Dear Oscar,

It’s been months since I’ve had the pleasure of going through all the amazing documents you left behind for us to discover. It's been an extraordinary experience getting to know you, your work, your mission and journey to improve the portrayal of Black people through film. This endeavor began with the authorship of your first book The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Homesteader (1913), which led to your first film The Homesteader (1919).  As a result of your continuous work, the Oscar Micheaux papers are quite the treasure trove—they include handwritten scenarios; film dialogues; correspondence; photographs and lobby cards for films such as The Exile, Lying Lips, and your final film The Betrayal. 

Oscar, you’d be delighted to know that you paved the way for a host of talented Black film directors such as the late Kathleen Collins, William Greaves, Gordon Parks, and John Singleton; and those who are continuing your legacy such as Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele, Issa Rae, and, last but not least, Tyler Perry. People have made comparisons and highlighted similarities between you and Perry, specifically the accomplishment of creating his own film production studio as you did with the Micheaux Book and Film Company, founded in 1919 and later becoming Micheaux Film Corporation. 

Finally, the time has come to share your papers with researchers, scholars, students, and the world! I am so very excited for them to experience your motivation, passion, and commitment to Black storytelling during a time of many obstacles and limitations for people of color! You are an absolute pioneer in the world of film, not only for Black filmmakers but for all filmmakers who push the limits of social commentary as you did in your race films such as God’s Stepchildren and Within Our Gates (a rebuttal to Birth of a Nation).

It was an honor to process such a rich collection. While I am saddened to move on, I’m extremely excited for researchers to have access to your papers!

P.S. You’ll be happy to know they can learn all about you and your contributions to film in my Libguide!

Sincerely,

Serena Torres
Librarian II/Processing Archivist,
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture