Oscar Micheaux
The barrier-breaking Black American filmmaker Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was, first and foremost, a writer.
Born in Illinois in 1884, to parents who had been enslaved, Micheaux published his first novel in 1913 and went on to write six more.
He adapted his third novel, “The Homesteader,” based on his life in rural South Dakota, for his first film, which starred pioneering Black American actress Evelyn Preer. It, like most of his work, was a blunt and thought-provoking response to the persistent violence, racism and restrictions visited on Black Americans.
Micheaux’s body of work – made from 1919 to 1948 – coincided with challenging new technologies in the movie business. He also made movies during a time of great social upheaval and unhappiness. He wrote and directed films that exposed the violent racism Black Americans face in day-to-day life. Micheaux and his cameras did not shy away from looking at lynching, rape, mob violence, job discrimination and economic exploitation through Black American lenses. His actors portrayed complex characters of different colors from different social classes. Sometimes this caused problems with censors. Sometimes critics were unfriendly.
America’s first Black filmmaker wrote 39 films, directed 42 and produced 38. Two – “Within Our Gates” 1920 and “Body and Soul” 1924 – were selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. “Body and Soul” introduced Paul Robeson.
Micheaux, who died in 1951, has gone on to receive commemorative awards. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The post office issued a commemorative stamp in 2010. Some of his movies can still be viewed on YouTube. Books have been written.
Documentaries have been made. There are Oscar Micheaux film festivals, celebration days and societies.
He was, as his gravestone in Great Bend, Kansas, proclaims: “A man ahead of his time.”
