african americans in motion pictures

Reflections by the author on the period of time in her life when she went from being a reclusive writer to a public figure due to the filming of her book, The Color Purple.

Chronicles Julia Dash's sixteen-year struggle to complete her film "Daughters of the Dust", which, when it was released in 1992, was the first nationally distributed feature by an African-American woman.

Traces the history of African-American filmmaking, from the "race movies" of the early twentieth century to the work of such directors as Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Gina Prince-Bythewood in the 1990s and beyond.

Presents a discussion of African-Americans in film, covering stereotypes, "race movies," the evolution of available roles, movies such as "Carmen" and "A Raisin in the Sun," and the work of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Spike Lee, and others who helped move beyond exploitative themes and characters.