African-American representation in Hollywood
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The presence of
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s in major
motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
roles has stirred controversy and been limited dating back decades due to lingering racism following slavery and segregation. "Through most of the 20th century, images of African-Americans in advertising were mainly limited to servants like the pancake- mammy
Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–188 ...
and
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel C ...
, the chef on the Cream of Wheat box." While African American representation in the film industry has improved over the years, it has not been a linear process; "Race in American cinema has rarely been a matter of simple step-by-step progress. It has more often proceeded in fits and starts, with backlashes coming on the heels of breakthroughs, and periods of intense argument followed by uncomfortable silence."


History


Old Hollywood

Due to the racial discrimination in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hollywood tended to avoid using African-American actors and actresses. In pursuit of avoiding the use of African American actors and actresses,
Blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
became a popular form of entertainment in the 19th century. Blackface let Hollywood use different characters without actually having to employ anyone with a darker skin tone.
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...
, an actor and singer, made blackface popular with characters such as
Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...
and Jakie Rabinowitz. In 1930, the craze of blackface died out because of its connotations with
bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
and
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. In 1951, when Amos 'n' Andy was brought to television,
Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...
"championed the popular comedy." He "self-published a pamphlet entitled 'The Dilemma of the Negro Actor.' In it, he made the incisive observation that African-American performers were caught in a trap. 'There are two audiences in America to confront,' he wrote, 'the white audience with a definite desire for buffoonery and song, and the Negro audience with a desire to see the real elements of Negro life portrayed.'" "Despite its demeaning caricatures, he argued, the program at least moved African-American performers to center stage.'" Although African Americans were rarely employed in the film industry as actors and actresses, there were some films from Old Hollywood with a more progressive cast. The first film to have African American representation was a recently discovered film from 1898 named
Something Good – Negro Kiss ''Something Good – Negro Kiss'' is a short silent film from 1898 of a couple kissing and holding hands. It is believed to depict the earliest on-screen kiss involving African Americans and is known for departing from the prevalent and purely ste ...
, which is a short film depicting an African American couple kissing and holding hands.


African American Roles in Old Hollywood

The roles that the African-American community were generally offered, usually fell into one or more of three themes; a tale of rags to riches, thug life, or segregation. These roles often followed old stereotypes. There was the Tom who was someone who served white people; the Coon who acted goofy (like a clown or naive); the "Tragic
Mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
" who was someone who tried to " pass for being white"; the Mammy who was seen as asexual, helped to raise the young, and helped families; and the Buck who was often a male who was hyper-sexualized and seen as a threat. Though the roles were demeaning for the communities with darker skin tones, some actors and actresses were so desperate to represent their communities or to change the ways of Hollywood they knew that any part is a part. Performers such as
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...
and Hattie McDaniel would do whatever they would have to in order to pave the way for other African-American actors and actresses.The first black Oscar winner, Hattie McDaniel, received the Academy Award in 1940 for her portrayal of the loyal maid in ''Gone with the Wind''. When criticized for often playing a mammy on film, McDaniel once stated, “I can be a maid for $7 a week. Or I can play a maid for $700 a week.” Despite the Academy Award, McDaniel faced struggle of both racism and sexism over the next decade, even within the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
(NAACP). Its leader,
Walter Francis White Walter Francis White (July 1, 1893 – March 21, 1955) was an American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for a quarter of a century, 1929–1955, after joining the organi ...
, looked down on her and other actors (such as
Stepin Fetchit Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black a ...
) that he perceived to "playing the clown before the camera". By 1942, White and the NAACP had tried to force Hollywood into giving more opportunities for African Americans in film roles; McDaniel on the other hand believed it should be the fellow black actors of the
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
, not the NAACP, responsible for the push.


New Hollywood

African-American actresses and actors are more common on the big screen, but they are still scarce in bigger blockbuster movies. Reasons for this may be that "with the stakes high, many studio executives worry that films that focus on African-American themes risk being too narrow in their appeal to justify the investment. Hollywood has nonetheless shown an interest in recent years to bank more heavily on African-American actors and themes." “The consolidation of a black presence in the movies and television did not signal the arrival of a postracial Hollywood any more than the election of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in 2008 spelled the end of America's 400-year-old racial drama.” While some people may still see the line between Hollywood's "new" and "old" attitude toward race, others truly believe that Hollywood has changed for the better. Directors such as
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
and
Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...
, who cast all or mostly African American actors in their films, have become household names, thus helping pave the way further for the rest of the African American community. Though both directors have significantly different ways of portraying the African American community, the popularity of both directors seems to signify to some that the racial tension in Hollywood has ended. Adding to the movement,
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
introduced the first African American princess, Tiana, in 2009. People feel that "the color barrier is breaking down in Hollywood". In 1988, during
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
's presentation of the Best Picture category, Murphy gave an impromptu speech on how he felt that the Academy Awards were
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, stating only three black people had won the award. Nineteen years later, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to
Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...
; one theory for his loss was his role in the reviled blockbuster ''
Norbit In electronics, the NORBIT family of modules is a very early form (since 1960) of digital logic developed by Philips (and also provided through and Mullard) that uses modules containing discrete components to build logic function blocks in resis ...
''. Others speculate that it is due to Murphy's comments from 1988. "The troubling thing is that the only two black actors in this year's Oscar competition are cast as domestics, and would probably not have found meaty, starring roles in other films had they passed on ''The Help''." The most famous film with an African-American lead in 2011 was ''The Help''. In the Academy Awards ceremony the following year, the film was nominated for four categories: Best Supporting Actress (
Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...
, along with
Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...
),
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
(
Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...
), and
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
. The movie walked away with one win for Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer, leaving Viola Davis to lose to
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
, a 20-time nominee and three-time winner. Octavia Spencer was the only African American to win an award that night. The 2014 Academy Awards were arguably a turning point for African-American films, with the film '' 12 Years a Slave'' taking home the Oscar for Best Picture. In 2013, five African-American films were released ('' 12 Years a Slave'', ''
Fruitvale Station ''Fruitvale Station'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay ...
'', ''
Lee Daniels' The Butler ''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's ''Washington Post'' article "A But ...
'', ''
Best Man Holiday ''The Best Man Holiday'' is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written, co-produced and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. A sequel to Lee's '' The Best Man'' (1999), it stars Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, ...
'' and '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom''). The release of such films had a broader impact on the film industry with movie attendance by African Americans growing by thirteen percent compared to 2012. In a 2016 article titled "How racially skewed are the Oscars?", ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' had a look at the issue as of the 21st century and found that as far as actors are concerned, "...the number of black actors winning Oscars in this century has been pretty much in line with the size of America's overall black population. But this does not mean Hollywood has no problems of prejudice. As the data show, it clearly does." The article points to low African American membership numbers in the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
and under-representation at lower levels: "the whitewashing occurs not behind the closed doors of the Academy, but in drama schools (shown in the SAG membership) and casting offices". The article also highlights on a related problem: that while black actors may have gained more acknowledgment in the Oscars as of the 2000s, other minorities are still under-represented.


African American Roles in New Hollywood

Even in today's movies, the few roles that African-American performers are offered often fall under similar
typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
roles to the roles offered in previous decades. Studio executives explain the lack of presence of the African Americans in supporting or starring roles by stating “only 4 out of 10 movies turn a profit, according to the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But because pictures with nearly all-black casts come along more infrequently, they tend to stand out more when they fail".


Racism in Hollywood

The perspectives, or perhaps lack thereof, throughout Hollywood of black representation can be linked back to colonialism and post-colonial perspectives within cinema. Colonialism and slave culture imposed an awareness of privilege and ascendency to “lesser breeds without the law”, to the point that a stigmatism of us-versus-them was prevalent in society.
Ella Shohat Ella Shohat (Hebrew: אלה חביבה שוחט; Arabic: إيلا حبيبة شوحيط) is a professor of cultural studies at New York University, where she teaches in the departments of Art & Public Policy and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies. ...
and
Robert Stam Robert Stam (born October 29, 1941) is an American film theorist working on film semiotics. He is a professor at New York University, where he teaches about the French New Wave filmmakers. Stam has published widely on French literature, comparativ ...
, in "Unthinking Eurocentrism", explore ideas of racism and state that racism doesn't trek effortlessly and indifferently throughout time. They state that history references racism as “positional, relational and means that diverse groups have occupied the functional slot of the oppressed.” This continues to be the reality in Hollywood as “racism is above all a social relation – systematized hierarchization implacably pursued... anchored in material structures and embedded in historical configurations of power.” Shohat and Stam link the probable correlation between racism and its consequence of colonialism. Another issue that Shohat and Stam address in their book is that “The sensitivity around stereotypes and distortions largely arises then, from the powerlessness of historically marginalised groups to control their own representation.”Shohat, Ella and Robert Stam. Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media London: Routledge, 1994. The absence of controlling the depiction of cultures, particularly people of colour, therefore, warrants need for more ethnic voices within Hollywood to speak on behalf of their culture. “Furthermore, in that the Hollywood system favours big-budget blockbusters, it is not only classist but also Eurocentric, in effect if not in explicit intention; to be a player in this game one needs to have economic power.” Elements of film such as narrative structure, camera angles, and dialogue can portray racism as a core theme, especially within the proclamation of power and authority enlisted by white people. Its place within Hollywood cinema orchestrates its lack of awareness, especially when the Hollywood film industry is continuously dominated by figures of immense control that are usually white as suggested above. In Richard Dyer's ''White: Essays on Race and Culture'', he states that “research repeatedly shows that in western representation white overwhelmingly and disproportionately predominant, have the central and elaborated roles, and above all are placed as the norm, the ordinary, the standard.”Dyer, Richard. White: Essays on Race and Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 1997. This representation has become a norm in regards to Hollywood films, which in turn has created problematic issues creating narrative ideas of representation of race in ideologies, stereotypes, racism, oppression, and representation. Dyer also states that “race is not only attributable to people who are not white, nor is the imagery of non-white people the only racial imagery.”


Effect on Viewers

The representation of African American actors and actresses affects the audience of these films. “National self-consciousness, generally seen as a precondition for nationhood – that is, the shared belief of desperate individuals that they share common origins, status, location, and aspirations – became broadly linked to cinematic fictions.” "Many researchers argue that media portrayals of minorities tend to reflect whites' attitudes toward minorities and, therefore, reveal more about whites themselves than about the varied and lived experiences of minorities". Producing films in this way is what leads to a singular perspective and opinion to dominate mainstream media.


African American Academy Award Winners

Since the first awards ceremony in 1929 and after more than 3,000 awards given, 43 African Americans have won Oscars: * 20th Century Academy Award Winners **
Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African ...
(1939) **
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...
(1963) **
Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
(1971) **
Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...
(1982) **
Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...
(1983) **
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
(1984) **
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
(1984) **
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
(1985) **
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
(1986) ** Willie D. Burton (1988 and 2006) **
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
(1989 and 2001) ** Russell Williams (1989 and 1990) **
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
(1990) **
Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appeare ...
(1996) * 21st Century Academy Award Winners **
Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...
(2001) **
Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...
(2004) **
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
(2004) **
Frayser Boy Cedric Coleman, professionally known by his stage name Frayser Boy, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was formerly signed to Hypnotize Minds, the record label run by Three 6 Mafia founders DJ Paul and Juicy J, and had released t ...
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Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...
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DJ Paul Paul Duane Beauregard (born January 12, 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American DJ, record producer, and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of hip hop group Three 6 Mafia and uncle of the late rapper ...
(2005) **
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...
(2006) **
Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
(2006) ** Geoffrey Fletcher (2009) **
Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...
(2009) **
Roger Ross Williams Roger Ross Williams (born September 16, 1962) is an American director, producer and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award (Oscar), with his short film ''Music by Prudence''; this film won the Academy Award for Bes ...
(2009) **
Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...
(2011) ** T. J. Martin (2012) **
Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...
(2012) **
John Ridley John Ridley IV (born 1965) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for '' 12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the a ...
(2013) **
Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Lupita Nyong'o, several accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, and nominations for ...
(2013) **
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...
(2013) **
Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...
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John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
(2014) **
Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film ''Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Indep ...
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Tarell Alvin McCraney Tarell Alvin McCraney (born October 17, 1980) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. He co-wrote the 2016 film ''Moonlight ( ...
(2016) **
Ezra Edelman Ezra Benjamin Edelman (born August 6, 1974) is an American documentary producer and director. He won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for directing ' ...
(2016) **
Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali (; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named him one of th ...
(2016 and 2019) **
Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...
(2016) **
Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...
(2017) **
Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...
(2017) **
Kevin Willmott Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959) is an Academy Award Winning American film director and screenwriter, and professor of film at the University of Kansas. He is known for work focusing on black issues including writing and directing '' Nint ...
/
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
(2018) **
Hannah Beachler Hannah Beachler () is an American production designer. She worked on the 2015 Rocky film '' Creed'', the Miles Davis biopic '' Miles Ahead,'' and most recently has become known for the film ''Moonlight'', Beyoncé's 2016 TV special and visual a ...
(2018) **
Peter Ramsey Peter A. Ramsey (born December 23, 1962) is an American illustrator, storyboard artist, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing DreamWorks Animation's ''Rise of the Guardians'' (2012), becoming the first Afr ...
(2018) **
Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...
(2018) **
Ruth E. Carter Ruth E. Carter (born April 10, 1960) is an American costume designer for film and television, with over 40 films to her credit, who is widely regarded as having mastered the look of multiple periods and genres in envisioning the clothing and ove ...
(2018) **
Matthew A. Cherry Matthew A. Cherry (born December 14, 1981) is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He wrote and directed two independent films, ''The Last Fall'' (2012), and ''9 Rides'' (2016). He is best known for th ...
/ Karen Rupert Toliver (2019) **
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
(2022)


See also

*
African American cinema African American cinema is loosely classified as films made by, for, or about Black Americans. They are an example of Black film. Historically, African American films have been made with African-American casts and marketed to African-American ...
*
Magical Negro The Magical Negro is a trope in American cinema, television, and literature. In the cinema of the United States, the Magical Negro is a supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists in a film. Magical Negro characters, w ...
*
Portrayal of black people in comics Black people have been portrayed in Comic books, comics since the medium's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. Mainstream comic publishing companies have had a historical trend of being predominantly white and male, r ...
*
Representation of African Americans in media The representation of African Americans in media – speech, writing, still or moving pictures – has been a major concern in mainstream American culture and a component of media bias in the United States. Such media representation is not alway ...
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Academy Aperture 2025 Academy Aperture 2025 is a new diversity standard for Best Picture nominees created by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that is set to begin in 2024. Deadline Hollywood described this as a "plan to require that Best Picture contender ...


References

{{reflist Culture of Hollywood, Los Angeles Black characters in films African-American cultural history History of racism in the cinema of the United States