiling with the agony of racial strife,” said Holley. “As a Black filmmaker, I feel a responsibility to tell our story, to provide an inspiring story about history often left out of school textbooks. We want young kids to know the accounts of people like them that stretch across the nation, to have more knowledge of their past than we did.”
“Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts” was an official selection at the Seattle International Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Astoria Film Festival and Vashon Film Festival in 2022. It was the 2022 Audience Award Winner at the Tacoma Film Festival.
Watch On Your Schedule:
"Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts" will premiere Monday, June 12 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV, Monday, June 19 at 5 p.m PT on WORLD Channel’s Local, USA series. The film will be available to stream on the PBS App, WORLDChannel.org , YouTube and on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.
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Credits:
Dru Holley is a filmmaker passionate about producing inspiring stories that empower viewers to re-think broken systems. This is his feature directorial debut. Producer: Debra Simon. Editor & Story Producer: Dan Evans. Motion Graphics & Creative: Iana Amauba. Composer: Carlos Simon. Executive Producer: Takach, Jr.
