invited the duo to appear in Kid Millions (1934), their first Hollywood film. After appearing in various Broadway shows, the Nicholas Brothers moved to Los Angeles, working regularly in films and television, on Broadway and touring around the world. Today, family members of the Nicholas Brothers operate a dance studio for all ages in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Josephine Baker (1906–1975) achieved immediate stardom when she moved to Paris, where she enjoyed opportunities and successes in film, theater, and business that would not have been possible in the United States. From the year of her first film to well into the 1940s, she adorned the covers of major French cinema magazines, which illustrated and helped cement her fame and influence. Baker moved to Paris at age nineteen to perform in La Revue nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and quickly became the main attraction. She played lead roles in four French features between 1927 and 1945; she worked for the French Resistance against the Nazis in World War II; and she dedicated her life to human
rights causes. She was the first Black woman to receive a state funeral in France, and was inducted into the Pantheon, the nation’s mausoleum of heroes, in 2021. Paul Robeson (1898–1976) , a true twentieth- century Renaissance man, was a celebrated singer, actor, athlete, and activist. Robeson’s powerful dual-performance screen debut in Oscar Micheaux’s silent drama Body and Soul (1925) is an example of the skill and talent he delivered. He rose to success notwithstanding the limitations of JIM CROW LAWS and effectively counteracted problematic on-screen narratives authored by white filmmakers by highlighting the lived reality of Black people in America. With the power of his baritone voice, Robeson brought Negro spirituals and Black folk traditions to greater public attention. Promoting world peace and human rights, he sang in more than twenty languages, including Russian, Chinese, and various African languages. Sidney Poitier (1927–2022) was the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field (1963) as a charismatic handyman who befriends a group of Eastern European nuns. Acutely aware of his unique position, Poitier said in his acceptance speech: “Because it is a long journey to this moment, I am naturally indebted to countless numbers of people.” In the late 1960s, he was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. In his screen acting debut, No Way Out (1950), Poitier plays a doctor who must deal with a patient’s blatant racism. While he played dignified roles ranging from doctors, a detective, and a teacher, his success was complicated. The Black press criticized him as embodying the “ebony saint,” since his characters would often either save whites or help them feel more comfortable. In 1972, Poitier began directing movies. Activist, actor, and screenwriter Ruby Dee (1922–2014) is considered one of the most significant actors of our time. With a career spanning more than seventy years, Dee transcended the limitations placed on Black women and landed in dynamic and dignified theater and movie roles, often quietly yet strongly appearing alongside high-caliber performers like Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and James Earl Jones. An ardent and vocal supporter
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Ruby Dee at the March on Washington, 1963. Courtesy of Getty Images
Portrait of Paul Robeson, 1933. Courtesy of Margaret Her- rick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (both 1959) were co-produced by HarBel, while The Angel Levine (1970) was produced by Belafonte Enterprises.
of the civil rights movement along with her husband Ossie Davis, she stood by Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Ossie Davis (1917–2005) was an actor, director, writer, activist, and devoted husband of Ruby Dee. Davis’s debut role in film was starring alongside Sidney Poitier in No Way Out (1950). With a career spanning fifty-plus years, Davis and Ruby Dee spoke in support of progressive and humanitarian causes throughout their lives. Both were cast in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). The son of Jamaican-born parents, singer Harry Belafonte (b. 1927) made his film debut in Bright Road (1953). Dissatisfied with the roles on offer, Belafonte founded HarBel Productions in 1957. The first African American–owned production company developed by someone working in Hollywood, HarBel advertised itself as being openly dedicated to ensuring more positive, nuanced representations of the Black community and creating stories that defied color barriers. Odds Against Tomorrow and
A close friend of Martin Luther King Jr., Belafonte was very active in the civil rights movement. He participated in many political marches, including one from Selma to Montgomery in support of voting rights for Black people in 1965. After King’s assassination, Belafonte turned more of his attention to international humanitarian causes, in particular supporting communities in Africa in the fight against poverty, HIV/AIDS, and apartheid. Bahamian-born vaudevillian Bert Williams (1874–1922) achieved mainstream fame thanks to his headlining roles in the popular Ziegfeld Follies. Although performing in BLACKFACE, Williams developed a signature act that elevated the otherwise troubling performance practice. His superb comedic timing is evidenced in his first feature film, the all-Black-cast Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913), which was unfinished until it was reassembled by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2014.
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
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