A new documentary from VPM and director Stacey L. Holman is shining a light on the often overlooked role Black Americans played in the fight for independence, using AI animated portraits to bring historical figures to life on screen. Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War had its world premiere June 20 in New York City and makes its broadcast debut June 29 at 9 p.m. on VPM PBS, arriving as the nation marks its 250th anniversary.
“This film is an opportunity to bring to light more hidden figures in history, stories that are important to the building of this nation,” Holman said. The documentary is part of PBS America at 250, a multiyear celebration of U.S. history running through the country’s Semiquincentennial.
The 60 minute film follows four Black Americans navigating the Revolutionary War and their own pursuits of freedom:
- James Lafayette – A double agent for the Patriots who helped secure the British defeat at Yorktown.
- Harry Washington – Enslaved by George Washington, he escaped Mount Vernon to join British troops.
- Elizabeth Freeman – Sued a prominent Massachusetts patriot for her freedom while living in his household.
- Abraham Peyton Skipwith – Used his literacy to petition for his freedom and became one of the first free Black landowners in Richmond, Virginia.
“Declarations is rare in its centering of the Black American experience in the pursuit of a more perfect union,” said Dr. Sesha Moon, co-founder of The JXN Project.
The documentary features scholars including Danielle Allen, author of Our Declaration, and National Humanities Medal recipient Edward Ayers, alongside actor interpreters Stephen Seals and Wanda Houston. It is structured around four themes drawn from the Declaration of Independence: Equality, Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.
Bringing History to Life With AI
With few historical images of these figures available, the filmmakers turned to artist Hudson Campbell, who hand painted oil based portraits of each subject before animating them using artificial intelligence tools, an approach meant to give the figures visual agency.
According to Deadline, which debuted the film’s trailer, Holman and co-writer Maya Tepler explained that archival material has historically been limited for Black centered stories, since existing depictions from the era were often faceless or caricatured. Campbell’s animated portraits were reviewed by historical advisors including Stephen Seals, Dr. Ed Ayers and documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard.
“We hope that this work will serve as a blueprint for how to use generative AI as a tool, while still being artist centric, historically accurate, and in line with ethical storytelling practices,” Holman and Tepler said, according to Deadline.
Deadline also noted that Declarations isn’t the first Revolutionary War project to use generative AI. Darren Aronofsky’s AI studio Primordial Soup partnered with Time Magazine on the animated series On This Day… 1776, released in January.
Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War will re-air on VPM PBS June 29 at 10 p.m., July 2 at 8 p.m. and July 5 at 2 p.m., and will stream on PBS.org and the PBS app. The documentary is produced by VPM in association with PBS, with Steve Humble and Mason Mills serving as executive producers.