The JXN Project

Happy Juneteenth and world premiere weekend — and what better way to celebrate than by getting to know the figures behind “Declarations: Black American and The Revolutionary War”.

“Declarations” examines the heroic stories of Black Americans who fought to define democracy and expand freedom during through the Revolutionary War. The film follows the stories of four Black forgotten foremothers and forefathers, such as James Lafayette, who served as a double agent and helped to defeat the British at Yorktown; Harry Washington, who was enslaved by President George Washington and escaped Mount Vernon to join the British Troops; and Elizabeth “Mum Bet” Freeman, who sued for her emancipation in Massachusetts. The film also explores the life of Abraham Peyton Skipwith who became the first known Black homeowner in the wake of the revolution in Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia as the nation’s first historically registered Black urban neighborhood.

With limited historical representations available, the film brings these lesser-known figures to life visually through the talent of artist, Hudson Campbell — the network's first film to feature animated portraits through artificial intelligence.

The network premiere of “Declarations” on PBS will be on Monday, June 29 at 10PM EST.

Portrayals of Black-centered narratives in early American art are few and far between and the ones that do exist are faceless in fields or caricatured — displayed as subservient property. In VPM's “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War”, which will premiere on PBS on Monday, June 29,2026 at 10PM EST, the filmmaker, Stacey Holman, wanted to provide the film's historical subjects with visual agency as never seen before.

The filmmaker statement provides an explanation of the visuals that were generated for the documentary with the help of artificial intelligence tools to supplement historical depictions, which are based on the work of artist, Hudson Campbell with historical advisement by Stephen Seals, Dr. Ed Ayers, and Sam Pollard.

Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War — Filmmaker… Learn how the filmmakers used AI tools to supplement historical depictions in "Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War."

PBS PRESS RELEASE — "Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War" Premieres June 29, 2026

PBS announced that a new one-hour film, "Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War", will premiere Monday, June 29, at 10:00PM EST on PBS. Produced by VPM and directed by Stacey L. Holman of "Making Black America: Through the Grapevine", "The Black Church: This is Our Story", and "This is Our Song", the film explores the heroic stories of enslaved and freed Black Americans who fought to define democracy and ensure their liberty through the Revolutionary War. "Declarations" is part of PBS America@250, which is a multiyear celebration of national history and culture programming through the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026 and beyond.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, the Founders, many of whom were slaveholders, declared – “all men are created equal.” As their aspirational words and ideals of freedom were signed into existence and spread throughout the colonies, Black people recognized that these ideas included them. "Declarations" examines how they fought for these tenets of democracy for themselves, their families, and their communities.

“This film is an opportunity to bring to light more hidden figures in history — stories that are important to the building of this nation,” said director Stacey Holman. “There is so much we can learn about agency, endurance and most importantly hope, that viewers can apply to their lives today. Anytime we can connect history with the present, it reveals so much about the human condition and how to navigate the world.”

“PBS has long been a home for powerful storytelling that expands our collective understanding of who we are as a nation,” said Margaret Ebrahim, Senior Director of Programing and Development at PBS. "Declarations" continues that tradition by bringing long-overdue visibility to the Black Americans whose courage, resistance and belief in the ideals of freedom helped shape the country from its earliest days.”

"Declarations" follows the stories of four Black Americans as they navigate our country’s fight for independence and their individual pursuits of freedom. Discover the stories of James Lafayette, who served as a double agent for the Patriots and helped bring down the British at Yorktown; Harry Washington, who was enslaved by George Washington and escaped Mount Vernon to join the British troops; Elizabeth Freeman, previously known as Mum Bet, who sued one of the most prominent patriots in Massachusetts while living under his roof; and Abraham Peyton Skipwith, an enslaved man who used his proximity to power and his unusual literacy to petition for his own freedom and become one of the first free Black landowners in Richmond, VA.

“The 250th anniversary of the United States has presented us with an amazing opportunity to immortalize these previously unacknowledged founding figures who didn’t just fight for their country, but for their freedom,” said Steve Humble, Executive Producer and Chief Content Officer at VPM. “By piecing together their important contributions with fragments of documents and records, this film shines a light on the remarkable lives of these brave Americans who fought in the courts, fought for both sides on the battlefield, and fought through the radical act of living as free Black people in the earliest days of our nation.”

With limited historical representations available, the film brings these lesser-known figures to life visually through the talent of artist and archival producer, Hudson Campbell. Continuing a long legacy of artists reclaiming and reshaping Black narratives, Campbell created each oil-based portrait by hand. In consultation with historic advisors, these portraits were then animated with artificial intelligence tools, helping to supplement historical depictions and giving agency to these subjects on visual terms.

“My work examines how the past informs the future, exploring the evolution of both the stories being told and the mediums used to tell them,” said Campbell. “Drawing from my background in archival producing, I use research to translate the profound experiences of historical figures and the environment they inhabited into visual manifestations. By integrating generative artificial intelligence into this process, I bridge the centuries-wide disconnect between these figures and modern viewers, breathing dimension into the past and making history intimately relatable.”

DECLARATIONS: BLACK AMERICANS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Premieres June 29, 2026 PBS announced that a new one-hour film, DECLARATIONS: BLACK AMERICANS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, will premiere Monday, June 29, at 10:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS app. 

The JXN Project would like to thank Dominique Fluker of Forbes for her feature "Inside PBS’ ‘Declarations’: Director Stacey Holman Explores Black Americans In The Revolutionary War" — we look forward to seeing everyone at this weekend's world premiere at the Museum of the City of New York for Juneteenth!

Inside PBS’ ‘Declarations’: Director Stacey Holman Explores Black Americans In The Revolutionary War A powerful new documentary uncovers the stories of Black Americans who fought to define democracy during the American Revolution, ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. PBS announced that a new one-hour film, Declarations: Black Americans And The Revolutionary War will premiere Monday, June 29,...

The JXN Project would like to thank Larry Bleiberg and Parker Michels-Boyce of AAA for its feature “The Skipwith-Roper Cottage: Abraham Peyton Skipwith helped build one of the first Black Neighborhoods in the United States of America” in this month’s issue of Explorer Magazine — we appreciate the support to establish the cottage as a national travel destination during the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

The JXN Project is proud to partner with the Djimon Hounsou Foundation for Run Richmond 16.19 on September 12, 2026 — which will begin in Abner Clay Park in the heart of Jackson Ward. This year, the project will run and|or walk with Team Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and will partner with VPM to host a screening of “Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War” at the VHMC to conclude race weekend on September 13, 2026. To register, please visit runrichmond1619.org and weoffthecouch.org for this year’s training program.

WOW! The JXN Project is beyond humbled by the second straight sold out premiere of “Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War” — we’ll see you next weekend NYC!

If you will miss the world premieres at the MCNYC and VMFA, please mark your calendar for the network premiere of VPM’s “Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War” on PBS on June 29 at 9pm EST — with an encore at 10pm EST. The wait list is now open for the companion screening at the VMFA and a few tickets are still available for the world premiere at the Museum of the City of New York on June 20. Also, catch the film this summer at the Global Black Economic Forum at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture on July 3, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival on August 7, and Run Richmond 16.19 with the Djimon Hounsou Foundation at VMHC on September 13!

JXN would like to thank Danny Nokes of VPM for including the project in his article on the release of “Declarations: Black Americans and The Revolutionary War” — airing on PBS on Monday, June 29 at 10pm EST!

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“Despite being the first Black homeowner in Jackson Ward, a neighborhood from which me and my sister, Enjoli, descend from three generations, I had never heard of Abraham Peyton Skipwith before the wake of 2020. At first, it was disheartening to learn that his life and legacy had been all but forgotten by a community that he helped to build. And this sentiment was further compounded when realizing that the home he had built in 1793 and bequeathed to his descendants in 1799 was dislocated to the former plantation of the Confederate Secretary of War to make way for an interstate that would tear the nation’s first historically registered Black urban neighborhood in half. But then, I realized that me and my sister, as well as city, commonwealth, and country as a whole, had been given a perfectly time gift of learning about a forgotten founding father of our own — and just in time for the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

With it being said that 1 in 4 Black Americans can retrace their roots to the rivers in the Richmond area, stories about forgotten foremothers and forefathers like Abraham Peyton Skipwith are deeply important to disrupt the one dimensional narratives that we’ve been told about the role of Black people during the revolutionary founding of the nation. When stories are told, we as Black Americans are often either on the periphery or not included all together, but “Declarations” is rare in its centering of the Black American experience in the pursuit of a more perfect union. And my hope is that the work of The JXN Project, as shared in the film, helps to inspire others to find the forgotten founding figures in their respective community. The next Abraham Peyton Skipwith and Jackson Ward are waiting to be found — even if 250 years later.”

Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, PhD
Co-Founder, The JXN Project

New VPM documentary Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War brings untold stories to light Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War explores the lives of Black Americans whose courage, choices and pursuit of freedom helped shape the Revolutionary War era.