Credit: PBS

On the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, filmmaker Stacey L. Holman is putting a new spin on untold stories of African American history, despite the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion.


With “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,” debuting June 29 on PBS stations across the country, the sought-after documentarian uses the help of artificial intelligence animation to shine light on freedom fighters James Armistead Lafayette, Harry Washington, Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman and Abraham Peytron Skipwith amid the signing of The Declaration of Independence in 1776.

“I think it’s important for others to know, and it’s really a privilege to just bring lesser-known characters and, you know, ancestors to the forefront, and to know that they are so much a part of this nation and this nation building … and they need to be honored and recognized,” Holman told URL Media.

The Shaker Heights-reared Ohio native — who considers herself “a steward in telling those stories” — was tapped by Virginia Public Media to helm the film after being prompted by organizers of The JXN Project in Richmond, as they were rebuilding the Jackson Ward home of Skipwith, who was enslaved and used his proximity to power to become one of the first free Black landowners in the area.

Credit: PBS

Holman, 55, has gained prominence with her previous film “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” and “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song” and through her work with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on the PBS historical series “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War.”

“It feels like I always kind of end up telling these stories, which is kind of ironic,” she said, “So I’m like, ‘All right, this is important, I need to tell it.’”

Alongside Skipwith’s revolution inside of the revolution, Holman also brings forth the stories of Lafayette, a double agent for the Patriots who helped bring down the British at Yorktown; and Washington, a slave of George Washington who escaped Mount Vernon to join the British troops.

Opening the hour-long film, lauded scholar Dr. Leslie Alexander posits: “How do we take people, who were not even fully considered human, and try to reconstruct their lives?”

The auteur breathed new life into the previous way slave narratives were presented by having contemporary visual artist and archival producer Hudson Campbell on board to create oil-based portraits by hand that were then animated with artificial intelligence tools.

It’s a fresh approach to historical documentary filmmaking, and a daring one considering Hollywood’s negative attitudes toward generative AI.

Holman, a proud alum of New Orleans HBCU Dillard University and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program, is excited to bring history to the present day: “The ways in which we tell these stories open the door for a new generation to see history, to understand history through this new technology.”

Credit: PBS

“Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War” is part of “PBS America @ 250,” a multiyear programming initiative celebrating U.S. history and culture that kicked off in spring 2025 and continues through America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026.

The film may not go over well to followers of President Donald Trump, a staunch DEI opponent, who issued an executive order in 2025 to defund NPR and PBS. Although a federal judge permanently blocked the order in March 2026, the MAGA leader’s order was part of a wide-ranging effort to weaken public broadcasting, which he accused of extreme liberal bias, and unfavorable coverage of him. 

But the damage was already done; $9 billion in funding allocated for public media was rescinded by Congress.

“I mean, it’s very disappointing,” Holman shared. “However, I will say that history is a blueprint of where we’re going and where we came from, and if we kind of look at that as our guide, we kind of shouldn’t be surprised by the way individuals like the current administration are rolling back so many things.”

“So, I think it’s not like it was easy before, but it’s going to be harder to fund films that have the lens that we are telling it from,” she continued. “But at the same time we know that this story is important because they clearly do not want them told because it is showing all elements of this nation and this country. So I think it’s a matter of being creative and how we get these stories told. And yes, PBS may not have what it had before, but it still has a very important place in telling our stories.”

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