SAN ANTONIO – (March 12, 2022) Fred Brock American Legion Post 828 held its Steak Night at the post, featuring the award-winning documentary “Seventy Years of Blackness.”
Verda Byrd, spouse of Legionnaire Trancle Byrd, has been living her entire life as a black woman. But the age of 70, she made a shocking discovery that she was adopted, and her biological parents were actually white. More than 70 members of the Legion Family and their guests attended the event on the city’s Eastside.
The documentary, directed by Christopher Winfield, is a look into Verda’s story while examining the effects race played within the adoption industry.
“When I first met Verda Byrd, I had no idea how the adoption process worked,” said Winfield, an award-winning filmmaker who works with a creative visual language. “Not only did she open my eyes to the taboo world of adoption dating back to the '50s, but also how important race was a factor when adopting a child.”
“Seventy Years of Blackness” was accepted into the 2020 Urban Mediamakers Association & Film Festival, International Black Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, USA Film Festival, African Film Festival, National Black Film Festival and many others.
The documentary has won awards at the WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival and the People’s Choice Award at the African Film Festival held in Ghana, West Africa. Additionally, it was a finalist in the USA Film Festival Shorts Competition.
The book is available for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Seventy-Years-Blackness-Verda-Byrd/dp/0997493585. Follow the documentary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/70yearsblack/.
Fred Brock Post 828’s mission is to enhance the well-being of San Antonio’s veterans, their families, the military and the community by its devotion to mutual helpfulness.
The post, which received a temporary charter as Post 420-A on Jan. 1, 1946, is named in honor of San Antonio native U.S. Army Sgt. Fred Brock of the 598th Field Artillery Battalion, 92nd Infantry Division, who died in the line of duty at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., on Aug. 18, 1943. On Aug. 23, 1950, Fred Brock Post No. 420-A was granted a full charter and was redesignated as Post No. 828.
The post is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022, and will host several events and activities that will culminate with a Diamond Anniversary Dinner in October.
