Reel Freedom: Black Film Culture in NYC Book Launch
Join author Alyssa Lopez for a virtual talk about her new book on Black Film culture in early twentieth-century NYC!
Tour Highlights:
- Celebrate the launch of Reel Freedom: Black Film Culture in Early Twentieth Century New York City
- See and hear how Black New Yorkers used theaters to claim the city as their own
- Learn about the connections between film culture and city space
- Come away with a new understanding of Black New York in the early 20th century
- Q&A with the author
All Images Courtesy of the Author
About this Talk:
In this book talk, centered on Reel Freedom: Black Film Culture in Early Twentieth Century New York City, Lopez will detail the relationship between Black film culture and space in New York City. From its origins in the early twentieth century to its firm establishment in the 1930s, Black film culture was both entertainment and resistance, connected as it was to Black New Yorkers’ demands for access and equality in the city.
Lopez will chronicle how ordinary people, labor activists, journalists, filmmakers, and managers all shaped Black film culture. Discussing the wide-ranging and remarkable pervasiveness of Black film culture in New York City, Lopez works to redefine a period and place most associated with the Harlem Renaissance. In doing so, she will illustrate how Black New Yorkers leveraged cinema to make the city their own and to enjoy urban living to its fullest.
About the Author:
Alyssa Lopez is an Assistant Professor of History at Providence College. She is a native New Yorker, who grew up in Queens and attended CUNY, Queens College before earning her Ph.D. at Michigan State. Her research is focused on Black urban, film, and cultural history. She has written on Black girls’ moviegoing experiences in The Journal of African American History and her first book, Reel Freedom: Black Film Culture in Early Twentieth Century New York City, was just published with Temple University Press (April 2025).
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