8 Times Black Artists Changed Cinema
by Natalie Pohorski
The history of cinema is full of Black artists, performers, and activists who affected positive change in their time but often failed to receive their deserved acclaim.
Here are 8 consequential examples of Black trailblazers who changed cinema—and America—for the better.
1. Oscar Micheaux vs. The Birth of a Nation
An author, entrepreneur, and pioneer who turned his sights to filmmaking, Oscar Micheaux traveled the country promoting his films just like he did on his book tours. After seeing the horrific misrepresentation of Black people in D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, he sought to challenge these harmful racist stereotypes with his film Within Our Gates. His films were the first by a Black American to be shown in white movie theaters after a hard-fought battle with the Censor Boards.
2. Zora Neale Hurston on the road
Considered the Queen of the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston is known for her work as a writer but was one of the first documentarians and considered the first African-American woman filmmaker. She drove around the American South from 1927-1930, capturing a rare glimpse into African-American communities at the time with her 16mm camera.
3. Hattie McDaniel wins the Oscar
Hattie McDaniel became the first Black Oscar winner in 1940 for her performance in Gone With The Wind but was not allowed to sit with her co-stars during the segregated event. (Wil Haygood: “They gave her the Oscar, but not a seat at the table.”) She won for playing Mammy, a role she would perform 74 times in her career as roles for Black women at the time were mostly limited to racist tropes. MaBel Collins, the wife of McDaniel’s great-nephew, later said: “Every picture and every line, it belonged to Hattie. She knew she was supposed to be subservient, but she never delivered a subservient line.”
4. Sidney Poitier leads the way
Poitier was Hollywood’s first Black leading man and in 1964 became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. He insisted on only taking roles that countered offensive stereotypes—doctor, cowboy, police detective, and boyfriend in an interracial couple to name a few—and turned down lesser roles even early in his career when he may have needed the work. He stuck to his values offscreen too, working largely behind the scenes in the Civil Rights movement during the March on Washington and Freedom Summer of 1963-64.
5. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee partner up
Prolific actors, directors, and activists with a beautiful partnership, Ruby Dee was the first Black actress to star at the American Shakespeare Festival and acted in more than 40 movies, while Ossie directed for the stage and Hollywood. They gave the eulogy for Malcolm X and marched with Martin Luther King Jr. They were awarded the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award and received Kennedy Center Honors.
6. Blaxploitation fights back
Blaxploitation films highlighted Black characters as kickass heroes fighting white villains. They were films made by Black directors, starring Black actors, for a Black audience. Sex, drugs, pimps, convicts, and a new kind of funk music were the language of the genre. Around 200 films attributed to the genre were made between 1971-1976, and even though it was also met with criticism it inspired a new wave of Black filmmakers.
7. Best Directors
In 1991, John Singleton became the youngest and first Black director nominated for Best Director with his film Boyz N the Hood. Spike Lee, another defining filmmaker of the same era, wasn’t nominated until 2018 for BlacKkKlansman. Steve McQueen and Barry Jenkins took home Best Picture Oscars for their films 12 Years A Slave and Moonlight, respectively, but did not win for directing. Jordan Peele received the nomination for Get Out—and became the first Black writer to win Best Original Screenplay—but was passed up for Best Director.
8. #OscarsSoWhite changes the tide
In 2015, all 20 acting nominations were white. This inspired April Reign to create the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, which led to Cheryl Boone Isaacs and the Academy board of directors approving an initiative to double the number of women and underrepresented members in four years—which it met in 2020 with 819 new members. Spike Lee: “Cheryl Boone Isaacs really made it her mission to open things up so that the voting body looked more like America.”