An exhibit, honoring the legacy of African American filmmakers and actors from the early years of cinema through the Civil Rights Movement is on display here at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

It's called "Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971".

The name is inspired by the 1923 independent movie "Regeneration", which featured an all-Black cast.

The exhibition traces the often untold story of African American representation in cinema history.

And it brings to light lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers.

I sat down with DIA curator and head of the Center for African American Art, Valerie Mercer, to find out more about this landmark exhibition.

Valerie, welcome to "American Black Journal".

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

It's great to have you back.

- I'm delighted.

- Yeah.

It's been a long time.

Right?

- Right.

It has.

- So I love the idea of this exhibit.

I wanna start by having you talk about how you came up with the idea for this exhibit and why it's so important to tell this story.

- Well, it's a show that was originally organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in LA.

It's a Smart Museum, but doesn't have a long history.

But we are probably the second venue, I think, they opened the show, but I think it's such a great idea.

I've never seen an exhibition on film history.

But I love film, always have, it makes me happy.

Even when they're sad stories, I guess 'cause I'm a curator, you know, I just love visual stimulation.

But when it's a good story too, it makes me very happy.

So I'm so glad that we took the show.

And you know, it's so rich in history.

It covers 1898 to 1971.

And I'm sure a lot of people don't realize that there were Black filmmakers back in that time.

You know, up to, of course, the history really today, you know, it goes beyond '71.

But this is a really good coverage of the growth, the start, the development of that.

And now there's more Black filmmakers, which is wonderful.

- So, the time period where the exhibitions starts, of course, is really different from where it ends up.

Let's talk about that kind of early period, which I think is less familiar to people.

- I'm sure it is.

- Than the more recent period.

What was Black film making like at the turn of the last century?

- Sure.

Well, you'll even see in the exhibition there are race films and some of those, while there are Black actors in it, and actually even Black actors with black makeup on, because that was somewhat, almost like, as odd as it sounds, kind of became a standard.

Because of white performers always use- - The minstrel.

- Yeah.

But this is a Max Factor, Black makeup.

But that sort of came out of vaudeville, you know, number of the early performers because some of them were in the "Ziegfeld Follies".

And then from there some of them became, you know, interested in acting in films.

So like Bert Williams, some of the really famous vaudeville stars.

And there's a wonderful film, a piece of, sort of a segment, I think, of a film, or maybe it's a whole thing of, at the beginning of the show called, I think it's "Stolen Kisses."

And it's a gorgeous Black couple.

They actually are vaudeville performers, but it's like, it's, you know, so wonderful, intimate clip of this young couple kind of flirting with each other and then they kiss, you know.

And I remember I was telling Elliott, I remember being really young and the first time I ever saw a Black couple kissed on a big screen.

I remember actually sinking down in my seat and feeling uncomfortable.

But then very quickly I thought to myself, "Now why am I feeling uncomfortable?"

And I thought, "Oh, 'cause I've never seen Black people kiss on a big screen."

- On the screen.

- Yeah.

I've seen white couples.

And then I thought, I've only seen my mom and dad kiss.

But then I kind of thought to myself, yeah, I just gotta get used to this.

So then I sat up and over the years I became used to it.

But I remember it was lovely, you know, it was, I think it was like Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln, "For Love of Ivy."

But I loved it, you know.

- Yeah.

- But we all have those first experiences, especially certain generations, you know, because, I mean, I remember the time when you saw, you know, an African American in a film, you told everybody.

'Cause it was so rare.

- 'Cause it was so unusual.

- Yeah, or if you saw them on TV, everybody in the family came to look at that person.

But, yeah, some of the early clips are really, really wonderful.

Because, you know, you see some of these famous performers and learn about them.

There's also, of course, you know, we have I think a poster showing "The Birth of a Nation" because that was such a highly publicized film.

And in a way, too, that was probably the first blockbuster in American film.

And Elliott always says, so many directors always in a sense trying to live that down.

You know what I mean?

Trying to surpass it 'cause it was so popular, you know.

But of course it was, you know, white supremacist on steroids, sort of, you know, when you see the film.

I think it's an important film.

I mean, I've actually seen it about three or four times.

First time I saw it, I was really kind of, like, nervous and uncomfortable, but then I thought, you know, just gotta get used to it 'cause it's important to know.

And I think in that way it's really important 'cause it had tremendous impact on American culture.

- Yeah, talk about why it's important to have this exhibition here in Detroit and here at the DIA.

- Yeah.

Where else would you have it?

This is the place, because we have such a wonderful history of showing film.

I think the theater now is about, we're about 50 years old and Elliott, of course, is still going strong and so are other people who work with him.

But, you know, I always tease him and say, I think most of the people who come to your programs or belong to their sort of auxiliary, I said, I bet they don't even look at a program.

They just trust you, and they just show up.

- They just show up.

- 'Cause they know you're gonna show them something good.

I mean, I was so happy when I discovered it.

'Cause I think when I was hired, I don't recall anybody mentioning it to me, but maybe after about a month I discovered it on my own.

And I said to Elliott, "You know, I was feeling homesick for New York, but once I discovered your theater and saw the programming, I thought, 'Wow, this is just like being in New York.'"

And he said to me, "That's the sweetest thing you could have told me."

But I mean, it's so top-notch.

You know, 'cause it's film's from all over the world.

So this is the place to have this exhibition.

I'm so glad we took it.

- And in Detroit, I think, the story that the exhibition tells has special resonance.

- Oh, yeah.

Well, there are some people connected in a sense with the project who come from New York.

One of the curators, Rhea Combs, you know, grew up here.

She was here, I think, opening night.

Just said some wonderful things.

She was almost getting choked up about her memories.

But, you know, there's certain actors in the, you know, some of the famous actors were actually born and raised here.

Then I guess went off to, you know, scenes Hollywood.

- Sure, yeah.

- But we have young filmmakers here too.

You know, we do.

I know not a lot of them, but a few of them have reached out to me and especially around the time of the opening of this.

And some them were here.

And said wonderful things about this show.

They were really happy about it.

- Yeah, and of course it dovetails with the other work you do here at the museum.

- Oh, oh, absolutely.

That's one.

- It's terribly important.

And I feel like has changed a lot over the years, right.

- Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, it really supports my work as a curator of African American visual arts.

I usually, mostly, of course, work with paintings and sculpture and drawings and all that.

But telling that history, which I felt was so important, 'cause we don't get that in school.

I never got that.

What I learned, I really learned from my mom, you know, about the history 'cause she did know it.

But a lot of things I did not know.

But I learned it from her and then from friends over the years and just reading, you know?

And becoming more and more curious.

But, you know, that's why going into the exhibition makes me feel, you know, really happy.

'Cause, you know, there's some painful aspects of history, but a lot of it that I think does bring joy to most of us, to, you know, to see all these wonderful creative individuals, and learn about them.

I mean, some of the directors, you know, like Oscar Micheaux going practically door to door, he was so, in a sense, dedicated, but early on wasn't like he had a lot of people working for him, but he learned how to make films on his own.

And he did it kind of step by step, and then, yeah, wrote novels, turned them into movies.

But with the novels too, he go to door to door, he's selling them and did the same thing with the film.

But, you know, these are wonderful inspirations I think for younger generation filmmakers.

- Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Alright, well, it's always great to see you.

- And same here.

- Yeah, congratulations on the exhibition.

- Yeah, and I'm still listening to you on the radio.

- Oh, well, I appreciate that too.

- Okay.

- Thanks for being here.