Black writers, actors, producers, and directors have been involved in Hollywood from the very beginning of the American film industry some 125 years ago. Often, their contributions have been restricted, with early Black actors landing only bit parts and Black crewmembers being kept out of the unions used by the major studios. But this exclusion didn't deter Black creatives; they simply chose their own stories to tell, creating studios of their own to produce them.
Early directors like Oscar Micheaux and Spencer Williams worked entirely independently of the established system, while their later counterparts, like Spike Lee and Julie Dash, were granted entrance into the system (though it was somewhat limited). Whether they worked in tandem with or apart from the Hollywood institution, many Black directors found their work was not promoted, championed, and preserved like that of their white counterparts. They either lacked the money to do it themselves, or studios refused to allocate the
