A Century of Black Cinema

On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Wil Haygood, author of the new book Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World. Haygood’s book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about largely forgotten trailblazers such as Oscar Micheaux, better-known figures like Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, the controversies over movies as diverse as The Birth of a Nation and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the odd fate of Porgy and Bess, and so much more. Colorization is both breezy and in-depth—the best sort of popular history—and our conversation only scratched the surface of his book. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!