Breakthrough in Black explores this moment in film history and the individuals who sustained it, tracing how their work expanded representation on screen and influenced future generations of filmmakers. The exhibit highlights the work of influential figures including Oscar Micheaux, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, and Paul Robeson, bringing their work and legacy into the spotlight while inviting audiences to reconsider both the origins and the legacy of African American cinema.

Exhibition Support
Breakthrough in Black: African American Cinema from the 1920s-1950s is an exhibition touring in partnership between The Black Canon and Exhibit Envoy.

About the Black Canon
The Black Canon is an arts organization and archive dedicated to preserving and promoting African American literary, performing, visual, and media arts. Learn more at www.black-canon.com.

Exhibit Envoy provides traveling exhibitions and professional services to museums throughout California. Exhibit Envoy provides institutions with diverse and meaningful traveling exhibitions to strengthen their communities. For more information, please visit www.exhibitenvoy.org.

The Fight Never Ends (1948), directed by Joe Lerner and starring Joe Louis and Ruby Dee. The Black Canon Collection.

Porgy and Bess (1959), directed by Otto Preminger and starring Sidney Potier, Dorthy Dandridge, and Sammy Davis, Jr. The Black Canon Collection.