Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Period

Edited by Pearl Bowser, Jane Gaines, and Charles Musser

Oscar Micheaux-the most prolific African-American filmmaker to date and a filmmaking giant of the silent period-has finally found his rightful place in film history. Both artist and showman, Micheaux stirred controversy in his time as he confronted issues such as lynching, miscegenation, peonage and white supremacy, passing, and corruption among black clergymen. In this important collection, prominent scholars examine Micheaux’s surviving silent films, his fellow producers of race films who alternately challenged or emulated his methods, and the cultural activities that surrounded and sustained these achievements.