British actor Idris Elba says the stories of black people who fought in World War II are important today in terms of “education” and “cultural appropriation.”
The 51-year-old Luther star narrates Erased: WW2’s Heroes Of Colour, a National Geographic documentary which premieres ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6.
He told the PA news agency: “The point is, if we view these wars and this region and history in a biased way, we can miss important things that we need to remember.”
“We must not forget that black and brown soldiers played a vital role in shaping the strategy and wartime structure of this war, and that history really does matter.”
“This is problematic from an educational standpoint, from a cultural appropriation standpoint, and also because some of the soldiers in the U.S. military were black.”
Elba said he was inspired by his “hero” grandfather, who was born and raised in Kansas City before being drafted into the war.
“My grandfather’s story is not in the film, but it’s in my heart,” he said.
“It’s something me and my mom talk about, but we don’t know much about it.”
The lack of knowledge about his grandfather’s story motivated the actor to create the series.
“That really drove me and was part of why we decided to tell these stories,” he said.
“My grandfather is a hero to us. Not because he fought in the war, but because he chose a better life after returning home, even after taking a risk for a country that never accepted him.”
Elba said his grandfather did not return to the United States after the war, but instead went to West Africa.
The war series includes an episode detailing the story of the 320th Air Defense Artillery Battalion, the only black combat unit to fight on the beaches of the Normandy landings.
The Normandy landings were the largest amphibious invasion in history, when Allied forces landed on the coast of northern France in 1994.
The limited series also shines a spotlight on forgotten soldiers who fought at Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Bulge.
It highlights how the black experience in World War II influenced freedom movements, including the civil rights movement in the United States.
The first episode of “Erased: WW2’s Heroes Of Colour” will air on National Geographic in the UK on May 27th.