About

Gregory S. Cooke created, produced, and directed the critically acclaimed documentary Invisible Warriors: African American Women in World War II. He is also the executive producer and driving force behind the film Choc’late Soldiers from the USA. He founded and currently manages Charlie Horse Productions.

He is the founder and president of the Basil and Becky Educational Foundation (BBEEF) whose mission is to educate current and future generations through audio visual storytelling to illuminate the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans and peoples of African descent.

Gregory has spoken at more than 100 educational, cultural and corporate venues, and has numerous media appearances including CBS Saturday Morning and Turner Classic Movies. He was a featured guest on the podcast A Moment with Erik Fleming.

His expertise about African American participation in World War II has him featured in documentaries: The Women of World War II (PBS 2025), a documentary about the underrecognized contributions of American women in World War II; My Father’s War: How Pearl Harbor Transformed America and World War II Battles in Color: The Bulge (Smithsonian), two powerful documentaries about African American participation in World War II.

Gregory has a long list of accomplishments which include a President’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2024); Library of Congress: Teaching with Primary Sources (2023/2024); National World War II Museum advisory board member: “Fighting For The Right To Fight” (2024); inaugural recipient of the Better Angels/Lavine/Ken Burns Fellowship (2020); and the Congressional Black Caucus, Veterans Braintrust Award (2019). The Kingdom of the Netherlands was the largest contributor to the completion of Invisible Warriors.

Gregory earned his BA/English, American International College, and MA/Journalism at The Ohio State University. Gregory, a career educator and World War II historian, coaches former students and teaches them the ways of “The Force.”