An Emerging American Renaissance

The capacity for great storytelling within the African American community has long existed, but the economics have been restrictive in the high-cost, high-risk world of making quality television, plays and movies. But more and more, we are seeing an increased number of Black professionals working behind the scenes and at executive levels across the entertainment industry, and they are stewarding a variety of film, television and theatrical projects from concept to completion.

With the recent successes of Ava Duvernay (African American Film Releasing Movement), Will Packer (Rainforest Films), Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy and Scandal), Suzan Lori Parks (Top Dog / Under Dog) and Mona Scott-Young (Love and Hip Hop), there are many signs of an increased appetite for interesting, diverse and relevant content, which should lead to a surge in projects that reflect the wide-ranging dynamics of African American life. 

History speaks to this fact. and we know that, when given an opportunity to actualize and be expressive, Black people have made a profound and distinctive impact on American culture - - most notably the Harlem Renaissance; the Black aesthetic movement in mid-twentieth-century Chicago (Chicago Black Renaissance); not to mention Jazz from the 1920’S thru the 1940’s; the Motown movement in Detroit during the 1960’s and 70’s and the Rap /Hip Hop movements that began in the mid - late 1980’s. 

There are also a few other factors that create an interesting dynamic for African American expansion in the indie world. One is population changes and the other is production costs. Here's a little detail on that.

According to a recent CBS News report , from the years 1910 – 1970 more than 8 million Black people left the South to escape the lash of Jim Crow and headed North, establishing strongholds in cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and New York City. As reported from the 2010 census, the trend seems to be reversing as a number of African Americans have returned to their Southern roots. Consequently, 54.7% of the Black population in America is now in the South. What is also notable is an increasing number of these citizens and others who are visiting sites that are linked to that often difficult Southern past.  It has been called African American Heritage Tourism and "It's the second-fastest-growing market segment of tourism," said Rich Harrill, director of the University of South Carolina's Institute for Tourism Research. So with this trend, you have a larger concentration of Black people in the South and their cultural appetites are widening.

Add to that the significant advances in camera and audio recording technology coupled with subsequent decreases in acquisition costs of other production resources, there is compelling evidence to support the idea of an emerging cultural boom over the next few decades. 

 

Yes, America it's here! There is an emerging American Renaissance in the world of Black Film, Television and Theater. Consequently, this blog will highlight some of these African American independent film, television and theater professionals and their projects across the United States. 

Our goal is to encourage increased patronage, promotion and investment in the industry segment, by introducing audiences to the world of independent storytelling. We suspect that this could be the beginning of the best period of Black Film, Television and Theater in the history of our country...so stay tuned. 

You can also see  daily updates at out Facebook page at...

African American Indie Film, TV and Theater