Black History in 16mm Film - AV Club

This is What America Looks Like

Get to know more about lesser-known Black history through insightful 16mm films that depict Black contributions to American history from the country's inception through the 20th century. For more information, contact the branch at (305) 535-4219 or capleyb@mdpls.org. Ages 14 yrs.+

About the Series:

2026 marks the United States’ semiquincentennial – its 250th birthday! Join us to celebrate the big birthday with a monthly movie showing the people from the past and present that had a hand in creating these United States. Get a monthly cinematic glimpse of what America looks like! 

About the Films:

• Black Artists of the U.S.A., 1976, 25 mins. 

This short film discusses the contributions of Black artists to American cultural history including the work of slave artisans, Black portrait painters, and the Harlem Renaissance.

• The Black West, 1982, 28 mins. 

Provides insights into the experience of the Afro-American cowboy and the settler families of the late 1800s and early 1900s through reenactments and personal narratives. George Ellison recalls his life as a cowboy, Frank Greenway relives his feats as one of the great rodeo competitors of the early 1900s, and dramatizations picture Eunice Norris' memories of being an isolated Black child in the rugged West.

• Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle, 1982, 59 mins. 

Discusses the struggle of Black Pullman porters to unionize, even though rebuked by white organized labor, and the eventual formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters under A. Philip Randolph. This charming film, composed of interviews with retired porters, archival film, and a 100-year-old porter's widow, sheds light on a prime force in the civil rights struggle.

About the Film Collection

The 16mm film collection has been part of the Library's holdings for over 55 years. It began in the 1960s, and its first films were part of the City of Miami’s public library before there was a county library. When MDPLS was formed, the County supplemented its local funding for films with Federal LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act) grants. Apart from leased feature films, all films were purchased for free exhibition for the life of the print. Subjects within the collection include experimental/avant-garde art films, non-narrated films, children’s films, Black history, Floridiana, and local history. Today, there are over 4,000 films within the collection.

About the Division of Special Collections & Archives

Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Division of Special Collections & Archives holds rare and irreplaceable historical documents for the benefit of the public and scholarly community. They oversee the Helen Muir Florida Collection, 16mm Film Collection, Cuban Collection of Rare Books & Ephemera, Genealogy Collection, The Vasari Project, and rare & antiquarian books from as early as the 17th century. The Division's primary goal is to provide the public with the contents of the vault at their request. Its collections include rare books, original manuscripts, over 18,000 photographs, prints, artifacts, audiovisual resources, and electronic media.

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