AllMovie

Filmmakers Tim Nackashi and Kenneth Kilfara team for this cinematic profile of Canada Lee, a world-class prizefighter and groundbreaking star of stage and screen who helped to herald in the Civil Rights Movement before being targeted for persecution and defamation during the Red Scare. His illustrious career serving as a crucial yet somewhat arcane link between the era when black actors were relegated to derogatory roles and the stars whose groundbreaking performances would hasten the arrival of the Civil Rights Era, Lee and a notable collection of black performers including Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson, among others, used their influence as a means of speaking out against racism and the status quo. By exploring the ways in which Lee's celebrity afforded him the luxury of transcending certain social barriers despite being relegated a second-class citizen due solely to the color of his skin, Nackashi and Kilfara pay tribute to his career while pondering the inherent irony of being at once an icon for change, as well as a "threat to national security."