KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: In America, there
were two different views of what the issues were all about.
For European Americans, they wanted freedom from England.
For Black Americans, they wanted freedom from white people
telling them what to do, enslaving
them, or mistreating them.
Blacks really had a lot of hope.
They saw that maybe for their children and their children's
children, it would be freedom.
That motivated a lot of people.
During my research, I came across one
name that really struck me--
Peter Salem.
Trained in a local militia, it's been said
that he was a great marksman.
DAVID ALLEN LAMBERT: So what we know about Peter Salem
is that he was born about 1750 in Framingham, Massachusetts,
to an enslaved family.
Peter Salem's owner, he gives Peter
the option that he could have his freedom
if he joins the militia.
MAN: Peter Salem agrees to fight on behalf
of American independence, with the understanding
that he'll be freed in exchange for his service.
CHRISTOPHER BONNER: There are a lot
of ways in which military service
during the Revolutionary War, for a lot of African-Americans,
was the first time they had an opportunity
to make a life for themselves.
So many of them were feeling the new status of freedom
for the first time, and they were feeling
that through this military combat
that they were taking part in.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: In June 1775,
during the Siege of Boston, Peter Salem finds
himself on the front lines.
DAVID ALLEN LAMBERT: Bloodshed has happened
at Lexington and Concord.
Now we're moving forward.
We're at Bunker Hill.
The British have seized Boston now.
The port has been closed down.
Massachusetts was in an upheaval.
WOMAN: The idea behind Bunker Hill
was to sort of foil the British.
The battle was a very, very bloody battle.
Toward the end of the day, the Americans started
to run out of ammunition.
Major Pitcairn of the British Royal Marines,
he tried to organize the troops that were left.
He was the highest ranking officer
left on the field that day that had not been killed or wounded,
and he gathered all his soldiers and was telling them,
hey, we've got to show them what real soldiers could do.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: At that moment,
Peter Salem lines up his rifle, pulls the trigger,
and makes history.
June 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill--
reportedly, British Major John Pitcairn
yells, "The day is ours," and leads the final charge.
At that same moment, many would claim,
Black soldier Peter Salem raises his rifle
and puts a bullet through the major's head.
This is a big, big deal because, you know,
here's an African-American who is part of the killing
of a significant figure.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: While the Patriots lose this battle,
the British suffer significant casualties.
And for the nascent Continental Army, killing a British officer
is a confidence booster.
As news spreads, Peter Salem emerges as a hero.
There's this element of surprise
that's really fascinating to me, and I think that Peter Salem's
story reflects both the reality that Black men were just
as good as any others when it came to fighting this war,
but also the reality that Continental
Army officials were really shocked that that was the case.
They didn't believe, they didn't expect that Peter
Salem would be a brave soldier.
And so it was notable to them that he fought bravely--
that a Black man fought with bravery.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: In 1786, artist John Trumbull
immortalizes the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The painting includes a Black soldier.
Some have claimed this is Peter Salem,
but you might not even notice.
He's down in the corner in a dark shadow,
and because his skin is dark, you can hardly see him there.
In some of the history books I've seen,
they would crop off Peter Salem.
I think the reason that the Black contributions
to the success of the Revolutionary War
are not acknowledged has to do with the fact
that certain people do not want to give Black
Americans any credit for helping us
win our freedom from England.
They want to minimize any contributions that Blacks
have made and try to portray us as savages,
and that's not true.