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    On June 20, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) hosted the world premiere screening and discussion of the documentary, "Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War (2026)," in honor of Juneteenth (June 19). The premiere of this film also occurred as the nation prepares to celebrate 250 years of existence.  According to the description on MCNY’s event page, the film “uncovers the stories of four Black Americans who pursued freedom, citizenship, and belonging during the American Revolution.” The creators of this film, Stacey Lynn Holman and Maya Tepler, spoke with Caribbean Life about the journey to making it, and its significance in not only Black history, but American history overall.  It may surprise people to know that Holman has run three marathons: one in Philadelphia, PA, one here in New York, NY, and one in Washington, D.C. Tepler made a big leap to come to New York since she’s from a small town in rural Maine.  Tepler sees her parents as the greatest influence on her interest and career path; they instilled in her a willingness to be curious about the world, about people growing up. This was what eventually fueled her interest in, specifically, documentary filmmaking. “I've always been a storyteller, and I've always loved people," Tepler said. "My parents love to tell a story about how, when I was three, if they took me to a restaurant or cafe when they would turn their back for just a second I would run off and start introducing myself to the other tables. Over time, this quirk has become my superpower in documentaries: I genuinely love people, and I love figuring out how to share their stories.”  Holman is the youngest of her siblings, and the benefit in that for her was that she was able to figure out early that she didn’t want to pursue a career in law, business, and education, as her siblings did. Her interest was sparked in college.  “What I did find comfort in, especially when I went to undergrad, was developing ideas, collaborating, and making those ideas come to life. It was freeing. So when I heard that still, small voice of God telling me to apply to film school, I listened — and I acted on it. I landed in the city I always wanted to live in, NYC,” Holman shared.  Tepler and Holman knew they wanted to stray from the traditional format of a historical documentary, to be faster-paced and accessible, but still deeply rooted in truth and history. They spent many hours discussing what they wanted this film to say, and how they wanted this film to look. “There are a couple of key elements to our concept. We wanted to give our historical subjects agency, they were heroic, they were patriotic, and in spite of the lack of historical artifacts, they are foundational to this country,” Tepler added.  On the experience of working together, Tepler shared that Holman was amazing and extremely generous, while Holman expressed how blessed she felt working with Tepler and their team. Tepler also overemphasized how filmmaking takes a village.   “It was so wonderful to collaborate with Maya, figuring out ways to add urgency to these stories while also showing their historical relevance today," Holman explained. "Our Line Producer, Michelle Budnick, our Archival Producer, Rebecca Kent, and our editors, Adriana Pacheco and Marcus Taylor, brought incredible creative gifts to this project, and then there's the artistic talent of Hudson Campbell! The care and humanity he gave to each subject is a reflection of the research he put into understanding this period and showing the agency Skipwith, Harry, Mum Bett, and James had."  Tepler said it’s been an honor to be a part of shining a light on what the fight for freedom actually means, and what history actually is.  Echoing this, Holman stated that having the film premiere between two celebrations centered around the concept of freedom feels timely. Because it premiered and will air before America turns 250, she believes it will widen the lens of how this history has been told. On the reactions she wants the film to have in the Black community and the message she wants those in it to understand, Holman added, “I want the Black community to understand that Black people had agency, the wherewithal, and were indefatigable in their pursuit of freedom — and that this same resilience and resolve continues to live in us today.”  The film is available to watch online through PBS, and those who are interested can watch it at pbs.org.
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