Invisible Heroes: African-Americans in the Spanish Civil War

Invisible Heroes: African-Americans in the Spanish Civil War (2015) was co-produced, co-written, and co-directed by Alfonso Domingo and Jordi Torrent.

The movie includes interviews with veterans of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Brigade, interviews with historians, as well as historical photos and film clips.

When I was young, my parents knew many of the Lincolns. In fact, "he fought in Spain" was a great compliment. (Not to the U.S. government, of course, but to their friends.) I met some veterans who were in solidarity with the Nicaraguan government during the Contra war. However, I never knew any African-American veterans.

Africa-Americans were there, on the front lines, during the heroic resistance against General Franco's Fascist troops. That's the story that this documentary film tells.

The only flaw to the film--in my opinion--is that it assumes a basic knowledge of the Spanish Civil War. Older people may remember it, but younger people may not even know it happened. A few minutes of exposition in the beginning would have been useful.

One new fact for me was that the Lincolns didn't care for Hemingway's novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. (That was turned into the "definitive" movie of the Civil War.) The reason they didn't like it is because the hero of the novel is a "loner" from Montana. The Lincolns had a strong belief in group solidarity. They arrived in Spain together, they fought shoulder-to-shoulder, and the survivors went home together.

If you have any interest in the early fight against fascism and/or African-American participation in that fight, this movie is definitely worth watching. If neither subject interests you, then you'll have to decide. (Subtitles for Spanish to English, and vice-versa.)