The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. (BFHFI), was founded in 1974, in Oakland, California. It supported and promoted black filmmaking, and preserved the contributions by African-American artists both before and behind the camera. It also sponsored advance screenings of films by and about people of African descent and hosted the Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony, held each February, from 1974 to 1993, in Oakland.
The Hall started as the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1974, as an all-volunteer project of Oakland Museum of California's Cultural and Ethnics Affairs Guild. It grew quickly, incorporating as BFHFI in 1977.
In 2014, all its archives were given to the Black Film Center/Archive, within the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington.[1]
This is a partial list of inductees:[2]
Inductees
edit1974
edit- Alvin Childress
- Lillian Cumber
- Ossie Davis
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Katherine Dunham (1909–2006)
- Theresa Harris
- Eugene Jackson
- William Marshall
- Juanita Moore
- Clarence Muse
- Gordon Parks Sr.
- Lincoln Theodore Perry (stage name Stepin Fetchit) (1902–1985)
- Beah Richards
- Paul Robeson (1898–1976)
- Vincent Tubbs
- Lorenzo Tucker
- Leigh Whipper
1975
edit- Ruby Dee (1922–2014)
- Allen Hoskins (1920–1980)
- Hall Johnson (1888–1970)
- Abbey Lincoln (1930–2010)
- Hattie McDaniel (1895–1952)
- Butterfly McQueen (1911–1995)
- Louis S. Peterson (1922–1998)
- Fredi Washington (1903–1994)
1976
edit- Eubie Blake (1887–1983)
- Louise Beavers (1902–1962)
- Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951)
- Brock Peters (1927–2005)
- Melvin Van Peebles (1932-2021)
- Diahann Carroll (1935–2019)
1977
edit- Maidie Norman (1912–1998)
- Cicely Tyson (1924-2021)
1978
edit- Benny Carter (1907–2003)
- Nicholas Brothers - Fayard (1914-2006), Harold (1921-2000)
- Nina Mae McKinney (1912–1967)
- Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)
1979
edit- Lonne Elder III (1927–1996)
- Earl "Fatha" Hines (1903–1983)
- Herb Jeffries (1913–2014)
- Etta Moten Barnett (1901–2004)
- Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920–1993)
- Floyd Norman (born 1935)
- Diana Sands (1934–1973)
- Leo D. Sullivan (1940–2023)
- Paul Winfield (1939–2004)
1980
edit- Vinnette Carroll (1922–2002)
- Ivan Dixon (1931–2008)
- James Edwards (1918–1970)
- William Greaves (1926–2014)
- Lillian Randolph (1898–1980)
- Frank Silvera (1914–1970)
- Woody Strode (1914–1994)
1982
edit- Cab Calloway (1907–1994)
1984
edit- Billy Dee Williams (born 1937)
1986
edit- Madame Sul-Te-Wan (1873–1959)
1987
edit- Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925–1990)
- Scatman Crothers (1910–1986)
- Jeni Le Gon (1916–2012)
- Ernie Morrison (1912–1989)
1990
edit- Suzanne de Passe (born 1948)
- Danny Glover (born 1946)
1991
edit- Michael Schultz (born 1938)
- August Wilson (1945–2005)
1993
edit- Madeline Anderson (born 1923/4)
- Rosalind Cash (1938–1995)
1995
edit- William D. Alexander (1916–1991)
See also
editAdditional resources
edit- Indiana University maintains the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Archives.
References
edit- ^ "Mary Perry Smith, Co-Founder of the BFHFI, Passes". August 14, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ "Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Archives |Inductees 1974–1993". Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- Moon, Spencer. Reel Black Talk: A Sourcebook of 50 American Filmmakers, Greenwood Press, (1997) - ISBN 0-313-29830-0
- Peterson, Bernard L. Profiles of African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816–1960, Greenwood Press, (2000) - ISBN 0-313-29534-4