Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences In Film

Acknowledgments

Acknowledglllents xpressing my gratitude to the individuals and institutions who supported me is both the most daunting and the most pleasurable part of this whole process. It's daunting because it has made me realize the unlimited generosity of the many colleagues, friends, and family members who helped made this book possible. It's pleasurable because it is a reminder that writing a book is never really an individual act and that the author is surrounded by supporters even when writing seems so terribly solitary. The thanks that I've listed here can only begin to convey my gratitude to all who helped along the way. I hope that everyone involved realizes the true extent of my appreciation for everything they've done toward the completion of this study. I would like to thank the Cinema Studies Department at New York University, where the seeds of this book were first sown. Robert Starn has been a principal influence since the very beginning of this project, offering his insights into many of the texts discussed. His seminal work on Mikhail Bakhtin and his unceasing encouragement have shaped this study every step of the way. Ed Guerrero's scholarship has also been an influence on my work and began even before he came to NYU. For that, and all his comments, suggestions , questions, and friendship, I'm eternally grateful. Chris Straayer has been unflagging in her enthusiasm and support, no matter how many pages I asked her to read. She is a model scholar and teacher. Many thanks also to Toby Miller and Manthia Diawara; Toby, for offering support and guidance IX Copyrighted Material x Acknowledgments on this and many other projects, and Manthia, for his comments and his important contributions to the scholarship on African American cinema . Additionally, I would like to thank Bill Simon, Ann Harris, and Ken Sweeney for their encouragement from the very beginning. Over the years I've had the opportunity to work with a number of gifted scholars, many of whom have become close and valued friends. Thanks to Alex Keller, Roy Grundmann, Kirsten Thompson, Lisa Gail Collins, and Michael Gillespie, whose comments and suggestions, on this project and other subjects, have helped shape this study and my scholarship as a whole. I value their friendship, generosity of spirit, and intellectual enthusiasm. They have reminded me, in different ways, that work is important, but friendship sustains the soul. Thanks also to Cindy Lucia, Antje Ascheid, David Lugowski, Marcos Becquer, and Bruce Brasell, all of whom provided comments, editorial advice, and friendship early in the writing process. I extend my gratitude to the participants in the 1999 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute in Black Film Studies, directed by Gladstone Yearwood and hosted by the University of Central Florida. I began to formulate chapter 2 while I was a participant in the institute, and many of my thoughts were first discussed with the extraordinary group of scholars gathered together in the shocking heat of a central Florida summer. I'm especially grateful to Dr. Yearwood, Mark Reid, Phyllis Klotman, Gerald Butters, and Matt Henry for helping me to form some of my thoughts regarding both silent and sound race films. While the NEH did not offer direct funding for this project, I wish to acknowledge their support in funding the institute. Partial funding for chapter 2 was provided by a PSC-CUNY Research Award, and I'm thankful to both the Research Foundation of the City University of New York and the readers of my proposal for offering much needed financial and intellectual support. My gratitude also extends to the members of the Department of Film at Brooklyn College, who provided an environment in which I could nurture and rehearse many of the thoughts and theories related to this book. I would like to acknowledge the staff ofthe George P.Johnson Collection , Department of Special Collections at UCLA, the Film Stills Archive at the Museum of Modern Art, and the Black Film Center/ Archive at Indiana University. In particular, Jeffrey Rankin at UCLA and Mary Corliss at MaMA made the process of tracking down information and stills both exciting and easy. Copyrighted Material Acknowledgments xi Over the course of preparing this work, I've had the pleasure to present my ideas to some of the toughest audiences of all: my students. I'm thankful to the participants in my classes at Marymount Manhattan, Hunter...