Where is The Black Canon?

Since theatrical performances were rarely recorded and many of the movies that featured all-Black casts are now considered “lost films” (films for which no copy is known to survive), advertising posters often provide the only remaining evidence of the most important productions featuring Black performers between the 1870s and the 1940s. The posters in this exhibition allow viewers to consider how Black storytelling was transferred and transformed during its transition from stage to screen. They also document aspects of the historic innovations of playwrights, composers, directors, and producers for Black actors as they sought to represent life and experiences for Black audiences through their own creative perspectives.  

 Traveling exhibition in partnership with Exhibit Envoy

Breakthrough in Black: African American Cinema from the 1920s-1950s originated with The Black Canon, an arts collective dedicated to preserving and promoting African American literary, performing, visual and media arts. The Black Canon Collection contains the lifelong work of historian and collector James E. Wheeler, who was inspired by the race films he was able to watch in his parents’ café when growing up in the South. He set out to collect and educate others on the influence and innovation demonstrated by those films and filmmakers. 

 Spartan County Public Libraries, South Carolina; August 23, 2026 – October 18, 2026 

History San Jose, California;  January 3, 2027 – May 2, 2027 

Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Michigan;  January 23, 2028 – May 28, 2028