3. Outline
•Biography of Oscar Micheaux (1-2 min)
•Films and Books by Oscar Micheaux (2-3
min)
•Race Films (1-2 minutes)
•How is religion and morality portrayed in
his works

4.  The Homesteader (1919). First
feature length film by an African
American
 Within Our Gates (1920). Response
to D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation
 Body and Soul (1924). With Paul
Robeson.
 The Exile (1931). First African
American feature length sound film.

5. Micheaux's work was
prolific. He produced,
directed and
distribution more than
40 films during his
career. He also
published several
novels.
With Micheaux's
success, other black
production
companies quickly
popped up.

6. Race Movies
Race movies or race films was a genre that existed in the
United States between about 1915 and 1950. Approximately
500 race films were made during that time period.
They were films produced for an all-black audience, featuring
all-black casts, primarily by black directors.
Race movies are of great interest to students of African-
American cinema, they have historical significance but they
also showcased the talents of actors who were relegated to
stereotypical supporting roles in mainstream studio films.

7. THE BIRTH OF A NATION
D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation1915 Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation,
with its groundbreaking camerawork -- including close-ups, night photography, and
tracking shots -- transforms forever the way films are made and images perceived
www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanation_a.html

8. Stereotypes embodied in the stock BLACKFACE
characters of blackface minstrels not
only played a significant role in
cementing and proliferating racist
images, attitudes and perceptions
worldwide, but also in popularizing black
culture. In some quarters, the
caricatures that were the legacy of
blackface persist to the present day and
are a cause of ongoing controversy.

9. Eighty years ago, two young African-American men, Thomas Shipp and
Abram Smith, were lynched in the town center of Marion, Ind. The night
before, on Aug. 6, 1930,
S
T
R
A
N
G
E
F
R
U
I
T
News of the lynching spread across the world. Local photographer
Lawrence Beitler took what would become the most iconic photograph of
lynching in America. The photograph shows two bodies hanging from a
tree surrounded by a crowd of ordinary citizens, including women and
children. Thousands of copies were made and sold. The photograph
helped inspire the poem and song "Strange Fruit" written by Abel
Meeropol — and performed around the world by Billie Holiday.

10. Only a fraction of his films
have been found. “Within
Our Gates,
The Brute, The
Unconquered
Symbol, Body and Soul”

11. Flora Cameron runs away from Gus.
library.kiwix.org
Armand Gridlestone attempts to rape
xroads.virginia.edu Sylvia Landry. From WITHIN OUR GATES.
albany.edu

12. Body and
Soul “A bold and
r
controversial film by pioneer
filmmaker Oscar Micheaux marked
Paul Robeson's screen debut ,and
was the only motion picture he made
with an African-American director”
Body and Soul was Paul Robeson’s first film in 1930.Robeson played the
dual role of two brothers, one a slick preacher and the other-his brother
who was decent and honest.

13. •Race Movies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_films
•Filmmaker Micheaux countered stereotypes of black America
... consultant, one of the first known "race films" was a 1909 documentary
commissioned by Booker T. Washington ... Oscar Micheaux's 1938 film
"Swing!" will be included in a ...
post-gazette.com/magazine/20000202micheaux3.asp
Birth of a Nation
www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanati
on_a.html(p5)
•http://www.reasonpad.com/2009/06/the-most-iconic-photographs-ever-
taken/
•Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Beitler who took this iconic photograph on
August 7, 1930, showing the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith.
Modern-day manifestations en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface -
Booker T. Washington photo courtesy of gardenofpraise.com

14. If you would like to learn more about the life of Oscar Micheaux
or the author, you may contact Samuel Nash 973-803-2817 or e-mail
gloriouskingsau@yahoo.com.