(NewsNation) — An upcoming documentary executive produced by actor Morgan Freeman will shed light on the first Black tank unit to serve in combat during the second World War.
“761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers,” which premieres Sunday, Aug. 20 at 8/7c on the History Channel, will explore “the major battles” the group faced both overseas and in the United States, its website said.
The documentary will include an interview between Freeman and one of the last surviving members of the 761st Tank Battalion. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the first Black holder of the office, will also be interviewed.
“It doesn’t make any sense that American history doesn’t include black people to the extent that it should,” Freeman says in a trailer for the film.
“I’ve been chasing this story about the 761st forever,” he added.
The 761st Tank Battalion was created on April 1, 1942, in Louisiana, according to the National WW2 Museum, during a time of restrictions and racism in the Jim Crow South. Members of the segregated African American unit took part in the fight for racial equality, and would do so for the rest of their lives, the National WW2 museum wrote.
It took until 1948, three years after the war ended, for President Harry Truman to sign Executive Order 9981 which would desegregate the military.
“I really wanted to see the 761st finally get the recognition they deserve,” Freeman said. “Because these men really did come out fighting.”