Ted Sarandos

Miky Lee

Kimberly Steward

Jim Gianopulos

Patricia Bellinger Balzer

Jason Blum

Arnaud Boetsch

Laura Dern

David Dolby

Sidonie Seydoux Dumas

Sid Ganis

Olivier de Givenchy

Ray Halbritter

Tom Hanks

Dawn Hudson

Bill Kramer

David Linde

Eva Longoria

Ryan Murphy

Dominic Ng

Katherine L. Oliver

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña

David Rubin

Regina K. Scully

Emma Thomas

Kevin Yeaman

Doris Berger

Donald Bogle

Cara Caddoo

Rhea L. Combs

Terri Simone Francis

Michael Boyce Gillespie

Whoopi Goldberg

J. Raúl Guzmán

Shola Lynch

Ron Magliozzi

Ellen C. Scott

Jacqueline Stewart

Gary Dauphin

Lauren Girard

Erwin Hines

Yosuke Kitazawa

Kit Masaracchia

Adriana Siu de Olaso

Emily Rauber Rodriguez

Mike Schiro

Agnes Stauber

Chandini Tirunagaru

Connor Uretsky

Mike Vazquez

Savannah West

Dan Yalg

Something Good Negro Kiss

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day (dir. Edwin Middleton, T. Hays Hunter, 1913), film stills. Courtesy Museum of Modern Art.

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day

Louise Beavers in Reform School (dir. Leo C. Popkin, 1939), film still. Courtesy Academy Film Archive.

Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929). Core Collection, Production Files, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences


Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929)

Bill Robinson and Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943). Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Sidney Poitier with Diahann Carroll in Paris Blues (1961)

I am Somebody

Photograph of Fredi Washington

Fredi Washington

Despite Black actors’ participation throughout theater history, many actors’ unions, including the Actors’ Equity Association, did not initially admit Black performers. Dissatisfied with this lack of support, as well as limited available roles, actress Fredi Washington, along with W.C. Handy, Paul Robeson, and Ethel Waters, founded the Negro Actors Guild of America in 1937. The guild supported the development of Black actors, especially those early in their careers, and published a quarterly journal called The Negro Actor.

Photograph of Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington 

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (Fredi Washington)

Bandleader Ellington served as one of several Vice Presidents of the Negro Actors Guild in its early years, and performed with Washington in the jazz short Black and Tan (1929).

Photograph of Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson (Fredi Washington)

Robeson, who had worked with Washington several times, including in the Broadway play The Black Boy (1926) and the film The Emperor Jones (1933), co-founded the Negro Actors Guild and served as a Vice President.

Photograph of Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters (Fredi Washington)

Waters was a co-founder of the Negro Actors Guild, serving as “1st Vice President” in the 1940s, and would later work with Washington on stage in Mamba’s Daughters (1939).

Photograph of Bill Bojangles Robinson

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (Fredi Washington)

Robinson appeared in the melodrama One Mile from Heaven (1937) with Washington, and was named the guild’s first honorary president thanks to his efforts in fundraising through benefit concerts.

Photograph of Sammy Davis Jr

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. (Fredi Washington)

Davis was a member of the Negro Actors Guild, which also honored him with a farewell party at the closing of his hit Broadway show Mr. Wonderful in 1957.

Photograph of Frederick O-Neal

Frederick O’Neal

Frederick O’Neal (Fredi Washington)

Actor and activist O’Neal was Chairman of the guild’s Executive Board in the 1940s, and also served as its President from 1960 to 1964.

Photograph of Lena Horne

Lena Horne

Lena Horne (Fredi Washington)

Horne was one of the most famous Black actresses of her time, as well as a member of the Negro Actors Guild.

Photograph of Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel (Fredi Washington)

McDaniel had been allowed to join the Screen Actors Guild in 1934, but also became a member of the Negro Actors Guild in the 1940s to support (and receive support from) other Black actors.

Photograph of Dooley Wilson

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (Fredi Washington)

Actor Wilson served as one of the guild’s Vice Presidents in the 1940s, and was an active member on its Board of Directors.

Photograph of Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham (Fredi Washington)

Dancer and choreographer Dunham served as one of the guild’s Vice Presidents in the 1940s.

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971 is the recipient of the 2018 Sotheby’s Prize. The Sotheby’s Prize was founded to support and encourage museums to break new ground by recognizing curatorial excellence and facilitating an upcoming exhibition that explores overlooked or underrepresented art history. The Sotheby’s Prize was awarded by a jury of museum curators and directors comprising Sir Nicholas Serota, Donna De Salvo, Okwui Enwezor (1963–2019), Connie Butler, Emilie Gordenker, and chaired by Allan Schwartzman.

Regeneration is made possible in part by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.

Lead support provided by Campari® and J. P. Morgan Private Bank.

Generous support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and Octavia Spencer.

Accompanying exhibition catalogue supported in part by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Academy Film Archive restorations are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation.

Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.