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FILM Black Faces in White Spaces

Source: General / General


Black History NOW Celebrates the paths paved by those who broke the mold in areas of film, sports, science, art and business. The heroes of today stand on the shoulders of giants, looking ahead and creating even more opportunities for African-Americans to thrive in spaces that were historically denied to our people.

Today, we celebrate those with Big Screen Dreams: Facing or behind the camera, these visionaries shared the stories of our lives with the world.

Black Faces in White Spaces: Big Screen DreamsĀ  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

1. Spike Lee

Spike Lee Source:Getty

Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia.

He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating from Morehouse, Lee attended the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program.Ā 

Lee went on to produce and direct the jazz biopicĀ Mo’ Better BluesĀ (1990), the first of many Spike Lee films to featureĀ Denzel Washington, including the biography ofĀ Malcolm XĀ (1992), in which Washington portrayed the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and garnered an Oscar nomination for Washington. The pair would work together again onĀ He Got GameĀ (1998), an excursion into the collegiate world showing the darker side of college athletic recruiting, as well as the 2006 filmĀ Inside ManĀ (2006).Ā 

 

 

2. Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier Source:Getty

Sidney Poitier was aĀ Bahamian American actor, director, and producer who broke the colour barrier in the U.S.Ā motion-pictureĀ industry by becoming the firstĀ African AmericanĀ to win anĀ Academy AwardĀ for best actor (forĀ Lilies of the FieldĀ [1963]) and the first Black movie star.

He also redefined roles for African Americans by rejecting parts that were based on racialĀ stereotypes.

3. Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee Source:Getty

Ruby Dee was anĀ American actress and social activist who was known for her pioneering work inĀ African AmericanĀ theatreĀ and film and for her outspokenĀ civil rightsĀ activism. Deeā€™s artistic partnership with her husband,Ā Ossie Davis, was considered one of the theatre and film worldā€™s most distinguished.

In 1965 she became the first African American woman to star in major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. She was also the first black actress accorded a feature role (1968ā€“69) on a prime-time TV show, the soap operaĀ Peyton Place. Her later films includedĀ The Way Back HomeĀ (2006) andĀ American Gangster (2007). Her performanceĀ in the latter film earned Dee her firstĀ Academy AwardĀ nomination.

4. Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay Source:Getty

Ava DuVernay graduated from the University of CaliforniaĀ at Los Angeles in 1995 with bachelorā€™s degrees in English and African American studies. After working for a few years inĀ filmĀ publicity, she started her own company to market movies.

The film that brought DuVernay to the attention of a broader audience base was the 2014 historical dramaĀ Selma. It chronicles theĀ 1965 civil rights marchĀ led byĀ Martin Luther King, Jr., that resulted in passage of theĀ Voting Rights Act.Ā SelmaĀ was critically acclaimed, and DuVernay became the first African American woman to receive aĀ Golden GlobeĀ nominationĀ for best director. In addition, the movie was nominated for anĀ Academy AwardĀ for best picture. In 2016 DuVernay released the Oscar-nominated documentaryĀ 13th, an exploration of the American prison system and its racial inequities. She returned to feature films as director of the adventure fantasyĀ A Wrinkle in TimeĀ (2018). It was based on the award-winning 1962Ā bookĀ byĀ Madeleine Lā€™EngleĀ and featured a multicultural cast that includedĀ Oprah Winfrey,Ā Reese Witherspoon, andĀ Mindy Kaling.

5. Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Source:Getty

Denzel Washington is celebrated for his engaging and powerful performances. Throughout his career he was regularly praised by critics, and his consistent success at the box office helped to dispel the perception thatĀ African AmericanĀ actors could not draw mainstream white audiences.

After college, Washington began to pursueĀ actingĀ as a career and joined the American Conservatory Theater inĀ San Francisco. After several successful stage performances in California and New York, he made his screen debut in the comedyĀ Carbon CopyĀ (1981). He first began to receive national attention for his work on the televisionĀ dramaĀ St. ElsewhereĀ (1982ā€“88). For the filmĀ Cry FreedomĀ (1987), he portrayed South African activistĀ Stephen Biko, and he received anĀ Academy AwardĀ nomination for best supporting actor. Two years later he won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance as a freed slave fighting in the Union army in theĀ American Civil WarĀ filmĀ GloryĀ (1989).