Jacob Friefeld, of the University of Illinois - Springfield, joins us to discuss the life and work of Oscar Micheaux, a black homesteader near Gregory, South Dakota. Micheaux's experiences inspire him to make films and write novels about it all. His work is often a response to films such as, "Birth of a Nation" that prompted a revival of the Klu Klux Klan around the nation. Micheaux's books and films were his response and he often used homesteading virtues to demonstrate how all could "prove up," despite their race. While little known today, his films are influential on later black filmmakers such as Spike Lee.
Season 5, Ep 11: How homesteading influenced the nation's first African American filmmaker
