Whether you want to expand your knowledge or diversify your summer reading challenge selections, here are a variety of classic film books about black film history to consider.
I didn't include any buy links. I encourage you to Google these titles (or click on my reviews if I listed them) if you want more information. If you're interested in purchasing books, I recommend contacting your favorite independent bookstore to see if they have any titles in stock or if they can order on your behalf. I recently placed an order with Larry Edmunds Bookshop that included Sidney Poitier's memoir This Life and a biography on Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
If you want to get started with a few articles before diving into books, I have some pieces I wrote for Turner Classic Movies, DVD Netflix and The Film Detective that I recommend. Over the past year and a half I've been researching African-American film history and am really proud of the pieces that I was able to write for those outlets. Full list is at the very bottom of this post.
If you have recommendations to share, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.
PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Hollywood Black
The Stars, The Films, The Filmmakers
by Donald Bogle
Other titles:
Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks
An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films
by Donald Bogle
Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams
The Story of Black Hollywood
by Donald Bogle
Brotherhood in Rhythm
The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers
by Constance Valis Hill
The Devil Finds Work
by James Baldwin
The Many Faces of Josephine Baker
Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy
by Peggy Caravantes
(Review)
Life Beyond Measure
Letters to my Great-Grandaughter
by Sidney Poitier
(Review)
The Measure of a Man
A Spiritual Autobiography
by Sidney Poitier
Photo by Sammy Davis Jr.
(Review)
Stealing the Show
African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood
by Miriam J. Petty
MORE TITLES TO CONSIDER
America's Mistress
The Life and Times of Eartha Kitt
by John L. Williams
Black Oscars
From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans
By Frederick Jr. Gooding
Dorothy Dandridge
A Biography
by Donald Bogle
Hattie McDaniel
Black Ambition, White Hollywood
by Jill Watts
Dorothy Dandridge
A Biography
by Donald Bogle
Hattie McDaniel
Black Ambition, White Hollywood
by Jill Watts
Hollywood at the Intersection of Race and Identity
edited by Delia Malia Caparoso Konzett
In Black and White
The Life of Sammy Davis Jr.
by Wil Haygood
by Jose-Luis Bocquet and illustrated by Catel Muller
Mr. Bojangles
The Biography of Bill Robinson
by James Haskins and N.R. Mitgang
My One Good Nerve
by Ruby Dee
My Song: A Memoir
by Harry Belafonte with Michael Shnayerson
Oscar Micheaux
The Life of America's First Black Filmmaker
by Patrick McGilligan
Separate Cinema
The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
by John Duke Kisch
Sing and Shout
The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson
By Susan Goldman Rubin
Stars for Freedom
Hollywood, Black Celebrities and the Civil Rights Movement
by Emilie Raymond
Stars for Freedom
Hollywood, Black Celebrities and the Civil Rights Movement
by Emilie Raymond
Stormy Weather
The Life of Lena Horne
by James Gavin
MY ARTICLES ON BLACK FILM HISTORY
DVD Netflix
Turner Classic Movies
Film Detective
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