This February I'm basking in the joy of finally writing one of the pieces on Black movie history that I've been thinking about way on the back burner since grad school. If I'm honest, this one made my whole year. I'm proud of this feature I wrote for IndieWire about early Black participation in American film. It's based on copious reading, watching and original interviews with insiders-- film historians and the descendants of American legends Lena Horne and Fayard and Harold Nicholas.
The package has two parts: a dive into the segregated systems, challenges and triumphs of Black artists and a gallery of some of the most memorable performances of the 1920s to 1940s.
The essay:
How Black Actors Broke Through in Old Hollywood — Day to Day, Role to Role
The list:
15 Path-Breaking Black Performers of Old Hollywood — and Early American Indie Film
Here's one small taste of the performance I discuss. Cab Calloway and The Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather (1943).
