Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971 explores the rich history of Black participation in American cinema from its beginnings to just beyond the civil rights movement. Inspired by and named after an independent all-Black-cast movie from 1923, Regeneration seeks to revive lost or forgotten films, filmmakers, and performers for a contemporary audience.
Moviemaking has always been instrumental in shaping culture more broadly, and Black artists and entrepreneurs have been involved from the start despite racism and prejudices that limited their opportunities. Black actors, at times, turned stereotypical roles that did not represent their full humanity into three-dimensional characters, while Black directors who were left out of the mainstream system created their own independent production companies.
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What He Witnessed: Blackness, Film Spectatorship, and James Baldwin’s The Devil Finds Work
Film scholar Michael Boyce Gillespie looks at James Baldwin’s writing on Black film and how it served as a culmination of his long deliberation on race and America.
Film
Anna Lucasta
After Anna is kicked out of her home, she must resort to sex work. Her plans to begin a new life with a suitor are thwarted by her vengeful father.
Article
Hattie McDaniel: Talent, Drive, Audacity, Agency
Donald Bogle looks at the complex careers of Hattie McDaniel and other Black actors working in Hollywood in the first half of the twentieth century.
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