TCM And The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Present: The Black Experience On Film Thursday, August 23, 2018
Share:
Facebook
Tweeter
Email
Download:
Download PDF
Month-long Programming Event Will Feature 13 Acclaimed Film Journalists and 32 Seminal Films
Airs Every Tuesday and Thursday in September
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) have partnered to bring viewers The Black Experience on Film, a comprehensive month-long programming initiative showcasing portrayals of African Americans throughout cinematic history. Hosted by 13 different members of AAFCA from print, online and broadcast outlets throughout the country, programming begins Sept. 4 and continues every Tuesday and Thursday in primetime.
The Black Experience on Film provides a wide-ranging retrospective from the 1920s through the 1990s including:
Exploring Black Identity airing Sept. 4 - AAFCA co-founder and president Gil Robertson & cultural critic Ronda Racha Penrice explore films ranging from Oscar Micheauxs searing look at racial violence in Within Our Gates (1920) to Julie Dash's 1991 story following three generations of Gullah women in Daughters Of The Dust
Hollywood Confronts Racism airing Sept. 6 - AAFCA co-founder & film critic Shawn Edwards & HipHollywood.com's Jasmine Simpkins examine films such as A Raisin in the Sun (1961), about a black Chicago family searching for a better life, and A Soldiers Story (1984) about the murder of a black U.S. Army sergeant
African Americans Coming of Age airing Sept. 11 - Awards Circuit's Clayton Davis & Jasmine Simpkins highlight films such as Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte's starring vehicle Bright Road (1953), about a troubled elementary student, and Sounder (1972), about the struggles of a family of black sharecroppers during the Great Depression
Black Romance in Film airing Sept. 13 - longtime entertainment journalist Lee Thomas & Emmy-winning journalist Kelley Carter examine films such as Anna Lucasta (1958), featuring performances by Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Jr., and A Warm December (1973) starring Sydney Poitier as a widowed American doctor who falls for an African princess
African-American Musicals airing Sept. 18 - Black Tree Media's Jamaal Finkley & Black Tomatoes host Carla Renata delve into Cabin in the Sky (1943), about a gamblers efforts to get into heaven, and Carmen Jones (1954), which made star Dorothy Dandridge the first African American to be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award
Strong Black Women airing Sept. 20 - Fortune correspondent Anita Bennett & veteran entertainment journalist KJ Matthews review films including Claudine (1974), the story of a single mother in Harlem, and Sparkle (1976), inspired by the real-life musical group The Supremes.
African-American Comedies airing Sept. 25 - AAFCA co-founder & film critic Shawn Edwards & award-winning writer Edward Adams discuss Watermelon Man (1970), starring Godfrey Cambridge as a white insurance salesman who wakes up to find he has turned black, and Robert Townsends satire Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Black Stories from Around the World airing Sept. 27 - Gil Robertson & WGN's Tyra Martin study Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), starring Canada Lee and Sidney Poitier as South African ministers who struggle to help individuals damaged by their countrys policies of apartheid, and Walkabout (1971), a film about two white students who find themselves reliant on aid from an Aboriginal boy to survive while adrift in the Australian outback
Since the earliest days of film, the portrayal of black characters has ranged from stereotypical and one-dimensional to more nuanced and complex. With this programming tentpole, we will explore this important part of film history specifically from an African-American perspective with insightful commentary from some of the nations most prominent film critics, said Charles Tabesh, senior vice president of programming & production, TCM. Our partnership with the AAFCA is important, and together we aim to tell a contextualized and curated story of The Black Experience on Film.
It is both an honor and a privilege for AAFCA and its members to work with Charles Tabesh and the rest of the TCM team to facilitate such impactful programming, says AAFCA co-founder and president, Gil Robertson. The legacy of African Americans in cinema often goes untold, but it has been a long and arduous journey. Since the earliest beginnings of the art form, African Americans have had a presence in cinema. That is the point we hope these 32 films will drive home. Our intent is that audiences be engaged, entertained and enlightened by the sheer diversity and breadth of this substantial arc of film programming.
To learn more about each journalist, programming and to view additional images, please visit tcm.com/aafca.
About Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting the entire spectrum of film history. TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone and Dave Karger, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. Currently in its 24th year as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed series like The Essentials, along with annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar in February and Summer Under the Stars in August. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through events as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the TCM Big Screen Classics series in partnership with Fathom Events, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City and Los Angeles. In addition, TCM
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
TCM And The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Present: The Black Experience On Film Thursday, August 23, 2018 
