Fighting For Your Country, Against All Odds Including Discrimination. It’s Pretty Powerful When You Think About It.
America's "250 Years…250 Movies"
In honour of our country's 250th birthday, I'm reviewing 250 of their amazing flicks! Keep on the lookout, patriots!
Throughout American history, many men (at least until the 1970s) of all races have served their country. It’s pretty much a given that going to war in any era- or with any skin color in this case- is any picnic, but it must’ve been especially daunting for the African-American troops, who were often treated poorly because of their skin color. That’s what makes the historical film, For Love of Liberty, especially poignant and moving.
The film, narrated by actress Halle Berry, follows the history of African-Americans in the military and army, from the Revolutionary War in the 1770s and the Civil War of the 1860s to both World Wars in the early 20th century and the War on Terror in the 2000s. Along the way, other such celebrities, both African-American (Morgan Freeman, Colin Powell) and white (Alan Rickman, Robert Duvall) aid in Berry’s narration as she walks along the tombstones.
Is it any good? Well, it’s certainly a rather intriguing insight into the African-American impact on numerous wars in American history. Along with their contributions to various disputes, the historical background is discussed as well, for example, MacArthur’s tension with then-President Truman is touched up on briefly. However, there are times that American history tends to be a bit sanitized here. There’s little mention of President Wilson’s infamously bigoted beliefs or that other such presidents were little better with their views on Blacks, even for their time. But then again, the portrayal of the soldiers and how they wanted to make an impact despite- or perhaps even because– of the way their country treated them (in the latter case, it was mainly to show “what” they were capable of as people) is undoubtedly pretty admirable in itself.
In short, this was an amazing look into the black community and how they shaped history, one military uniform at a time.
Jennifer Rose is an author with autism, novelist, and film critic based in New Jersey. She is the author of Manimal Crackers (GenZ Publishing, 2026) and It's Not a Perfect World, But I'll Take It (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016), fifty unsugarcoated life lessons on growing up on the spectrum. A graduate of St. Elizabeth University currently studying Library Science at William Paterson University, she writes blog posts and reviews movies at jenniferroseauthor.com, including all 250 in honor of the country's 250th birthday, and is building Autonomy, an online literary magazine and hub where writers on the autism spectrum can share their art, writing, and musings with the world.
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