Invisible Heroes: African-Americans in the Spanish Civil War

Thursday 29th October 2026

Discover the overlooked story of the African-American volunteers who travelled to Spain to fight fascism, racism and inequality during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1936, approximately 2,800 volunteers from North America travelled to Spain to defend the Spanish Republic against the military uprising led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Hitler and Mussolini.

They joined around 50,000 international volunteers from more than 50 countries. Among the Americans were 85 African-American men and women who answered the call to defend democracy abroad while being denied full civil rights in their own country.

Directed by Alfonso Domingo and Jordi Torrent, Invisible Heroes: African-Americans in the Spanish Civil War brings this little-known chapter of twentieth-century history to the screen.

The documentary follows the experiences of African-American volunteers who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and fought against fascism, racism and oppression.

At the centre of the film is an interview with James Yates, an African-American volunteer who travelled from the United States to fight in Spain. The documentary also features contributions from other Lincoln Brigade veterans, historians and experts from Spain and the United States.

Rarely seen archival footage is combined with newly recorded material filmed at historically significant locations in Mississippi, Chicago, New York and Spain.

The film explores why these volunteers chose to risk their lives in a distant war and how their experiences connected the international struggle against fascism with the campaign for racial justice and civil rights in the United States.

The documentary runs for approximately 75 minutes and will be followed by a short audience discussion.

For enquiries, contact aftunwestofscotland@gmail.com.

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