About the Book:

Completely updated to include the entire twentieth century, this is the fourth edition of the groundbreaking Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks, a classic study of Black movie images.

Subtitled An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, this edition covers all the latest directors, stars, and films including Summer of Sam, Jackie Brown, The Best Man, and The Hurricane. From the racist portrayal of Black people in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation – the work of pioneering black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, who in the 30 years between 1918 and 1948 wrote, directed, produced, and distributed 34 pictures, from silents to talkies – and Hattie McDaniel, who in 1939 became both the first Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning African American actress, for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind to the latest work by Spike Lee, John Singleton, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, and Will Smith, film historian and professor Donald Bogle reveals the ways in which the depiction of blacks in American movies has changed – and the shocking ways in which it has remained the same.

What people say:

"Mr. Bogle continues to be our most noted black-cinema historian." — Spike Lee

"Bogle is passionate and good-humored. His book is valuable as a film reference work and social document." — Gene Siskel

"A well-researched and lively romp ... Far more inclusive and informative than previous books on the subject." — The New York Times

"Donald Bogle [is a] pioneering safe-keeper of the history of blacks in film." — Vogue

About the Author:

Donald Bogle is the foremost authority on African Americans in film. His numerous books have won awards and wide critical acclaim. He has taught at Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.