Author Wil Haygood will present his new book, “Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World,” on Vroman’s Live Tuesday, November 9, starting at 6 p.m.
The book, from the acclaimed author of “The Butler” and “Showdown,” is an unprecedented history of Black cinema, examines 100 years of Black movies – from “Gone with the Wind” to Blaxploitation films to “Black Panther.” The author uses the struggles and triumphs of the artists, and the films themselves, as a prism to explore Black culture, civil rights, and racism in America.
Beginning in 1915 with D. W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” Haygood gives an incisive, fascinating, little-known history, spanning more than a century, of Black artists in the film business, on-screen and behind the scenes.
He makes clear the effects of changing social realities and events on the business of making movies and on what was represented on the screen: from Jim Crow and segregation to white flight and interracial relationships, from the assassination of Malcolm X, to the O. J. Simpson trial, to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Haygood brings to new light the careers and significance of a wide range of historic and contemporary figures: Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Berry Gordy, Alex Haley, Spike Lee, Billy Dee Willliams, Richard Pryor, Halle Berry, Ava DuVernay, and Jordan Peele, among many others.
Described as an important, timely book, “Colorization” gives an unprecedented history of Black cinema and a groundbreaking perspective on racism in modern America.
Vroman’s Live will take place on Crowdcast. To register for free and save your spot, visit www.crowdcast.io/e/wil-haygood
For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit www.vromansbookstore.com/wil-
To purchase a copy of the book, click the Add to Cart button on the page.
