He paved the way for every black filmmaker.
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was born in Illinois as the son of a former slave. When he was 17, Micheaux moved to Chicago, but quickly became disenchanted with the amount of oppression he faced from the white establishment in the city. He decided to work for himself. He started a shoeshine stand, then went on to be a porter on a train.
Later, he moved to South Dakota where he became a homesteader. His experience as a South Dakota farmer inspired his first novels. His 1918 novel, The Homesteader, attracted attention from creators in a brand new industry: filmmaking. Negotiations for an adaptation of his book fell apart. In response, Micheaux founded The Micheaux Film and Book Company to create an adaptation of The Homesteader. He wrote and directed his own films which were powerful depictions of race in the 1910s and 1920s. Many of his films focus on the romantic and economic relationship between whites and blacks.
Micheaux’s earliest films are silent, but he also made “talkies” later in his career. Micheaux is considered the first major black filmmaker.
TL;DR
- Oscar Micheaux began as a writer who chronicled black life in the first half of the twentieth century.
- He went on to write and direct films that dealt directly with racial issues in the United States.
- He is the first prominent black filmmaker in an industry that has always been dismissive of black creators.
What You Should Do Now:
28 Days of Inspirational Black People:
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- Blanche Bruce
- Andrew Young
- Denys Cowan
- Antoine Fuqua
- John Singleton
- Countee Cullen
- Dennis Kimetto
- Robert Hayden
- Lee Daniels
- Anthony Mackie/Falcon
- Val James
- Abebe Bikila
- Steve McQueen
- Ernest J. Gaines
- Charlie Sifford
- Matt Baker
- Black Panther
- A.G. Gaston
- Bradford Young
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Guion Bluford
- Carter G. Woodson
- Ralph Bunche
- William Monroe Trotter
- Douglas Wilder
Very good guy liked