Black film history has often been overlooked, with the first major film directed by an African-American appearing only in 1969. The Learning Tree, by Gordon Parks, revives interest in this history as its themes reflect personal and broader cultural narratives. Beyond Hollywood's stereotypes, the parallel genre of 'race films' aimed to serve African-American audiences from the 1910s to 1950. Oscar Micheaux, a significant figure in this movement, struggled against production and distribution limitations while attempting to uplift African-American representation in film, a narrative often overshadowed in mainstream discourse.
The Hollywood history of minority representation is well-known by now, basically as an abyss of stereotypes and occasional good intentions almost singlehandedly lifted upward by Sidney Poitier in the years prior to Tree.
The king of 'race cinema' was Oscar Micheaux, a midwesterner who arrived at his profession relatively late, at age 35. Driven to succeed like no other.
The Learning Tree, happens to be getting a relatively rare big-screen revival at the Balboa, a lyrical, loosely autobiographical fiction from photographer Gordon Parks.
Let's hope some day there's attention paid to his last and best feature, the 1976 blues biopic Leadbelly, which has since been available in little beyond very low-grade copies.
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