Oscar Micheaux

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux 1884 - 1951

Oscar Micheaux was an author and a pioneer in the film industry.

Utilizing the Homestead Act, In 1905 Micheaux bought a 160-acre plot of land in South Dakota where he built a house and tended to his new farm. It was during his time in Dakota that Micheaux started writing. When drought struck the Midwest, Micheaux and his neighbors struggled, forcing Micheaux to sell his land just six years after purchase. Michaeux’s saving grace were his immense other talents wholly separate from tending to land.

Micheaux had nearly completed work on his first novel when he sold his land. Given his experience in the Midwest, the early motivation and subject of Micheaux’s 1912 novel, “The Conquest” stemmed from the concept of westward expansion. Micheaux immediately began writing his second book, “The Forged Note.” This book was published in 1915 in Sioux City, Iowa.

During his travels throughout the Midwest, in efforts to sell his books, Micheaux settled in the West 7th Street neighborhood because it was the center of Sioux City’s Black community. It was Sioux City where Micheaux published his third novel, “The Homesteader.” After its publication, a Nebraska film company attempted to purchase the rights to The Homesteader. With great vision and value for his work, Micheaux rejected the offer and decided to put his novels on the big screen himself.

The Homesteader became the first feature length film by a Black citizen. The Micheaux Book and Film Company was formed during the filming of The Homesteader. Micheaux’s company was based in Chicago and New York City. With the exception of early novels and films focused on westward expansion, the bulk of Micheaux’s work hinged on race relations.

Micheaux produced a second film titled Within Our Gates. This film was a response to D.W. Griffith’s white supremacist propaganda film Birth of a Nation (note: this tribute film to the Ku Klux Klan was screened in the White House by President Woodrow Wilson). Micheaux’s Within Our Gates depicted racism in the early twentieth century. The film’s popularity grew after Micheaux traveled to Europe and South America promoting it. This trip allowed the film to gain worldwide notoriety.

This was just the beginning for Micheaux who subsequently settled in Harlem. He would make many more films that starred well known Black stars including Robert Earl Jones and Paul Robeson. By the end of his career, Micheaux wrote and directed 43 movies, 27 silent films, and 16 sound features. For his courage and impressive body of work, The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame named their award for achievement in Micheaux’s honor.