In celebration of Black History Month and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, a new documentary on black soldiers will be shown Feb. 17 at 6:45 p.m. at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Emmy-nominated writer and producer Jeffery O’den’s “Forgotten Black Civil War Soldiers and Sailors” is a look inside the lives of the black soldiers who fought in the civil war.
O'den, a native Detroiter, has studied, worked and taught in the field of television and film production including work at PBS stations where he won an Emmy nomination for a project titled “Smarty.”
O’den credits two people for giving him the inspiration to make the documentary: Norman McRae, a noted Detroit black historian and Ross Fowler, a former officer in the U.S. coast guard.
Fowler is also co-founder of Company B, 102nd United States Colored Troop Regiment, a group of black civil war re-enactors.
This is not the first time O'den will speak in front of a college audience; he has been invited to speak on many different occasions.
“I find the experience exhilarating and very fulfilling,” O’den said, “it’s always amazing to me when you can actually measure the minds of your students growing and developing every day.”
UDM senior Daniel Kant said he thinks the screening is a great idea that he hopes will catch on.
"I'm honored that he chose University of Detroit Mercy to screen his documentary, but I think it's kind of sad that we only dedicate one month … when so much of America is black," Kant said., "I think that it should just be integrated with the rest of our history."
This event is especially unique for to O’den because, unlike other screenings, there was a special invite to the African-American history, television, film and documentary classes at UDM to attend.
O'den also hopes that more than just students at the university are able see the documentary. He plans to screen “Forgotten” to hundreds of people via the Internet.
"With the use of the Internet, I plan on screening my documentary throughout the world ― before, during and after Black History Month," O'den said. g”Many people in other countries find black history more fascinating than most other American history."
O’den shows an objection to the label of Black History Month, stating that black history is American history and should be given more attention than only during the “shortest month of the year.”
To emphasize how important he feels the knowledge of black history is, he quoted the famous record producer Quincy Jones: “If you don't know where you’ve been, you won’t know where you’re going.”
The screening and synopsis will include guest speakers, is free and open to the public.
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