NAACP Presents Image Award for Outstanding Documentary to

“For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots”

Frank Martin Film Chronicles Untold Story of

African-Americans’

Courageous Service to their Country

HOSTED BY HALLE BERRY, INTRODUCED BY COLIN POWELL, NARRATED BY AVERY BROOKS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY LOUIS GOSSETT, JR,

WITH COOPERATION OF THE U.S. ARMY

For Love of Liberty:  The Story of America’s Black Patriots,
the powerful four-hour documentary film chronicling African-Americans
who risked their lives to create and preserve freedom for their country
while attempting to acquire it for themselves, captured the award for
Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television) at the 42^nd Annual NAACP Image Awards held last Friday (March 4) in Los Angeles.  The
program, which beat out several high-profile films for the honor,
salutes our African-American service men and women and reveres their
dedicated allegiance to the United States military.  It recently returned to the airwaves across the country via PBS to coincide with Black History Month in February.  

Hosted by Halle Berry, narrated by Avery Brooks, and featuring an introduction by Colin Powell, For Love of Liberty:  The Story of America’s Black Patriots
begins at the dawn of U.S. history and uses letters, diaries, speeches,
journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document
the accomplishments of African-American men and women since the
earliest days of the republic.  Their gripping personal stories paint a
deeply moving historical account of service and sacrifice, from the
Revolutionary War – whose first casualty was a Black man, Crispus
Attucks – to today’s battle against global terrorism.

The
program also received praise for the impressive music that accompanies
its visual storytelling, a combination of songs and original
underscoring for voiceover readings by a veritable who’s who of
entertainment figures, among them Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, Alan
Rickman, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Donald Sutherland and Louis
Gossett, Jr.  Winner of the 2010 Gold Medal for Excellence in Film Music
at the Park City Music and Film Festival, independent Blix Street
Records issued the original soundtrack last fall (www.blixstreet.com). 
The soundtrack presents 17 musical pieces taken from the score, deftly
combining instrumental passages with vintage and contemporary vocal
performances.

For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots
was produced by Rudy Poe, Frank Martin and James Crite.  The executive
producers are Louis Gossett Jr., Hillard Elkins, Dennis Considine,
Richard Hull and Kevin Clark.  The soundtrack album was produced by
Frank Martin, Blix Street Records founder Bill Straw, score composer
Lawrence Brown and song-producer Steve Goldstein.  Made with the U.S.
Army’s full cooperation (www.goarmy.com), the film is sponsored by US Bank, Ford Motor Company and State Farm.