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Black Film: A History of Black Representation and Participation in the Movies
An illustrated history that celebrates the legacy of Black actors, films, and filmmakers from the silent era through today and explores the deeply embedded racism of the film industry, from the award-winning author of The Black Panther Party
In Black Film, Eisner Award-winning author David F. Walker presents an immersive dive into the crucial history of Black actors, films, and filmmakers. Following closely behind the very first moving picture captured by Eadward Muybridge in 1872, Thomas Edison's thirty-second "actualities" from the late 1890s, including A Watermelon Contest and Dancing Darkey Boy, are among the first short films to depict Black people. These can be considered the earliest examples of how the film industry would go on to exploit, appropriate, and shape the narrative of Black people for the duration of its development.
Divided by decade, each section of the book covers an important era and milestone for Black film, highlighting both difficulties and triumphs through time. For
The harmful popularization of blackface and minstrel shows (1890-1914)The emergence of racist feature-length movies such as Birth of a Nation after the advancement of sound in film, countered by the success of pioneering Black filmmakers such as Oscar Michaeux and brothers George and Noble Johnson (1915-1928)The rise of trailblazing actors such as Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge (1950-1959)The roots of Blaxploitation as a subgenre and how Black people ultimately saved Hollywood during trying times (1970-1979)The exciting crossover of hip-hop music into film (1980-1989)The box office success of Marvel's The Black Panther, Moonlight's history-making Best Picture win, and more.
With gorgeous illustrations, film stills, and rare pieces of ephemera, Black Film celebrates the glowing contributions of Black actors and filmmakers, without shying away from discussing the racism that is rooted in Hollywood—an important reality to address in order to make progress.
In Black Film, Eisner Award-winning author David F. Walker presents an immersive dive into the crucial history of Black actors, films, and filmmakers. Following closely behind the very first moving picture captured by Eadward Muybridge in 1872, Thomas Edison's thirty-second "actualities" from the late 1890s, including A Watermelon Contest and Dancing Darkey Boy, are among the first short films to depict Black people. These can be considered the earliest examples of how the film industry would go on to exploit, appropriate, and shape the narrative of Black people for the duration of its development.
Divided by decade, each section of the book covers an important era and milestone for Black film, highlighting both difficulties and triumphs through time. For
The harmful popularization of blackface and minstrel shows (1890-1914)The emergence of racist feature-length movies such as Birth of a Nation after the advancement of sound in film, countered by the success of pioneering Black filmmakers such as Oscar Michaeux and brothers George and Noble Johnson (1915-1928)The rise of trailblazing actors such as Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge (1950-1959)The roots of Blaxploitation as a subgenre and how Black people ultimately saved Hollywood during trying times (1970-1979)The exciting crossover of hip-hop music into film (1980-1989)The box office success of Marvel's The Black Panther, Moonlight's history-making Best Picture win, and more.
With gorgeous illustrations, film stills, and rare pieces of ephemera, Black Film celebrates the glowing contributions of Black actors and filmmakers, without shying away from discussing the racism that is rooted in Hollywood—an important reality to address in order to make progress.
- GenresArtNonfiction
Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2026
1573 people want to read
About the author
David F. Walker
293 books284 followersDavid F. Walker is a writer, filmmaker, and award-winning journalist. He teaches Writing For Comics at Portland State University.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 24, 2026
"Black Film" by David F. Walker is a history of Black representation and participation in film--a retrospective up to the present. I've done particular research into 'the early days of film' or 1890 to 1914, as well as into the next period, which the author calls "Racism, Race, and Sound" from 1915 to 1928. Beyond the horrid D.W. Griffith 'Birth of a Nation' and all its white supremacist tropes, I have looked at performers like Bert Williams--a Black man who was told when he came to the United States and wanted to work in the entertainment industry that he would have to do blackface minstrelsy and put black paint or burnt cork on his already Black skin. He made a very successful career for himself, working with George Walker and other Black performers who did blackface minstrelsy not because they wanted to, but because the white decision-makers of the industry told them that was all that was available. I've studied racist caricatures in cartoon animation, before Mickey Mouse to during his era, to Bugs Bunny and banned cartoons, to 'Song of the South' and all its romanticization of racist tropes. And other eras as well. The previous two intrigued me the most. And then moving into Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, to Denzel Washington, to Delroy Lindo, and how you finally get to someone like Ryan Coogler.
This is a very visually well-organized book with charts and illustrations that make the dates and points easier to digest, which I appreciated. It also talks about what was going on in history in the United States at the time.
"The first known moving pictures showing Black people were in a series of actualities produced in 1895, the same year that the abolitionist Frederick Douglass died." Douglass himself had faith in photography as a medium to put himself into objective form, and that it captured what was truly there--free of the "biases and prejudices" found in illustrations and cartoons, something that -- sure, people used before the advent of photography and the invention of cameras, because they wanted to capture images and memories somehow, of course. But illustrations and cartoons were often riddled with the biases and racist prejudices of the people doing the illustrating and colouring. These predominantly white cartoonists drew Black people, East and South Asians, Jewish people, and other groups in the crudest, most caricatured way possible. These were the same cartoonists who illustrated tableaus of Black children who were being chased by alligators and getting called "alligator bait" as a racial slur largely because of that, and also because of the widespread stories about how zookeepers used to feed or try to feed alligators Black children. Although the timing of that is more relegated to the antebellum era and enslavers are documented to have committed to this barbaric practice, as they did so many others against people of African descent, this particular one was commemorated in illustrations that sold in the millions and hung in the homes of millions of white Americans.
I appreciated the first section discussing Williams, as I mentioned, and talking about how blackface minstrelsy's legacy if complex enough already when we examine the white performers who did blackface, but when we add into the context Black performers like Williams and George Walker, among others, things get even more complicated. It is very important to approach this period and these performers with nuance. Many have questioned--how could Williams participate in something that he knew was contributing to the buffoon image that most white Americans had of Black people (and in other places of the world as well). How could he further the stereotypes and make Black people look even worse? And yet, the answer is far more complex. Yes, it is about an entertainment industry that put "know your place aggression" on him, to borrow Dr. Koritha Mitchell's term. Yes, it is about white showrunners who told him that the only roles a white audience would want to see him play were dandies, buffoons, enslaved people, and servants. Someone like Stepin Fetchit, who came a few decades later. And yet, this is how Williams put food on the table for his family in an industry that did not allow him to have any other roles. Williams is documented as being conflicted with what he did as a performer, but also, he wanted white audiences to humanize Black people, yes, and to see that they were more than their history. That they could be funny and spread Black joy.
And then we get to the early film era with white performers doing blackface. Yes, we get "Birth of a Nation" but we also get things like "The Two Black Crows" and "Two Black Crows in Africa" with white performers in blackface, making money and benefiting from the mockery of Black people. From sending the message that the film industry and radio "did not need" Black performers, because whites could play them 'just fine.' But before that, the book also spends some time talking about all of the film adaptations of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, something I have also studied for many years and written about. Although Stowe intended for white Americans to be galvanized into seeing what the Black characters go through in the novel, and for them to petition their local and federal lawmakers to abolish slavery, and yes, she did convince several white Americans of that. And they did petition the lawmakers to abolish slavery. However, in other parts of the country, white people were attacking and setting fire to post offices that received shipments of UTC. If someone was caught with a copy of it in the street, they would be arrested. Printer's offices of bookplates and other machinery were vandalized and attacked in an attempt to stop copies of UTC from circulating. And then of course, there were the minstrel shows. There were the white men who directly profited from making their blackface minstrel shows enacting and adapting UTC. And because these were the early days of copyright law, Harriet Beecher Stowe did not have the resources to stop them unfortunately.
And as I've mentioned, there is a useful discussion of "The Birth of a Nation" and why it still matters to know the history and to study the themes.
We also, however, learn more about figures like Noble Johnson, who worked in film as a producer and actor. He was one of early Hollywood's "most prolific" Black actors. He is a legend, and most people have not heard of him.
Then, we get to Oscar Micheaux, who is one of the most important figures in American film history. He was born into slavery, then turned to writing and self-publishing novels and even sold his books door to door. He is one of the most significant filmmakers of the early 20th century. Without Oscar Micheaux, you don't get Spike Lee or Julie Dash or Ryan Coogler.
Other prominent figures discussed include Paul Robeson, and then into Black women film producers of early Hollywood I had never heard of, including: Tressie Souders, Maria P. Williams, and Eloyce Gist among others.
We also discuss actors I had not heard of, including Buck and Bubbles (Ford Lee Washington and John W. Bubbles) who at times performed in blackface and for the most part, early in their careers, before the discussion turns to 'jungle' movies which were things like 'The Zulu's Heart' (also directed by D.W. Griffith) and primitivized Black people. There is also a discussion of 'Our Gang' and Buckwheat along with 'The Little Rascals.'
The next section mentions things like the Hays Code, which restricted what could and could not be shown in films, including interracial kisses. "Gone with the Wind" gets substantial discussion, with attention paid to the negative stereotypes including of Hattie McDaniel's performance as "Mammy," which although it garnered her an Academy Award, is ultimately more tragic because Hollywood rewarded a performance that made whites comfortable, and that portrayed Black women as enslaved people--as lower than whites. Serving whites. And it is sadder still because McDaniel hoped that with her well-deserved Academy Award win, that it would finally mean she would be able to play roles that were more nuanced and did not reinforce stereotyped caricatures of how white audiences saw Black people. Unfortunately, that was all that was offered to her afterward. There is an amazing illustration in this section of McDaniel along with Louise Beavers (who had also auditioned for Mammy in GWTW), Theresa Harris, Lillian Randolph, and Butterfly McQueen.
Then, we get into the previously mentioned Stepin Fetchit, Lincoln Perry and other Black performers who were put in films as comic relief. Objects to be laughed at and not human beings.
Moving to the 1940s, the discussion goes to performers like Lena Horne, and then onto Sidney Poitier as well as Harry Belafonte. Dorothy Dandridge--termed "too Black and too beautiful."
In the 1950s, the section goes to "Amos 'n' Andy," one of the most popular radio shows of all time, which ran until 1960. The characters of Amos Jones and Andrew Hogg Brown were beloved Black characters, and yes, both were played by white men in the beginning. It was a minstrel show routine. The book chronicles how an adaptation was made from radio to television.
And then in the 1960s, we get things like an adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun." There's discussion of the legendary Nichelle Nichols as Uhura on 'Star Trek,' a groundbreaking role. Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson.
The 1970s brings about Blaxploitation era films, something that scholars like Robin R. Means Coleman have studied in great depth, particularly in horror films, in "Horror Noire."
Then into the 80s and 90s with Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Whoopi Goldberg, and others.
"Black Panther" gets explored, as does "Sinners," one of my favourite films of all time.
This book is a very useful guide to someone who needs a primer on Black film and television history, but also any film aficionado, and anyone who wants to look further into specific eras.
This is a very visually well-organized book with charts and illustrations that make the dates and points easier to digest, which I appreciated. It also talks about what was going on in history in the United States at the time.
"The first known moving pictures showing Black people were in a series of actualities produced in 1895, the same year that the abolitionist Frederick Douglass died." Douglass himself had faith in photography as a medium to put himself into objective form, and that it captured what was truly there--free of the "biases and prejudices" found in illustrations and cartoons, something that -- sure, people used before the advent of photography and the invention of cameras, because they wanted to capture images and memories somehow, of course. But illustrations and cartoons were often riddled with the biases and racist prejudices of the people doing the illustrating and colouring. These predominantly white cartoonists drew Black people, East and South Asians, Jewish people, and other groups in the crudest, most caricatured way possible. These were the same cartoonists who illustrated tableaus of Black children who were being chased by alligators and getting called "alligator bait" as a racial slur largely because of that, and also because of the widespread stories about how zookeepers used to feed or try to feed alligators Black children. Although the timing of that is more relegated to the antebellum era and enslavers are documented to have committed to this barbaric practice, as they did so many others against people of African descent, this particular one was commemorated in illustrations that sold in the millions and hung in the homes of millions of white Americans.
I appreciated the first section discussing Williams, as I mentioned, and talking about how blackface minstrelsy's legacy if complex enough already when we examine the white performers who did blackface, but when we add into the context Black performers like Williams and George Walker, among others, things get even more complicated. It is very important to approach this period and these performers with nuance. Many have questioned--how could Williams participate in something that he knew was contributing to the buffoon image that most white Americans had of Black people (and in other places of the world as well). How could he further the stereotypes and make Black people look even worse? And yet, the answer is far more complex. Yes, it is about an entertainment industry that put "know your place aggression" on him, to borrow Dr. Koritha Mitchell's term. Yes, it is about white showrunners who told him that the only roles a white audience would want to see him play were dandies, buffoons, enslaved people, and servants. Someone like Stepin Fetchit, who came a few decades later. And yet, this is how Williams put food on the table for his family in an industry that did not allow him to have any other roles. Williams is documented as being conflicted with what he did as a performer, but also, he wanted white audiences to humanize Black people, yes, and to see that they were more than their history. That they could be funny and spread Black joy.
And then we get to the early film era with white performers doing blackface. Yes, we get "Birth of a Nation" but we also get things like "The Two Black Crows" and "Two Black Crows in Africa" with white performers in blackface, making money and benefiting from the mockery of Black people. From sending the message that the film industry and radio "did not need" Black performers, because whites could play them 'just fine.' But before that, the book also spends some time talking about all of the film adaptations of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, something I have also studied for many years and written about. Although Stowe intended for white Americans to be galvanized into seeing what the Black characters go through in the novel, and for them to petition their local and federal lawmakers to abolish slavery, and yes, she did convince several white Americans of that. And they did petition the lawmakers to abolish slavery. However, in other parts of the country, white people were attacking and setting fire to post offices that received shipments of UTC. If someone was caught with a copy of it in the street, they would be arrested. Printer's offices of bookplates and other machinery were vandalized and attacked in an attempt to stop copies of UTC from circulating. And then of course, there were the minstrel shows. There were the white men who directly profited from making their blackface minstrel shows enacting and adapting UTC. And because these were the early days of copyright law, Harriet Beecher Stowe did not have the resources to stop them unfortunately.
And as I've mentioned, there is a useful discussion of "The Birth of a Nation" and why it still matters to know the history and to study the themes.
We also, however, learn more about figures like Noble Johnson, who worked in film as a producer and actor. He was one of early Hollywood's "most prolific" Black actors. He is a legend, and most people have not heard of him.
Then, we get to Oscar Micheaux, who is one of the most important figures in American film history. He was born into slavery, then turned to writing and self-publishing novels and even sold his books door to door. He is one of the most significant filmmakers of the early 20th century. Without Oscar Micheaux, you don't get Spike Lee or Julie Dash or Ryan Coogler.
Other prominent figures discussed include Paul Robeson, and then into Black women film producers of early Hollywood I had never heard of, including: Tressie Souders, Maria P. Williams, and Eloyce Gist among others.
We also discuss actors I had not heard of, including Buck and Bubbles (Ford Lee Washington and John W. Bubbles) who at times performed in blackface and for the most part, early in their careers, before the discussion turns to 'jungle' movies which were things like 'The Zulu's Heart' (also directed by D.W. Griffith) and primitivized Black people. There is also a discussion of 'Our Gang' and Buckwheat along with 'The Little Rascals.'
The next section mentions things like the Hays Code, which restricted what could and could not be shown in films, including interracial kisses. "Gone with the Wind" gets substantial discussion, with attention paid to the negative stereotypes including of Hattie McDaniel's performance as "Mammy," which although it garnered her an Academy Award, is ultimately more tragic because Hollywood rewarded a performance that made whites comfortable, and that portrayed Black women as enslaved people--as lower than whites. Serving whites. And it is sadder still because McDaniel hoped that with her well-deserved Academy Award win, that it would finally mean she would be able to play roles that were more nuanced and did not reinforce stereotyped caricatures of how white audiences saw Black people. Unfortunately, that was all that was offered to her afterward. There is an amazing illustration in this section of McDaniel along with Louise Beavers (who had also auditioned for Mammy in GWTW), Theresa Harris, Lillian Randolph, and Butterfly McQueen.
Then, we get into the previously mentioned Stepin Fetchit, Lincoln Perry and other Black performers who were put in films as comic relief. Objects to be laughed at and not human beings.
Moving to the 1940s, the discussion goes to performers like Lena Horne, and then onto Sidney Poitier as well as Harry Belafonte. Dorothy Dandridge--termed "too Black and too beautiful."
In the 1950s, the section goes to "Amos 'n' Andy," one of the most popular radio shows of all time, which ran until 1960. The characters of Amos Jones and Andrew Hogg Brown were beloved Black characters, and yes, both were played by white men in the beginning. It was a minstrel show routine. The book chronicles how an adaptation was made from radio to television.
And then in the 1960s, we get things like an adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun." There's discussion of the legendary Nichelle Nichols as Uhura on 'Star Trek,' a groundbreaking role. Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson.
The 1970s brings about Blaxploitation era films, something that scholars like Robin R. Means Coleman have studied in great depth, particularly in horror films, in "Horror Noire."
Then into the 80s and 90s with Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Whoopi Goldberg, and others.
"Black Panther" gets explored, as does "Sinners," one of my favourite films of all time.
This book is a very useful guide to someone who needs a primer on Black film and television history, but also any film aficionado, and anyone who wants to look further into specific eras.
Displaying 1 of 1 review