''The Negro Sailor'' is a 1945 documentary short film made for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

and shown by

All-American News All-American News was a film production company in the U.S. bringing war propaganda newsreels and entertainment films to African American audiences. Emmanuel M. Glucksman was a film industry veteran who produced All-American News films for African ...

, a company producing

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...

s and later

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s for the race film market. It was directed by Henry Levin. The film was inspired by the success of the film

The Negro Soldier ''The Negro Soldier'' is a 1944 documentary film created by the United States Army during World War II. It was produced by Frank Capra as a follow up to his successful film series ''Why We Fight''. The army used the film as propaganda to conv ...

, and was one of only five films documenting the war time activities of African Americans in a positive light before 1950. Released after the surrender of Japan the film highlights the service of African Americans seaman.

Plot

At an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

newspaper, Bill Johnson, one of the employees enlists in the US Navy. Frank Roberts, the sports editor for the paper convinces the newspaper's editor it would be a great idea for the paper to publish a column called "The Navy Team" where Frank would write about Frank's experience in the Navy. The film follows Bill from

Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes (RTC Great Lakes), is a unit within the United States Navy primarily responsible for conducting the initial orientation and indoctrination of incoming recruits, also known as boot camp and recruit training, ...

including a spell in the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

to a variety of technical training. Bill later serves on a ship escorting a destroyer with a crew of other African-Americans working under white officers. The film mentions several black war heroes of World War II including

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

recipients William Pinckney for his actions at the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands,

Doris Miller Doris Miller (October 12, 1919November 24, 1943) was a United States Navy cook third class who was killed in action during World War II. He was the first Black American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the highest decoration for valor presented by ...

for his actions at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, and

Leonard Roy Harmon Leonard Roy Harmon (January 21, 1917 – November 13, 1942) was an American sailor who died in action during World War II and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his valor. He is the first African-American man to have a US warship, the , ...

for his actions during the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

Production

''The Negro Sailor'' was filmed at

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Major film studios, Big Five stud ...

and completed in July 1945.

Release and legacy

Caleb Peterson, Jr., the founder of the Interracial Film & Radio Guild, praised the Columbia Studios executives for including him in discussions in developing film. However, the film was also seen as "an attempt to polish the notoriously racist reputation of the navy—made worse by events such as the Port Chicago mutiny—among African Americans". And while this film and

"acknowledged African Americans' contributions to America's military history, by overlooking the persistence of racial segregation in the armed forced, they implied that the black struggle for civil rights was complete". The film is included as a supplement to releases of Harry Levin’s films The Family Secret and Convicted. The film was also released on a 2010 DVD set of race films and was restored in 2016. The film is stored in the U.S.

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Cast

Joel Fluellen Joel Fluellen (December 1, 1907 – February 2, 1990) was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films ''The Jackie Robinson Story'', '' Perils of the Jungle'', '' Duffy of San Quentin'', '' Sitting Bul ...

as Bill Johnson * Spencer Williams Jr. as Frank Roberts *

Leigh Whipper Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of ...

as the Editor *Monica Carter *Joan Douglas *Mildred Boyd *Louise Franklin

Notes

External links

* *

The Negro Sailor ''The Negro Sailor'' is a 1945 documentary short film made for the U.S. Navy and shown by All-American News, a company producing newsreels and later feature films for the race film market. It was directed by Henry Levin. The film was inspired by t ...