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Actor Reid discusses documentary
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Published: October 9, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE - Tim Reid, an actor, director and producer, says that his frustration with the lack of black people in the movie Saving Private Ryan led him to create a documentary about black veterans.
"I did not see one black face," Reid told an audience Wednesday at Fayetteville State University. "I thought, ‘Something is wrong here.' I decided to do something about it."
The first 15 minutes of the film, Blacks in the Military, were previewed before Reid spoke. That part of the film highlighted the "Red Ball Express," a steady stream of mostly black-driven supply trucks that were the lifeblood to Gen. George Patton's troops in France after the invasion of Normandy.
Reid pointed out that every soldier he interviewed for that segment has since died, highlighting the importance of recording such stories.
Reid, best known for his role as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati, said that the legacy of their forefathers is something black youth won't find in hip-hop.
"I don't fear much, but one thing I do fear is the loss of culture," he said.
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