Also American

Person · 1884–1951

Oscar Micheaux

The pioneering filmmaker who built an independent Black cinema, directing the earliest surviving feature by a Black American.

The founder of [[black-film]].

Shut out by Hollywood, Oscar Micheaux wrote, directed, and distributed more than 40 films for Black audiences, confronting lynching, "passing," and injustice. His "Within Our Gates" (1920) answered the racism of "The Birth of a Nation."

Black Film & Cinema

On the timeline

  1. 1920
    Oscar Micheaux's "Within Our Gates"

    Micheaux releases the earliest surviving feature film directed by a Black American — a direct answer to the racism of "The Birth of a Nation."

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