Emerging from the Shadows: Alice Burton Russell—African American Film Producer, Actress, and Screenwriter

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The first black women filmmakers frequently remain unacknowledged for their contributions to the early years of black cinema. This essay examines the life and career of Alice Russell Micheaux (wife to black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux) who worked for the Micheaux Film Company between 1926 and 1948, where she served in a variety of capacities. Given her contributions, this essay argues that she deserves recognition among other early black women filmmakers in her own right as a significant film pioneer whose involvement propelled the development of this emergent cinema. I consider her formative years as the daughter of black newspaper editor and publisher Robert Russell, explore her adult years in Montclair, New Jersey, and critique the services she provided to the Micheaux Film Company